Worst 3 Steels - Never Buy!

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That's a lot more than 3 in the OP. I don't have such a list. I'm OK with a good number of the ones you listed, never heard of some of them. Buy whatever you want, don't buy whatever you don't want, makes no difference to me.
 
Tommy-Chi said:
I cannot imagine that the steels that I listed cannot be bettered by one of the steels that I did not list.
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To completely write them off as never buy under any circumstances is a bit much. I have some fine knives in 5160 (chopper), 440c (EDC fixed), AUS8/420HC (folders) that are easy to maintain and perform well for the price paid. I can't imagine just writing them off because others perform better at a higher cost.
 
will 440C be out performed in a cutting test by s110V...well, yeah....doesn't make 440C a bad steel at all. Will 5160 outperform s110V as a heavy chopper...yes it will.

To be clear I prefer s110V for the knives I make...which tend to be smaller, etc focused or skinners, where long term, aggressive edge hiding is preferred. but I have knives in "lesser: steels that work well.
 
Like T.L.E said match the knife to the job, use a box cutter for cardboard.Why would you risk a nice expensive blade scratching it up or worse
chipping the edge on a hidden staple?
Most of the steels in your list with the exception of 440C & 420HC are ok for cheap kitchen knives or budget folders.
Buck uses 420HC and turns out some darn good knives,440C is still used by some custom makers with very good results
if it is heat treated properly. AEB-L & D2 are a couple more that are long in the tooth but still good performers.
Most users just need a knife to cut something once in a while, unless you cutting very abrasive or tough material every
day spending money on super steels is unnecessary. Just MHO
 
I have some Japanese kershaw kitchen knives in EEEEEK!....AUS6:eek: I find them to be very serviceable and a breeze to sharpen. They may be soft but they take a razor edge in a second. If I need CPM 3V for my food I think I better give up cooking.
 
oldtymer said:
Why would you risk a nice expensive blade scratching it up or worse
chipping the edge on a hidden staple?
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Cause it's a knife and you should use it. It's steel and can be fixed with some elbow grease. I mean unless you just buy them to keep in a safe or flip/flick them open and or sell them after not using them as tools.
 
Tommy-Chi said:
Yea.... :D

A noob with almost $20,000 invested in knives. :p
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You could have a million dollars in knives. Doesn't change you are novice in a forum filled with people who know vastly more than you do about knives and steels and yet here you are telling everyone about steels o_O

Read more post less would apply here. I wouldn't wander into an rc plane forum and proceed to tell them about rc planes. I'd shut my yap and learn. He'll I'm still learning, I have a decent knowledge of steels, makers, processes and more but I'm not fooling myself into thinking I know more than some of these guys.


Take this for what it's worth.

ETA: Accruing experience with each steel is the best way to make an evaluation of it. Screw the YouTube videos and internet spread sheets. Real world use is king. Form an opinion based on experience.
 
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oldtymer said:
Like T.L.E said match the knife to the job, use a box cutter for cardboard.Why would you risk a nice expensive blade scratching it up or worse chipping the edge on a hidden staple?
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I'll give you an example. In Iraq, one of my team mates used my Emerson SOCFK to strike a flint on a magnesium firestarter, causing a massive chip in the blade. it sharpened out with some effort. I wasn't pleased but sh!t happens, a knife is a tool, fire was lit and we were warm.
 
Lapedog said:
Don’t really understand what 5160, 440c, 12c27 and aus8 are doing on that list.

Especially 5160 and 12c27.

Also 8cr13mov really isn’t that bad.
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I just got a few folders in 8cr13mov, with a great HT. They have held an edge longer than some of my high end steels, and still extremely easy to sharpen. I just wish there were more smaller fixed blades with this steel, with a good HT. 5160, 12c27, and 440C are pretty good as well. 5160 more for larger blades though.
For my personal do not touch list, I guess it depends on the knife and task the knife is used for. Simple carbon steels for folders, I would rather have a stainless or something with higher edge holding. And I would not make a machete with Maxamet.
 
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navman said:
I'll give you an example. In Iraq, one of my team mates used my Emerson SOCFK to strike a flint on a magnesium firestarter, causing a massive chip in the blade. it sharpened out with some effort. I wasn't pleased but sh!t happens, a knife is a tool, fire was lit and we were warm.
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Perfectly understandable due to location & circumstances.
I was putting it in the context of average every day situations.
Thanks for your service:thumbsup:
 
Living in Florida, I can certainly tell the difference between luxury steels and economy steels. The economy steels rust. Always.

I have yet to have CPM20CV/CTS204P/M390 rust on me.

