Why is S35VN your favorite steel?

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I have a couple of S35VN knives {from different manufacturers), and they all perform very well.
I'm not convinced that it's my favorite: I'm still sampling more choices at the "Buffet Table"...
But it certainly isn't a "Bad" choice; for most blade-work.
 
S35VN is a little "long in the tooth" compared to some of the newer steels no question (and has been for some time), but as far as my needs go it holds a good enough edge and more importantly it touches up and hones back fairly easily. Of course that is a broad generalization because obviously it depends of the heat treat/etc; but in the 15 or so knives I have with S35VN they are very capable users.

My current carry is S45VN which has impressed me quite a bit, I can definitely witness the increase in edge retention.
 
So what happened to the Magnicut formulation? Did that pan out as a well balanced steel intentionally designed for cutlery? Or did the S45VN alloly surpass it in some way?

Some of this steel-swapping seems to be faddish or hype driven.
 
V VorpelSword MagnaCut is not offered on every knife model on the market. There has been a lot of research and development in steels before MagnaCut's development, so it's only natural there should be lots of knives available with its precursor steels, and no good reason not to own and use them if their design appeals. Resilience is available now in S35VN, and lots of other good knives. So inquiring minds want to know.
 
VorpelSword said:
So what happened to the Magnicut formulation? Did that pan out as a well balanced steel intentionally designed for cutlery? Or did the S45VN alloly surpass it in some way?

Some of this steel-swapping seems to be faddish or hype driven.
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Magnacut seems to be all around a better steel than s35vn, better corrosion resistance, better toughness and equal wear resistance. S45vn has near equal corrosion resistance and will beat it in wear resistance but it takes a penalty in the toughness department for doing so.

In short Magnacut is just the best balanced knife steel and unless you need a stainless steel with a little better wear resistance for your specific cutting needs where not as much toughness is required it's the go to workhorse right now.
 
I only have experience with Cold Steel GoldenEye in S35VN

Gjl9Gs.jpg


Factory edge came some how rough but lasted for a long time.
pkufWc.jpg


I used the knife for work for 2-3 years. Very happy with the steel. Holds edge well and long, I hardly touch it up per week. It’s easy to maintain daily, I use just the white Lansky ceramic rod to touch it up before work, if needed,
when I have to sharpen it, it takes minimal time on the Wicked Edge just to bring back factory angle.. 800 grit usually does the trick, followed by micro bevel with some Lapping film or 1micron strop.
‘I find to be nicely tough, never had micro breakages on the edge, some light lateral pushing won’t affect the blade at all. No stains of any kind, after cleaning fish or used in harsh environment, given you clean and wipe the blade dry after you done working.
‘Overall, with CS HT, I like a lot S35VN but still would prefer S90V.
 
BTTLBRN said:
S35VN is a little "long in the tooth" compared to some of the newer steels no question (and has been for some time), but as far as my needs go it holds a good enough edge and more importantly it touches up and hones back fairly easily. Of course that is a broad generalization because obviously it depends of the heat treat/etc; but in the 15 or so knives I have with S35VN they are very capable users.

My current carry is S45VN which has impressed me quite a bit, I can definitely witness the increase in edge retention.
Click to expand...
But even this isn't exactly accurate except for perception when it comes to the age of S35VN. M390 is "hotter" right now than S35VN and it was developed 20 years earlier (1989 vs 2009). Yes it didn't see wide use in knives until about 2005 when 20CV was introduced in production and custom knives by Latrobe (now produced and sold by Crucible). But 2005 is still several years earlier than 2009, of course. If we blame the lack of hotness for S35VN on the perception that it is a minor variation of S30V, that pushes back the date to 2002 or at best late 2001, which is still within a few years of broader introduction of 20CV. Instead one of the major factors of S35VN being perceived as boring is simply that it has been used in many knives in the high end production space since its introduction and people get bored quickly. And somehow the enthusiasts didn't catch on to 20CV/M390/204P until more recent years. And they didn't notice that M390 is a boring steel with fairly average properties from 1989. Because also the main property the enthusiast community seems to care about is edge retention and M390 has slightly higher wear resistance than S30V and S35VN.
 
One of my favorite steels. Holds a good edge, easy to sharpen, relatively tough for a stainless, decent corrosion resistance. It’s been supplanted by Magnacut for me, but s35vn is no slouch. It was my favorite all around steel for years. It’s just solid steel.
 
