best steel?

[blues]

Wait, what??

Are there actually 2 different Cru-Wear steel? or is that just an assumption due to the use of CPM before Cru-Wear sometimes and sometimes not?

Here's a discussion:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/cpm ... e.1442802/

[husq2100]

Wait, what??

Are there actually 2 different Cru-Wear steel? or is that just an assumption due to the use of CPM before Cru-Wear sometimes and sometimes not?

Here's a discussion:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/cpm ... e.1442802/

Thanks!

So the question is, are the 2 Paramilitary 2 Cru-Wear versions CPM Cru-Wear or just dirty old Cru-Wear lol

[blues]

You're welcome.

Mine has this mark on the tang:

[husq2100]

thanks @blues

but now the debate continues to - or not to - ....

Back to topic, did S35V get a mention as a good recommendation?

[Daveho]

8cr13Mov

Lol nah.


Just depends on your preference I’d say-
Anything beyond the basics are fine but handle ergos and blade size and shape are probably more relevant, just my 2c

Hey, 8cr13mov gets it done for sure. I’m new to the knife scene. And I’ve found it holds an edge well. And it’s easy to sharpen.

I stand by my lol nah.

It’s okay for occasional use but the OPs use would have it dull very quick

[ladybug93]

my resilience doesn’t get used often, but i’ve never sharpened it. spyderco 8cr13mov is definitely better than some other versions. for example, kershaw 8cr13mov goes dull if you look at it. i’ve been pleasantly the edge on my resilience. and it’s great for cutting up my kids’ food since the blade is so long.

[Sharp Guy]

Back to topic, did S35V get a mention as a good recommendation?

I might the oddball here but I have several knives with S35VN and I've been very a happy with it in all cases. It's definitely not the best in any one category but it's a very well-rounded knife steel.

[DBCOOPER]

I'd agree with the others who said blade symmetry matters more then steel type, steel type I've been using lately is k390, that stuff is tough and holds a razor sharp edge longer then anything else I've used, and isn't chippy like alot of other high carbon tool steels or semi stainless steel and stainless steels

[blues]

I'd agree with the others who said blade symmetry matters more then steel type, steel type I've been using lately is k390, that stuff is tough and holds a razor sharp edge longer then anything else I've used, and isn't chippy like alot of other high carbon tool steels or semi stainless steel and stainless steels

I only have an Urban which I recently purchased in K390 to learn about the steel.

I hope there will be a PM2 or Manix 2 offered so we have an alternative other than the Police which would not be my choice for EDC.

[Tucson Tom]

S30v is pretty good stuff. almost as good as 8cr13mov. Seriously. I am coming back to s30v as a great all around steel. At least the way spyderco treats it.

[steelcity16]

Lc200n.

im excited to try LC200N if the Native Salt ever drops. The anticipation on that one is killing me

[tps3443]

What steel did the OP decide on?

I’d probably pick In this order as my first choice;

MAXAMET

REX45

CPM S110V

CPM 4V

CPM M4

Cruwear

S30V, this steel is probably the easiest choice. Very rust resistant. Will take a very good edge, good enough edge retention. But, the edge is also durable too.

[vivi]

Some of you folks seem to overestimate how abrasive wood is.

I have a chopper made from S7. If you look at a blade steel chart, it's got toughness that's off the charts, but with .55% carbon is has very low wear resistance:



I sharpen that chopper only a couple times per year, even when it gets heavily used.

Likewise, no one chooses O1 for maximum edge retention. I have a number of small custom fixed blades and scandi bushcraft knives in that steel. I rarely sharpen them as well.

Wood is very non-abrasive. That's why many camp knives use steels like O1 and 1095, because they are tough and can be easily field sharpened, while having enough edge retention for this sort of work.



The ability to carve through knotty hardwoods all day without dulling the edge depends on toughness more than edge retention.

Likewise, the ability to slice cardboard boxes all day without losing an edge depends more on edge retention rather than toughness.

Would you buy a ZDP189 chopper? How about an S7 pen knife?

This is a funny thread. Is there any steel Spyderco uses that wasn't mentioned? :D

[tps3443]

Some of you folks seem to overestimate how abrasive wood is.

I have a chopper made from S7. If you look at a blade steel chart, it's got toughness that's off the charts, but with .55% carbon is has very low wear resistance:



I sharpen that chopper only a couple times per year, even when it gets heavily used.

Likewise, no one chooses O1 for maximum edge retention. I have a number of small custom fixed blades and scandi bushcraft knives in that steel. I rarely sharpen them as well.

Wood is very non-abrasive. That's why many camp knives use steels like O1 and 1095, because they are tough and can be easily field sharpened, while having enough edge retention for this sort of work.



The ability to carve through knotty hardwoods all day without dulling the edge depends on toughness more than edge retention.

Likewise, the ability to slice cardboard boxes all day without losing an edge depends more on edge retention rather than toughness.

Would you buy a ZDP189 chopper? How about an S7 pen knife?

This is a funny thread. Is there any steel Spyderco uses that wasn't mentioned? :D

Back when that article was done around 2012 Spyderco was not really making steels as hard as they should be

[tps3443]

Some of you folks seem to overestimate how abrasive wood is.

I have a chopper made from S7. If you look at a blade steel chart, it's got toughness that's off the charts, but with .55% carbon is has very low wear resistance:



I sharpen that chopper only a couple times per year, even when it gets heavily used.

Likewise, no one chooses O1 for maximum edge retention. I have a number of small custom fixed blades and scandi bushcraft knives in that steel. I rarely sharpen them as well.

Wood is very non-abrasive. That's why many camp knives use steels like O1 and 1095, because they are tough and can be easily field sharpened, while having enough edge retention for this sort of work.