I have only ever had a single S30V/S35VN blade develop a single spot of rust and that was due to it being MIA for a year or more covered in dirt and dust.

So, for me, I avoid these cheaper steels as well. My Rat, which I love for what it is, developed spotting in less than a week of pocket carry.
 
Mick_1KRR said:
Are you actually bagging H1 because you think it's promoted to be a serious edge holder? That's a joke right? It's made to withstand corrosion end of story. Go tell the guys who use it day in and day out on boats and in harsh environments that it's garbage, take some of your supersteels out on the ocean for a few weeks and then you'll see what garbage looks like when it's pitted and rusted to bits. H1 literally sharpens back to hair popping in 4 swipes of a sharpmaker rod, it's a dam good steel for the role it was made to fill.

and PS. i'd wager a fully serrated H1 would out-cut almost any supersteel out there. Ask Sal at Spyderco himself, he said it outcut any of their exotic steels.
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Again, different strokes for different folks.

All I can tell you is that I've had my VG10 Spyderco submerged in a fresh water lake for about 2 hours straight, was too drunk to remember to take it out of my pants and wipe it down when I got back to camp. Fell asleep with it exposed to very cold conditions in a tent that didn't breath well at all and in wet clothing, overnight. Woke up next morning, still forgot to wipe down, put it in my other shorts, went white water rafting with it for 4 hours getting soaked, still didn't wipe it down, finally a week after getting back home I pulled all my knives out to play with a bit and look over and saw one tiny surface rust spot on the spine that I scraped off with my fingernail and a lick of my fingertip.

Now, might H1 still outperform that in corrosion resistance, I'm sure it will in fact, but I don't need any more than that. I've also had 420HC perform like this after 3 weeks straight rafting and swimming for 4 hours each day as well and it didn't get any rust spota at all. And when I say rafting I don't mean sitting in a dry raft, I mean completely submerged up to my stomach.

But, this is only fresh water, and I'm very sure that salt water would likely kill these things quickly! So I take your point, in that regard. But I stay as far from salt water as possible, I loathe it deeply. So for me, yes, I stand firm, H1 is trash. Besides I'd much rather have N680 by a million miles!!!
 
BeyondTheBox said:
Again, different strokes for different folks.

All I can tell you is that I've had my VG10 Spyderco submerged in a fresh water lake for about 2 hours straight, was too drunk to remember to take it out of my pants and wipe it down when I got back to camp. Fell asleep with it exposed to very cold conditions in a tent that didn't breath well at all and in wet clothing, overnight. Woke up next morning, still forgot to wipe down, put it in my other shorts, went white water rafting with it for 4 hours getting soaked, still didn't wipe it down, finally a week after getting back home I pulled all my knives out to play with a bit and look over and saw one tiny surface rust spot on the spine that I scraped off with my fingernail and a lick of my fingertip.

Now, might H1 still outperform that in corrosion resistance, I'm sure it will in fact, but I don't need any more than that. I've also had 420HC perform like this after 3 weeks straight rafting and swimming for 4 hours each day as well and it didn't get any rust spota at all. And when I say rafting I don't mean sitting in a dry raft, I mean completely submerged up to my stomach.

But, this is only fresh water, and I'm very sure that salt water would likely kill these things quickly! So I take your point, in that regard. But I stay as far from salt water as possible, I loathe it deeply. So for me, yes, I stand firm, H1 is trash. Besides I'd much rather have N680 by a million miles!!!
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So you passed out in a lake for 2 hours? ;)
 
shinyedges said:
You could have a million dollars in knives. Doesn't change you are novice in a forum filled with people who know vastly more than you do about knives and steels and yet here you are telling everyone about steels o_O

Read more post less would apply here. I wouldn't wander into an rc plane forum and proceed to tell them about rc planes. I'd shut my yap and learn. He'll I'm still learning, I have a decent knowledge of steels, makers, processes and more but I'm not fooling myself into thinking I know more than some of these guys.


Take this for what it's worth.

ETA: Accruing experience with each steel is the best way to make an evaluation of it. Screw the YouTube videos and internet spread sheets. Real world use is king. Form an opinion based on experience.
Click to expand...

Yea.... :D

And your Family Dr was born in 1905 and he graduated from Med School in 1930. I bet you think all of that knowledge is relevant too.

Knowledge is FREE for the taking and nobody should be speaking down to anyone b/c they have not been on a social media platform for X number of years. It's foolish. It's idiotic. It does not compute.

I'm 58 and know enough to spend my money where I see fit, and I began a logical conversation. Your personal attacks for whatever reason change nothing.
 
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