For me, Dave, it’s “good enough”, for a folder. Meaning if i see a folder that I like, with XHP, S30V, S35VN, S45VN, M390, or S90V, steel choice becomes secondary. My favorite is S90V.

For a fixed blade I don’t want it. Much rather prefer AEB-L or NitroV, for instance.

Note that Spyderco runs steel harder than other companies, so the steel might not be directly comparable.
 
I'm not a steel chaser anymore these days. I'll buy knives I like in D2/1095/AUS8/VG10/154CM just as much as I do knives in S35vn/M390/XHP/etc.

I DO love S35vn, because it absolutely does everything I need it to, sharpens up easily and quickly, has never rusted on me in any of the knives I own in it, and it's an honest working steel. I have knives in other steels, but S35vn and XHP are probably my two favorites. I've never had a cutting job I couldn't accomplish with knives in either of those steels.

Edited to add: In fact, I have to say, I find myself reaching for those "lower end" steels more these days if I have a serious cutting task, because I know I'll be able to get that particular knife back to lightsaber sharpness easily. It's much in the same way I tend to carry knives in 1095 these days in the woods over my CPK D3V or Busse SR101 choppers, because I know that it'll be a heck of a lot easier getting that 1095 back to razor sharp than it will be to sharpen those super tough steels back up when they inevitably dull out. Sure, I can DO it, but it's just a hassle. I dislike hassle. LOL
 
Larrin said:
But even this isn't exactly accurate except for perception when it comes to the age of S35VN. M390 is "hotter" right now than S35VN and it was developed 20 years earlier (1989 vs 2009). Yes it didn't see wide use in knives until about 2005 when 20CV was introduced in production and custom knives by Latrobe (now produced and sold by Crucible). But 2005 is still several years earlier than 2009, of course. If we blame the lack of hotness for S35VN on the perception that it is a minor variation of S30V, that pushes back the date to 2002 or at best late 2001, which is still within a few years of broader introduction of 20CV. Instead one of the major factors of S35VN being perceived as boring is simply that it has been used in many knives in the high end production space since its introduction and people get bored quickly. And somehow the enthusiasts didn't catch on to 20CV/M390/204P until more recent years. And they didn't notice that M390 is a boring steel with fairly average properties from 1989. Because also the main property the enthusiast community seems to care about is edge retention and M390 has slightly higher wear resistance than S30V and S35VN.
Click to expand...
I think one other possible explanation is that like s30v the main producers out there tended not to heat-treat s35vn to a high enough rockwell to see it really shine, and considering s35vn had even greater toughness than s30v they certainly could have taken advantage of this by giving it 1 to 1.5 higher rockwell than they typically do.
 
It's not my favorite for anything but its not bad at anything which is the best quality about it. There are blade chemistries out there that will be more rust resistant, there will be those that are tougher, there will be those that hold an edge longer, there are those that sharpen easier, BUT there are very few that do ALL of those things as well as S35VN does. It is just a sensible knife steel if you don't know what you are going to be doing with your blade.
 
s35vn is a well balanced steel… that’s about it
If you don’t need a specific pick in terms of corrosion resistance, edge retention of toughness or give you a good performance without sacrificing in one or the other domain
 
POCEH KOCEB said:
I only have experience with Cold Steel GoldenEye in S35VN

Gjl9Gs.jpg


Factory edge came some how rough but lasted for a long time.
pkufWc.jpg


I used the knife for work for 2-3 years. Very happy with the steel. Holds edge well and long, I hardly touch it up per week. It’s easy to maintain daily, I use just the white Lansky ceramic rod to touch it up before work, if needed,
when I have to sharpen it, it takes minimal time on the Wicked Edge just to bring back factory angle.. 800 grit usually does the trick, followed by micro bevel with some Lapping film or 1micron strop.
‘I find to be nicely tough, never had micro breakages on the edge, some light lateral pushing won’t affect the blade at all. No stains of any kind, after cleaning fish or used in harsh environment, given you clean and wipe the blade dry after you done working.
‘Overall, with CS HT, I like a lot S35VN but still would prefer S90V.
Click to expand...
How did you take that 2nd pic? Thanks!
 
jstn said:
One of my favorite steels. Holds a good edge, easy to sharpen, relatively tough for a stainless, decent corrosion resistance. It’s been supplanted by Magnacut for me, but s35vn is no slouch. It was my favorite all around steel for years. It’s just solid steel.
Click to expand...
Except for the bit about Magnacut, this sums it up for me.
 
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