Cast vote : Best blade steel

[AllenETreat]

I'm in for 440C.



The "old industry" standard ( actually I think 440A was ; Sal or java HELP! )



I'm just a sentimentalist at heart.



AET



P.S. -



Damn. I hate "thread poster's block".



Some things are necessary evils, some things are more evil than necessary. John Le Carre

[Civilian]

Crucible Particle Metallurgy S30V is sweet!!!
Can't wait to get with a DLC on it.
_________________
MAT<img src="spyder.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>TER



Edited by - CIVILIAN on 4/2/2004 6:37:12 PM

[KBR]

IMHO, S30V is the best...hands down. <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>



Survive, Adapt, and Overcome...

[redhawk44p]

S30V but VG-10 is great too.

[timlara]

From experience, I really like VG-10. In addition to my Spydies, I also have some VG-10 kitchen knives that seem to stay sharp forever with nothing but mild steeling.

I haven't owned my S30V models long enough to really decide if it's a noticeably better steel or not as I haven't needed to sharpen them yet. (Although maybe that's my answer right there!)

[vampyrewolf]

My latest addition is a custom with 440c, and damn does Tichbourne know what he's doing. Used it for everything for a week, took 5-6 strokes on the whites to get it shaving, and I'm coming up on week 2 since then and it still shaves.

VG-10 and ats-55 have both been heavily used by me to almost be even at the top, but this little skinner is bringing 440c up quick.

<img src="http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett/spyderco/spyder5.gif"><br>Mei Fides, Mei Victus<br>We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.<br>

[J Smith]

S30V

<img src=http://techhelpers.net/e4u/drink/trink36.gif

[Alan2112]

I don't really believe there is a best, just what's best for you and your uses. Having said that my favorite list will make me look hipicritical.
1. VG-10/30V/D2 Three way tie...
2. 154CM
3. 440C/8A
RKBA!

Edited by - Alan2112 on 4/2/2004 11:01:52 PM

Edited by - Alan2112 on 4/2/2004 11:02:22 PM

[java]

Thanks for the reference Allen but Sal or Joe Talmadge are the &quot;Men of Steel&quot; here. As far as 440A/B/C there close in composition with the carbon content separating the three.

I'm more along Alan2112's lines and pick the best steel for the job. S30V is the first dedicated cutlery suprsteel and its edge retention and wear fill the bill pretty well all around. My interest now is getting an H1 Salt and subjecting it to the worst my favorite dive sites have to offer. Sounds like the best corrosion resistant steel so far and I don't want to buy another Boker Orca at the price they want.

KAI is offering a variety of kitchen knives in stainless damascus I would like to know more about.......too many steels - not enough time to slice everything!

Back to work, now

j

[Jurphaas]

My favorite working steel is 440C. Next best thing is VG-10. When we consider 440C a nice Ford, then VG-10 Gold is like an Mercedes or BMW or Caddilac! VG-10 Gold is the laminated steel that KAI uses for their fantastic Shun Pro kitchen knife series. It in fact is not Damascus but an expensive variation of &quot;San Mai&quot; laminated steel. &quot;San Mai&quot; is a Japanese method where a core of harder steel is wraped in two (or more) layers of a softer steel. At times it looks much like Damascus. It is stunning in apearence and it performs much, much better in cutting as Damascus.

Clipits work!

[Bruceter]

Looking at my colection of Spydies, I'd have
to say my favorite is VG-10. I have more knives in that steel than any other.

Bruceter

[sal]

Hi Allen. The words &quot;best&quot; and &quot;steel&quot; do not mix easily.

When I ask my CFO, &quot;What's the best steel?&quot;, he says &quot;the one we make the most money on&quot;.

When I ask the ELU, they say, &quot;The one that performs the best&quot;.

Our Knifemakers can see patterns and beauty in a ground piece of steel that many do not, such as VG-10.

Different steels are better for different functions from &quot;tough&quot; to &quot;shine&quot;. But I think I know what you mean.

