Who likes soft steel on knives?

U

ukknifer

Joined
Jan 30, 2010
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Hi guys,

Who prefers softer steels on knives rather than the new hard stuff?
And what is your preferred soft steel?
 
I do like the steel used on the SAKs. So easy to sharpen, maintenance free. They have the heat-temper down to a science.
 
I still like the 420HC from Buck. I can quickly sharpen up my 15 year old 303 in a couple of minutes before I digging into weekend chores.
 
Blueskat said:
I do like the steel used on the SAKs. So easy to sharpen, maintenance free. They have the heat-temper down to a science.
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I totally agree. Also, I could carry 1095 or Case's CV steel for the rest of my life and be more than satisfied. Life's too short to be a steel snob. :p
 
I like 1095 in my regular use kitchen knives, but I sure like my new Gayle Bradley Spyderco with M4 for hard use on the ranch!

Andy
 
Case CV seems a bit soft but it's one of my favorites. Sharpens easily to an unbelievable edge.
 
As much as ZDP-189 is an amazing steel type, I appreciate the abilities of H-1 and Victorinox Steel as well. They all have their place.
 
For kitchen knives I couldn't really see using a crazy-hard steel; I'd prefer something that's really easy to touch-up.

I remember a video a while ago of a rep. from Kizlyar knives of Russia explaining that they intentionally make all of their knives on the slightly softer side to help with field sharpening - the logic being that super-steels would be difficult to sharpen without all kinds of fancy edgepro-this, DMT-that, whereas a softer steel could be sharpened on any old flat rock you should happen to find.
 
I'd much rather have a blade that will bend rather than break or snap. I've bent the tips on knives on occasion and can bend them back if the steel is a soft one like the steel used in the Swiss Army knives. I tried to fix a bent tip on a S30V blade once it snapped like glass.
 
That's what is great about this hobby, a million choices for a million people! It's not hard to get caught up in the high end steels, but there is nothing at all wrong liking good 'ol CS. I know when I was in the Corps and found myself with a dull edge due to extreme use I was glad I could sharpen my trusty KABAR on a smooth rock and some cardboard! On the other hand my Para D2 stays sharp so long I am tickled.
 
I was just thinking about this subject last night.

I prefer carbon steels and say , Aus-8 off the top of my head.

It's a trade off , edge retention versus ease of sharpening. The difference is negligible.


Tostig
 
IMO for my uses if its softer than bucks 420hc its useless as a knife.

I prefer 154, D2 or s30v, my current favorite is duratech 20cv
 
Dorito Monk said:
For kitchen knives I couldn't really see using a crazy-hard steel; I'd prefer something that's really easy to touch-up.
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I like my crazy-hard kitchen knives. They take an extremely fine edge and hold it. Weekly touch-ups are easy because the edge bevels are so thin (not much material to remove). I never could get softer steels to hold the level of sharpness I like in the kitchen.
 
On the Becker knives KA-BAR deliberately heat treat to a little less hardness that Camilus used to.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7887012&postcount=12
"KA-BAR Beckers are very slightly lower in Rockwell hardness but have approx 15-20% greater toughness according to my calcs. We also think a lower hardness is better for sharpening in the field. Some of these new super steels are so hard that sharpening in the field is a very challenging task. Survival/bushcraft/battlefield is difficult enough without having to add knife sharpening to the list."

I am sure 1095 can be treated to be very hard - but then you lose toughness. I like my knives to be hard, but I don't want them brittle.

I also like VG-10 because it is easy to sharpen to a VERY good sharpness. It is hard enough for most purposes.
 
mnblade said:
I could carry 1095 or Case's CV steel for the rest of my life and be more than satisfied. Life's too short to be a steel snob. :p
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Agreed...Life's too short, and I'm too poor! :o

What's more, I feel more confident with my ability to put a good edge on 1095 with the equipment I have. I feel like it's a great working-man's steel, and easy to care for.
 
Dorito Monk said:
For kitchen knives I couldn't really see using a crazy-hard steel; I'd prefer something that's really easy to touch-up.
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Not really, 99% of my kitchen knives are in 63-67HRC range. And touch ups are 0.5mic or 0.25mic loaded strops. Every other week or even less. And those are the knives with the edges between 5-15 deg per side.

