Steels??

What kind of steel is in your custom or production?

What do all those numbers mean anyone curious? AUS8, s30v?

Does it really matter to you? or as long as you can get it sharp and it cuts all that matters?


What would like to see in your knives?

Spencer

I have an extensive collection of custom knives from many makers using all types of steels. It seems that very often brand new steels are developed which represent the ultimate. In fact the qualities of steels vary widely but fall along very similar paths. Is one the best? No. A blade so hard that it is virtually one which will never dull will be virtually impossible to sharpen and may very well be brittle. Most of my custom knives aren't found with me in the woods getting beat up and losing their collectability anyway, they're in case for looking and admiring. Those with me in the field (my EDC is a Swiss Army knife!) were purchased for use and, are fairly easy to sharpen and hard to rust.

What is the significance of the numbers? Composition of the steel and method of production.


Karl

My EDC is a Benchmade Stryker, in 154CM.

I didn't buy it for the steel, I bought it for the feel of the handle and the way it rides in my pocket. I'd like to see more done with H1 steel, which I've found to be very nice in an aquatic environment..

EDC: Kershaw Leek
[SIZE=-1]440A Stainless
nothing expensive...bought because it looked "unusual"
[/SIZE]

I think the S30V is one of the "top" American made steels. AUS8 is German, if I'm not mistaken. As has already been mentioned, the different steels have different qualities. Some are more rust proof than others and require less attention. Some will sharpen much sharper than others, but may not be able to retain the edge as well (dulls more easily) as a steel that won't get as sharp. Like wise, some steels will stay sharp for much longer than others. Some sharpen more quickly than others, too. And some are better for taking a beating (like in a good Ax or hatchet). Some steels will do better in wet/salty environments (marine).

People (or knife makers) will often choose specific steels for specific purposes. For me, I'm pretty fond of 154CM. I've got some blades with other steels, but I've not yet used them to cut *anything*, so I can't really extol their virtues. So far, though, the 154CM (on my Benchmade Benchmite) is the sharpest thing I've come across (scary is the word...), but who knows, I may have something sharper on my shelf!

SAR said:

What kind of steel is in your custom or production?...What do all those numbers mean anyone curious? AUS8, s30v?...Does it really matter to you? or as long as you can get it sharp and it cuts all that matters?

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Functionality is all that matters to me.

I think much of the promotion of so-called "super" steels for knife blades amounts to marketing hype.

I have several ancient carbon steel knives that still cut and hold an edge well enough to satisfy me. I don't like knives that are difficult to sharpen. I don't like knives with very hard blades that may have a tendency to chip or crack under hard use.

I've seen people damage expensive custom and semi-custom blades while performing cutting chores that weren't all that demanding IMHO. The edges chipped out and in one case the blade cracked.

Those blades chipped or broke while performing woodcrafting chores that were within the normal operating capabilities of much less expensive knives with carbon or less brittle stainless blades.

.

Nice and varied answers I understand how the "super steels" get hyped up, as we know the steel combined with good heat treat create the "soul" of the knife.

Carbon steel is a proven performer and has been in use much longer than its stainless steel cousins, but the problem with carbon is its ability to rust if not cared for. Carbon steel is very easy to get an edge but has a hard time keeping it ( depending whats being cut ) Being able to to do whats called "selective hardened" makes carbon a good choice for say a large chopper, sword etc
"The simple alloys can also be selectively hardened, not with a fancy temper line, but with a softer back that will make the spine and tang less susceptible to breakage. All you have to do is take the blade up to heat very quickly, getting the thin parts along the edge hot before the thicker spine. You could also just dip the cutting edge into the oil, allowing the spine to cool more slowly, not hardening it."


The "Super steels" and there are a lot of them have lots of merits, easy to maintain, keeps it edge sharp and sharper longer. There are lots of trade offs and it becomes a decision of what might be the intended use of the tool for instance when a maker increases the toughness he in fact reduce's the strength of the knife.

I really not looking to get into arguements about steel and want to establish that I do not have a degree in metallurgy. I do however take it very seriously reading, studying and asking question of people that do know.


CPM 154 CM is my go to steel for a majority of my designs, its time tested, holds a great edge, tough, strong, priced well and for the end user is easy to maintain an edge.

Here is a page that has some good info written so you can understand it and not so long you lose interest. http://www.knifeart.com/steelfaqbyjo.html

We could also walk down another path of cryo quenching?

No drama just good conversation

Spencer

da.gee said:

Here's a nice table:

knife steel info

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That is very good info, there are lots of reference's out there some are harder to understand than others.

Thanks
Spencer

a little off topic, but anyone like D2 steel?
still thinking about one of these: http://tinyurl.com/ytqv2w

D2 is very tough stuff the target hardness for me is about 60-61, it will rust as it is a semi stainless.

It has a very large carbide structure which produces a very "toothy-edge" great for cutting rope etc.

The knife in question has a coating so you will not have to worry about rust.

Crucible did a small run of CPM D2 I have a few bars in the shop, makes a great blade.

Lastly it always seems when a new steel comes out it is compared to D2

Spencer

:thanks: I'm not a blade-head so stuff like carbon composition, hardness scale... that sort of things are Greek to me

Just as I am not a super duper flashlight guy, but I would like to know what makes things tick, such as the steel in a knife is the most important thing going and how it applies to what you may use it for.

Form follows function it seems like a catch phrase but its the truth.

Spencer

Spencer, why aren't more folks using the rustproof H1 steel? Any idea?

My edc is a Strider SnG and it has S30V bladesteel, but my favorite fixed is D2 (ontario RAT-3) and my small knife is 154cm (mini grip), i have noticed alot of custom knife makers use 154cm i guess because it is easy to work with.

I don't usually purposely go for better steels, I get knives depending on style, size, and shape, but if the option is present I do go for a higher end steel, for example, one of my EDC's is a D2 griptilian, I ahve ownd the original version with 440C, then had a 154CM version, and now have a D2 version...I find that they al perform well for average tasks, but the D2 has much better edge retention, so I do not have to sharpen it as often as I did the 154CM blade, and the 440C...For simple, light to medium cuttign jobs, most steels will work fine for you, just depedns on how good you are at sharpenign, and how often you would want to tocuh up your blades, for me sharpening is just as fun as using the knife, so I don't mind or snuff off cheaper steels like AUS-8, 440C, and carbon steels like 1095...They are all nice and they all ahve their advantages one way or another...may it be ease of sharpening, edge retention, or maybe just value...Blade steel is a preference thing, whats good for one person might not be good for another, if you can try to get a hold of different steesl to see what fits your needs...


Alton Brown put it best when he said knife steels are like cakes...they all have the baisic ingredients like flour, water, sugar, etc...but each cake has different flavors, shapes, and designs...different variations as to how much of each ingredient is what makes the differences between steels...

Most of my favorite knives are VG-10 or S30V. I prefer VG-10 over S30V but the knife that sees the most action seems to be the S30V one, by virtue of its design.

ACMarina said:

Spencer, why aren't more folks using the rustproof H1 steel? Any idea?

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because its allround performance isnt as good as some other steels.

My favorite steel is actually one that used to be popular.... not anymore.:sigh:

AUS-8A.

Took and held an edge well, easier to sharpen than ATS-34, more rust-resistant and cheaper than ATS-34.

All of the above is based on personal experience.

Illum_the_nation said:

a little off topic, but anyone like D2 steel?

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I actually have some sharpening skills, and a nice assortment of sharpening kits & systems.... All I can say is, I'd rather try sharpening a block of cement than taking on D2.