The ability to carve through knotty hardwoods all day without dulling the edge depends on toughness more than edge retention.

Likewise, the ability to slice cardboard boxes all day without losing an edge depends more on edge retention rather than toughness.

Would you buy a ZDP189 chopper? How about an S7 pen knife?

This is a funny thread. Is there any steel Spyderco uses that wasn't mentioned? :D

Back when that article was done around 2012 Spyderco was not really making steels as hard as they should be. S110V was like 57HRC lol, and custom manufacturing would run it as high as 65.

Since steels are much harder now, wouldn’t they dominate that S7?

S110V is around 63HRC? Maybe 64? Maxamet is 66 or 67? Rex45 is 65?

How do you think S110V would compare in a chopper ?. At a durable angle.

[vivi]

Right tool for the job and all.

If you're doing work that demands toughness, optimize your tool by selecting an inheritly tough steel, then tweak the HT to your needs.

If you're doing work that demands maximum edge retention slicing rope, no amount of HT tweaking is going to make S7 the best choice.

There's a reason you don't see S7 slipjoints, O1 dive knives and ZDP189 splitting mauls.

[knivesandbooks]

Right tool for the job and all.

If you're doing work that demands toughness, optimize your tool by selecting an inheritly tough steel, then tweak the HT to your needs.

If you're doing work that demands maximum edge retention slicing rope, no amount of HT tweaking is going to make S7 the best choice.

There's a reason you don't see S7 slipjoints, O1 dive knives and ZDP189 splitting mauls.

Wish we saw ZDP slip joints.

[vivi]

****, you quoted me, now I can't fix my butchering of inherently haha.

I agree, ZDP is a great steel for small folders, slipjoints included.

I've always been curious who's buying those $500-$2000 Rockstead ZDP fixed blades, and what they do with them.

[kernelpanic]

I can only go on the knives that I have owned but I like VG10 for everyday use and SG2 as my pocket knife whilst doing bushcraft. VG10 is easy to sharpen in field and takes a pretty good edge, SG2 is on another level and is pretty tough compared to zdp from my experience.
Kev

[Deadboxhero]

S110v would not work as a chopper even with a more durable edge. What makes the steel performance good is the same thing that would make it perform horrible as a chopper. The high carbon and high volume of carbides reduce tougheness for wear resistance. When impact energy is transferred to the microstructure the carbides prevent the steel from moving and cracks usually "connect the dots" between the carbides in the matrix. So even if the edge didn't fail the enitre s110v chopper blade is more prone to just Breaking if being used with gumption.

Besides, the same reason you would want s110v for a chopper would have to be compromised with a thick geometry to prevent breaking, so the very reason you want it is completely lost.

it simply doesn't make sense to use s110v for that application. It's like taking a Indy car and just putting big tires on it for off-road, rock crawling use. The merits of the Indy car are lost on being used for the wrong application even with modification. Just get a truck.



The opposite is true for using S7 as a scalpel. That's like using off road truck in the Indy 500 against Indy cars. The benefits are lost.

S7 is is designed to take punishment and not break at a consequence. The edge is malleable and lacks strength.

So in the end you don't want Raw toughness nor raw wear resistance

You want edge stability at high hardness.

You need enough Carbides to promote high hardness and a little boost in wear resistance but not at a consequence to the toughness.

We want toughness but not at a compromise to the strength. We don't want the edge to deform and roll in use.

That's why steels like Rex45, M4, Hap 40, 4v, V4E, Pd1 CPM Cruwear, Z-Wear are so exciting.

They fill that sweet spot.

Above those steels you have Vanadis 8, k390, PM A11, 10V. Another sweet spot that trades more raw toughness for even more strength, higher working hardness, more Carbides

Below the Cruwear type Steels you get S5,S7,1v, Ztuff, 3v are on the more ductile, malleable side that can absorb more punishment at thicker geometry before breaking at a consequence to the strength, stability and wear resistance the steels above offer. Thes super tough steels are more prone to rolling and blunting in use and cannot achieve the same hardnesses or have the same strength at the same hardness as the steels above.

The better you understand the compromises the more performance you can get by playing a steel to it's strength.

That's the beauty of it all. Finding that synergy is what makes it so addicting.

Now where is that 10v PM2?! :D

Some of you folks seem to overestimate how abrasive wood is.

I have a chopper made from S7. If you look at a blade steel chart, it's got toughness that's off the charts, but with .55% carbon is has very low wear resistance:



I sharpen that chopper only a couple times per year, even when it gets heavily used.

Likewise, no one chooses O1 for maximum edge retention. I have a number of small custom fixed blades and scandi bushcraft knives in that steel. I rarely sharpen them as well.

Wood is very non-abrasive. That's why many camp knives use steels like O1 and 1095, because they are tough and can be easily field sharpened, while having enough edge retention for this sort of work.



The ability to carve through knotty hardwoods all day without dulling the edge depends on toughness more than edge retention.

Likewise, the ability to slice cardboard boxes all day without losing an edge depends more on edge retention rather than toughness.

Would you buy a ZDP189 chopper? How about an S7 pen knife?

This is a funny thread. Is there any steel Spyderco uses that wasn't mentioned? :D

Back when that article was done around 2012 Spyderco was not really making steels as hard as they should be. S110V was like 57HRC lol, and custom manufacturing would run it as high as 65.

Since steels are much harder now, wouldn’t they dominate that S7?

S110V is around 63HRC? Maybe 64? Maxamet is 66 or 67? Rex45 is 65?

How do you think S110V would compare in a chopper ?. At a durable angle.