I &quot;like&quot; the performance of S30V best, but I &quot;like&quot; the look or VG-10 best. I like H-1 best for salt water. I like ph steels for some things and more traditional steels for others. I &quot;like&quot; damascus for collecting.

sal

[HoB]

In response to Jurphaas:
According to Christina McGraw (http://www.bladegallery.com/information/info_wootzdamascus.asp), the craft of creating true (Wootz) Damascus steel (the blade is from a single source of steel) is a lost art which was lost mostly due to the fact that the source of the steel ran out several hundered years ago. What made the source so special were the natural occurance of certain impurities and the lack of others The stock material would probalby be available with modern methods, but for that an original damacus blade would have to be analysed and which museum would offer to have a priceless piece destroyed for science sake?
As far as I know, all japanese kitchen knives are made in a lamination process, whether they are damascus or not. Only the jigane, the slabs that are forge welded on to one side (chisel ground) or both sides of the edge steel is either folded damascus (from stainless or regular steel [not high carbon] and iron) or wrought iron. The edge itself is always a high carbon steel or a modern stainless steel. The finest damascus kitchen knives are supposed to be made by Hattori and Shigefusa. And no I don't own any...I wish! Toying with buying a Shigefusa, but the Hattori are waaay out of my league. Cutting ability in a Japanese kitchen knife has nothing to do with damascus. That enhances only the look of the knife.

Having said that, in terms of cutting ablility my favorite steel is definitely Shirogami (white paper steel), but it is extremely fagile and wouldn't do much good in a folder.

[AllenETreat]

Sal -

Well, for want of a better name for a &quot;KOT&quot;
thread. You know what I mean!

Meebee it shoulda been &quot;best perforamance steel&quot;?

AET

Some things are necessary evils, some things are more evil than necessary. John Le Carre

[Outlaw]

I have A LOT OF KNIVES.
For me, the sharpest &amp; easiest to maintain are my Native &amp; my Millie in S30V.

X^ }

[Jimd]

I have a few favorites:

1. S30V seems to keep a great edge, and I've had NO rusting on any of my knives thus far in this steel.

2. BG-42...I have a Strider folder in this steel. It holds a great edge, and I like the grain of the metal, how it feels and performs. Also, no rust.

3. CPM 440V...This is what my beloved Native is made of. Holds a good edge, and no rust problems.

I have other fondnesses for steels, but the above are my favorites.


Sniper -- One Shot, One Kill Email: ST8PEN01@aol.com

[Blades]

I've been happy with my ATS-34 Spydie's.



Blades

[talonturbo]

yet another vote for S30V, it's graininess reminds me of my old native, which was in Gin-1 (aka G2) and what I still believe to be an awesome steel. But the S30V has taken over.

[ken]

.............&quot;It's All Good!&quot;................

Heck if it wasn't for this steel stuff we would still be using rocks and sticks.

But as far as the different types most of my knives are made with the 440 series type of steel. They perform real good and many manfactures still use it. It sharpens good and cuts good what more do you need? Now the Bill Moran you gave me in vg10 well that is a cutter!! It only takes a couple passes on the sharpmaker to get it factory fresh. Seems to keep an edge better than the 440 stuff and sharpens a bit quicker. Other than that I believe the 154cm steel is like the middle of the pack so I'm surprised it isn't used more...anyway keep cuttin' my friend..

ken

[wotanson]

All of the Spydies I have are either AUS-8, VG-10, or S30V, I like all of them, no rust problems at all, AUS-8 is very easy to sharpen, VG-10 can be a bit of work, but of course gets and holds an edge better. I haven't had to sharpen my Dodo SE yet, it just keeps on cutting with no discernable loss of cutting power, and I've had it since November I think, I read an article in some cutlery mag saying that S30V in serrated edge had an almost zero curve on a Catra machine, I took this to mean its a tough steel not easily abraded or worn.

Odin, guide my sword to eternal victory!

[The Deacon]

Funny thing, I have very strong preferences in almost every other area of knife construction, but when it comes to steel, at least in Spydercos, I really have none. My knowledge in this area is minimal and I have faith that Sal consistently choses excellent steels for his products.

If I were to lay out my &quot;dream&quot; Spyderco, it would be a front lock. The handles would be stainless steel front and rear bolsters and jigged bone or stag scales over dual stainless liners. The blade would be a Wharncliffe, just under 3&quot; in length, with a full flat grind, plain edge, and no swedge grind. It would be 3mm thick at the tang, but the &quot;working&quot; part of would thinned out, like the Calypso Jr.. It would have a fully exposed 14mm opening hole, a Spanish notch, and the thumb ramp would have fine, closely spaced groves, like those on the Jester and Massad Ayoob. It would either be clipless, or would have a clip like the one on the pre-production Kopas, and be available in both right and left hand, tip down versions. Now those are some pretty precise specs there, only a minor &quot;waffle&quot; on the scale material as I really like both bone and stag. Yet, when it comes to the steel, as I said before, I'd be more than willing to trust to Sal's judgment and commitment to quality.