Dorito Monk said:
I remember a video a while ago of a rep. from Kizlyar knives of Russia explaining that they intentionally make all of their knives on the slightly softer side to help with field sharpening - the logic being that super-steels would be difficult to sharpen without all kinds of fancy edgepro-this, DMT-that, whereas a softer steel could be sharpened on any old flat rock you should happen to find.
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Gadgetaholic said:
On the Becker knives KA-BAR deliberately heat treat to a little less hardness that Camilus used to.
...
"KA-BAR Beckers are very slightly lower in Rockwell hardness but have approx 15-20% greater toughness according to my calcs. We also think a lower hardness is better for sharpening in the field.
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Very popular explanation. I've heard that before a lot. Although, one thing that is very certain, softer knives are more cost effective for the manufacturers to make, in short and long term. Production is faster, costs less and induces less wear and tear on the equipment. It's definitely a serious reason. Abusive users, most likely inexperienced in sharpening is another point worth considering. Altough, with all respect to 1095 and 170-6C neither is a super steel by any stretch of the imagination.

As for the ease of the field sharpening, I don't buy it. The best you can do in the field with a flat rock it to either realign the edge, or minor a touchup. No way one can grind a new bevel, i.e. really sharpen a knife on that rock in any sensible amount of time. 2-3 touchups on that soft steel knife and the edge will be gone and you need a real sharpener to sharpen it, or spend few hours on that flat rock. Which begs the question, why exactly it is user friendly to have someone grind his knife on the stone for 3 hours in the bushcraft/survival situation? Harder and more wear resistant steel may not need sharpening at all with the same workload. Besides, how big of a problem is it to pack DMT diafold or simething like that in your pocket or your field knife sheath pocket if you expect surviving in the bush that long, with that mcuh of a knife work?
Or am I to believe that the guy who can't yet sharpen his knife with sharpmaker at home, will go out in the field or a bush and do something better on a rock just because the knife is softer?
BTW, those flat rocks are not exactly in ample supply everywhere. Tundra, desert, even a forest can be a challenge to find just a rock, let alone that flat one.

Gadgetaholic said:
Survival/bushcraft/battlefield is difficult enough without having to add knife sharpening to the list."
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And I don't believe frequent sharpening makes it very easy either.

Gadgetaholic said:
I like my knives to be hard, but I don't want them brittle.
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I agree, there are cases when that is the case, but there are also light use knives and then lower hrc and added toughness gains me absolutely nothing, while I loose edge retention and cutting ability(because I have to grind thicker edge)...
 
I have plenty of soft steel knives I carry and use, but I prefer harder steels for my primary, go-to knives. They're so much easier for me to sharpen. Soft steels are much more prone to burring when I sharpen them, whereas steels heat treated to higher RC's burr less, making sharpening less time consuming. I love my SAKs but I've tried taking their edges down to the same acuteness I use on ZDP189 and they get big, nasty burrs and the edges don't hold up all that well.

To me it's more a matter of heat treat versus steel type. "Soft steels" like 420x, 440x, SAK's steel, H1 etc. can be made to be very hard.

Regarding field sharpening, I don't take down many cardboard boxes, or slice drywall or carpet when I'm camping. Usually if I sharpen my edges as sharp as I like before I leave, they're still plenty usable by the time I come back. I don't find the few ounces my DMT sharpener (There just in case it's needed) adds hinders my ability to appreciate nature.
 
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I like soft steels on other people's knives that I have to sharpen when they have badly neglected them for years (or decades). I like to use harder more wear resistant steels personally.
 
Gator97 said:
As for the ease of the field sharpening, I don't buy it. The best you can do in the field with a flat rock it to either realign the edge, or minor a touchup. No way one can grind a new bevel, i.e. really sharpen a knife on that rock in any sensible amount of time. 2-3 touchups on that soft steel knife and the edge will be gone and you need a real sharpener to sharpen it, or spend few hours on that flat rock. Which begs the question, why exactly it is user friendly to have someone grind his knife on the stone for 3 hours in the bushcraft/survival situation?
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Three hours? Really? To sharpen a knife? :confused:

With respect, that might be the best you can do with a flat rock, but you're selling the whole flat rock concept a little short :p.

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