Your favorite knife steel and why?

I like 52100 better than anything, but any decent carbon steel with a good heat treat suits me fine.

Among stainless steels, I like VG-10.

The stuff Swamp Rat uses is also a great steel.
 
Strictly for cutting, D2 as treated by Dozier. For heavy duty abuse, Busse's INFI.
These choices probably have as much to do with each of the makers' blade design, edge geometry, and ergonomics as the steel.
 
My favorite steel is probably AEB-L, it's the closest thing to carbon steel stainless has ever been. Extremely fine grained, extremely easy to sharpen, stainless, holds a good edge, and is very tough. Second would probably be an Elmax/BG-42 damascus, but since it has never been done, I can't be for sure.
 
Carbon:
1095 and case Chrome Vanadium (dunno what this really is)
Both sharpen/perform well and take a nice patina (no pits).

Semi-stainless:
D2 - however, I do not use it in pocket anymore because when it oxidizes, it pits rather than forming a patina. Performs very well for cutting, but is a pain to sharpen.

Stainless:
VG10 - My current favorite of all types, stainless or not. With a thin edge, it is better than all my other steels. Easy to sharpen and holds an edge well. (also more cost-effective than S30V)
S30V - Only have one in this steel, so far seems comparable to VG10, but harder to sharpen to a well polished edge.


Someone should set up a poll. List every steel one can think of. Then you get one vote. It would be interesting to see what comes out on top!
 
French Kiss]Well, INFI is the steel used by Swamp Rat, and it is known to be quiet similar to 52100, in fact it probably is 52100, with a heat treatment that compares to what you could find on a hand made knife. Regarding the heat treatment, SRKW blades are almost semi-customs

Actually, Swamp Rat uses SR101 steel and Busse uses the INFI! Iwould definately stand behind either steel as the best INFI on top of course. And this from user experience.
 
INFI is very different than 52100. It's makeup is A8 modified, a chipper knife steel. I'm too lazy to go find the composition.
 
154CM. Most of my knives have this steel. I find it to be easy to sharpen and it seems to be far mor rust resistant than some AUS-6A SOG folders that I've had in the past. I have only one knife in $30V and so far it's doing great. Who knows, in the near future maybe $30V will be the norm and it'll soon be my new favorite. Other great steels: VG-10, AUS-8A, 440C. :)
 
For relatively small blades, say under 4", I usually prefer Talonite to steel. Aside from its corrosion resistance, it just seems to cut better than any steel with a comparable edge geometry. My favorite actual steel in that size range is probably CPM S90V.

For medium blades, somewhere between 3" and 8", I really like D2. It offers a great compromise of hardness, toughness, and corrosion resistance. My choice for runner-up would be CPM S30V.

For larger blades, over 6", I'm fond of CPM 3V. It's all kinds of tough but still hard enough to really hold an edge.

--Bob Q
 
I don' t have many collectible knives. Most of my using knives are Dozier mades, whether they are strait knives or folders. So naturally I choose D2. It has enough chromium to be just a bit short of the stainless category and enough carbon to take on a real sharp edge. And can hold it for longer than most steels I' ve used. But then if heat treated properly and ground thin enough, most quality steels can cut well and hold its edge equally as well. Some are ATS34, 154CM, and my favorite of the "stainless" is BG42. Chris Reeves has switched to S30V for his folders. But my Sebenzas of BG42 can cut real well. Why? Because its blade is deeply hollowed ground, resulting in a nice thin edge for real use.

For those who have experienced troubles with sharpening tool steels such as D2, well try to get a diamond bench stone. The embedded diamond dust can remove steel without any more effort than other steels. For those who require pre-set angle sharpeners, try the Spyderco Sharpmaker with diamond speed sleeves.


N2
 
By far, my favorite steel for large blades is INFI. I have done things to a Busse that would have wrecked another knife or at the very least set me back a few hours fixing it. For small blades, I like 154CM, and M2.
 
BG42

It's probably the best non-powder stainless steel out there. delivers very clean cuts and holds an edge for a longgggg time.

too bad not many makers use it.
 
In stainless, I really like VG10. It just seems to get sharper than other stainless steels. Overall, though, I love CPM3V. It takes a great edge, holds it, is easy enough to sharpen, has a decent amount of chromium for a little stain resistance, and is tougher than anything I've used. INFI may be better overall, but I wouldn't know, since I don't own a Busse...yet. For now, I'll stick with 3V as my overall favorite.
 
I like D2 on my Queens, but have found it does pit when carried in my pocket.

I also actually like 420HC when heat treated to Paul B.'s spec's at Buck. I know it gets much maligned, but I have had good luck with it.

I just got back my Buck 110 with ATS-34 blade, I gonna carry it for awhile and see how it does.
 
J.Davey said:
Overall, though, I love CPM3V. It takes a great edge, holds it, is easy enough to sharpen, has a decent amount of chromium for a little stain resistance, and is tougher than anything I've used. INFI may be better overall, but I wouldn't know, since I don't own a Busse...yet. For now, I'll stick with 3V as my overall favorite.
Click to expand...
INFI is simply a steel that is overly-hyped on the forums in my opinion. 3V should have around the same toughness (could be slightly less), and much better edge retention. It might be slightly harder to sharpen (I can't be for sure), but with how much better the edge retention should be, it won't matter if it takes you 30 seconds longer to sharpen.
 
I've always been partial to Carbon V. 1095 is good too but I like Carbon V better. I am now the proud owner of a Bark River prototype knife in 52100 (I think) also, however, I haven't used that knife enough to have a real opinion on it yet...

As for stainless, I've always been impressed with my AUS8 knives. I also like Spyderco's VG-10.

However, my next knife will either be a Swamp Rat Camp Tramp or another knife that is made of A2. I have reason to believe the A2 knife has excellent heat treatment & they are about the same price. Figured I'd ask for some comparisson from anyone who owns knives in both steels.

Any input would be appreciated - thanks!!!
 
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