Thoughts on s90v

[StaysharpStaystrapped]

So ever since I've been researching s90v I've run into quite a few people with a kind of negative opinion on it. Generally it seems to come down to the brittleness and it's tendency to be chippy. I really didn't have hands on with it to form my own opinion until a month ago when I bought a para 2 in s90v. And I have got to say that I think it's absolutely fantastic. I haven't had one problem with the blade dulling or chipping with it being my everyday carry. Now I don't go around beating rocks with it but I am pretty tough on my knives and tend to use them as the tool they are. Is there something I'm missing here?

[Michael Janich]

Dear StaysharpStaystrapped:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

[weeping minora]

If it works for you, you are missing nothing. Or maybe I'm missing something ?

Don't worry so much about what others think about things that ultimately work for you. That shouldn't have an affect on your use, enjoyment, etc. of such a hobby, tool, etc.

[apollo]

I have 3 spydies in s90v 2 of them i use frequently.
And like you i never had any problems with them.
But i guess the thing we are missing is just that people on forums have the urge to push there opinion without research first.
In my personal use S90V is amazing (eventough i prefer s30v in the end because well for me the extra cost from super steels doesn’t make them really much better in my eyes)
But s90v has slowly fallen off the podium because some newer fancier steels has come around.
And i feel on forums people like to let older stuff stand in a bad light just because they want to push to get the new stuff more…
So i would not be surprised if those people that are negative over s90v or s110v for example just want all there future knives be Magnacut asap just because that is the new cool kid on the block and they fear that good advertisement over an older steel may couse them to need to wait even longer for there steel fix…

Basically Steeljunkies have the same problem as Girls do that follow fashion in clothes there is always something new and the older stuff is never good enough anymore…

[vilePossum]

I prefer S90V over a lot of other steels, even m390... but maybe I am just imagining things. Using diamonds plates on a guided system and a diamond paste loaded strop it feels like it is easier to sharpen and deburr.
Never had the pm2 and the manly or the custom opinel chip on me. But I try to avoid such scenarios by US jg the knives appropriately...
I guess if I were to do some chopping around the backyard or the woods I would prefer something different, but I don't...
If it is good enough for Phil Wilson and other makers I guess it is good enough for me, especially as I never had these issues.

[jmj3esq]

S90V happens to be my favorite all around knife steel. I carry a Spyderco Drunken in S90V every day. I have sharpened it on my KME at 17 dps to a mirror finish and I have had absolutely no problems with chipping. I haven't tried batoning wood or anything too stressful, but for every day use i've had no issues. I want to see another Manix 2 S90V sprint!

[Steeltoez83]

M398 did better in my edge retention testing. But s90v has better strength, better toughness, and the user has more freedom in the edge finish than M398. The heat treat spyderco puts on s90v is fantastic. Anyone telling you differently is either delusional or speaking from no real world experience. Id rather talk to actual users not armchair quarterbacks on the subject.

[p_atrick]

In my opinion S90V is amazing but it has slowly fallen off the podium because some newer fancier steels has come around...

I don't disagree, but the steels that best S90V in edge retention happen to be tool steels. We are extrapolating the opinions of those for whom a tool steel works just fine as general knife knowledge. If you want excellent edge retention and good corrosion resistance, S90V is one of your best options.

Getting back to the OP's thoughts, they have hit upon the second mantra* of this forum, experiment for yourself and find out what works best for you.

* The first mantra, of course, is "buy both".

[Giygas]

Yep.

That seems to be the consensus once people use it after reading all the opinions on the internet from people who've never used it.

Great steel.

[Sharp Guy]

I see people parrot the whole chippy and brittle thing about a few different steels including S90V. That's one of the reasons I don't pay much attention to some of the other forms of media. I've been very happy with the knives I have with S90V

[Doc Dan]

S90V is a fantastic steel. I like it a lot better than S110V. I like K390 a bit better, but the S90V is stainless. I don't know anyone who poo-poos on S90V. I'd have to ask myself why? What's the agenda? What real experience to they have? Are they 13 years old?

[gooeytek]

S90V is my favorite bladesteel. It doesn't need sharpening for a very long time, just touchups on the strop once in a while.
I favor it over other bladesteels so much that even my newest customs are in S90V.
It's good enough for Larrin and Phil, it's good enough for me

[wrdwrght]

If you want steels that Sal and Eric favor, among the many available to them, you may want S90V.

If you like carbon-fiber scales, you will find S90V often paired with them, at least in Golden models.

If edge-holding and sharpening-response are important to you, you will find that Spyderco’s S90V is excellent at offering both.

BTW, in my years of chasing steels here, I have learned that brittleness and chipping are not a problem in the steels Spyderco provides us. The problem has been me not completely ridding an edge of its burr.

Being structurally weak, burrs are what’s “brittle”. They “chip”. Annoyingly, “chips” get caught on stuff.

Harder steels (ones with vanadium, such as S90V) tend not to produce burrs as plastic, thus persistent, as tougher steels.

[Stas]

I have Native Chief and Siren in S90V and both are awesome. It is on top of my list among K390, M390 and Cruwear.

I heard it is Sal's favorite steel.

[Fireman]

Captain obvious says, “If your knife is chipping, you need to match your edge angle to your tasks so this does not happen.” That said, like real estate, Heat treat, heat treat and heat treat.

[Spyderwebs]

Another vote for S90V being one of my favorite steels. Definitely my favorite stainless steel (but I have not tried the legendary Magna).

S90V likes strooping. I can keep it sharp with just the standard SM and stroop. If (when) I do some bad edge damage, I will probably need CBN/Diamond stones to fix it, as BBB stated the vanadium carbide is harder than the standard SM ceramic stone, so to do serious reprofiling super abrasives are probably warranted.

But overall its great. I like it much more than M390/20CV/204P, VG10, and S110V. Dont be scared. Many of the best sub-models IMO are S90V variants.

[Traditional.Sharpening]

So ever since I've been researching s90v I've run into quite a few people with a kind of negative opinion on it. Generally it seems to come down to the brittleness and it's tendency to be chippy. I really didn't have hands on with it to form my own opinion until a month ago when I bought a para 2 in s90v. And I have got to say that I think it's absolutely fantastic. I haven't had one problem with the blade dulling or chipping with it being my everyday carry. Now I don't go around beating rocks with it but I am pretty tough on my knives and tend to use them as the tool they are. Is there something I'm missing here?

Yes, most any steel will be difficult to chip with the factory 17 DPS edge bevel as it's VERY heavy duty. You're essentially seeing the effect of the volume of steel behind the apex more than the steel itself. Cut the edge bevel angle in half and put it through the same use and see if you still feel that way about it. 8-10 DPS would likely be a different result for you.

[TkoK83Spy]

I bet a lot of the complaints are from people still using the factory edge. I've had that happen with 2 of my Rex45 knives (micro chipping on the factory edge) Take it down a few degrees on some diamond stones and you're good to go. I'm willing to bet many S90V complaints are similar...gotta give it some love on the stones before casting a true impression.

[Freediver]

s90v is one of my favorites with excellent edge retention. The Golden s90v/CF sprints are amazing.

[Albertaboyscott]

My only issue with s90v is that we dont see enough of it! Please stop putting it into carbon fibre sprints and do a regular production run with it. Don't get me wrong, carbon sprints are awesome but also very expensive. It's kinda made s90v "unobtainable" for the most part.