As another example, I love the Jester, and think it is the best key ring sized knife on the market. IMHO, it's an engineering marvel that combines minimum size with maximum control, no easy trick to pull off. If Spyderco announced a bolster and bone, stag, or wood version of it, which I think would be the perfect successor to the SpyderKey as a &quot;presentation grade&quot; key ring knife, I'd put my &quot;pre-order&quot; in with NGK the same day, regardless of the steel, again because of my faith in Sal in this regard. On the other hand, if they announced an upgrade of the FRN or stainless versions, or a new run of the micarta version, featuring VG-10, S30V, or some other new, hot, super steel, I'd be in no great rush to buy one, and would really only do so as &quot;variants&quot; for my collection, as I love my current burgundy micarta one, and it works just fine for me.

Paul

[Shards of Narsil]

I started with VG-10, got S30V then moved to AUS-8 and AUS-6 in the sequence of a Calypso Jr., a Native, a Pro-Grip and two SS Jesters.

My vote is for S30V, which I would love to see the new Pro-Grip in, but I am getting such an appreciation of the older Spyderco steels that I kinda grudge having to say so.

Nostalgia aside, they are consistently well forged, tough, nicely affordable, hold an edge better than you'd believe and do seem to be more 'forgiving' somehow.

They don't need NASA-level tech to make them though and so it hardly seems fair to compare them to the premium steels of the day, and yet they hardly perform that much worse! How about a seperate vote for your favourite old school steel?

If so, I say S30V at the top and a vote for AUS-8 for your working joe steel!

Shards

[dialex]

For me, S30V is on the first place. Then the 440V. Yet, I'm particulary fond of the old ATS-55...

<a href="http://users.pcnet.ro/dialex"><font color=blue>(my page)</font></a>

[AllenETreat]

Well Kenny -

VG-10 is superior to 440 series with regards
ease of sharpening ( like on the SS Cricket I had ) and overall durability.

I'm just a sentimentalist for 440C. Alot
of my early knives used it - just a preference.

If VG-10 becomes wider spread the cost should go down &amp; make it accessable to
the average buyer ( $20-$30 price range )

It came close on the SS Cricket ( $40 from 1SKS ) but wider use should eventually lower
production costs ( the good ol' &quot;law of supply &amp; demand&quot; )

BG-42 is another good choice as jim points out - thing is I see more SOG blades using it. It's pricey &amp; even SOG has to do a &quot;double take&quot; before producing a knife made with it ( to keep production costs down ; not everyone can afford $75-$100 for a knife )

I guess VG-10 would be &quot;the next choice&quot;
for me.

AET

Some things are necessary evils, some things are more evil than necessary. John Le Carre

[thombrogan]

My favorite for folders and small fixed blades is M2 and whatever 5160-like steel is used for Himalayan Imports' khukris. I've had great luck with 1095, 154CM, 420HC, 440A, 440C, ATS-55, AUS-6, AUS-8, D2, M2, S30V, and VG10. Haven't used my khuks, but expect to have good luck with them, too.

All of that said, as a wide-eyed buyer who knows M2 is dying off, I look for S30V, VG10, AUS-8, or 440C with 1095 or 0170-06C as a rare treat.

[dynaryder]

ATS-55. I just like it. I can put a good edge on it fairly easily,and it's very forgiving. I've straightened out 2 bent tips(I didn't do either,they were lot buys off eBay) w/out breakage.

Hey Sal,where'd all the ATS-55 go? I believe the only one left is the SS 'Fly,right? I'd love to see the SS Enduras/Delicas get upgraded w/it. And how about maybe some lower price point FRN's w/it? Like a cheaper Endura,Delica,and 3D Native w/-55 blades? Given the choice between an ATS-55 and VG-10 Endura,for instance,I'd prefer to save a couple bucks and go for the -55 model.

[Shards of Narsil]

Heya dynaryder,

I found this the last time someone asked but NGK seems to have FRN Enduras/Delicas in ATS-55.

If ATS-55 is as good as you say, I may get one myself. It's one of the steels I've yet to get.

[DAYWALKER]

Hey Allen!

AUS8 for me.

Take care!

God will put you over...if you let Him! Mark 11:23!