What are the best knife metals?

[budlight]

After a 20-year hiatus from collecting custom knives (Pendleton, Smith, Sorenson, etc.) when 440C was the latest and greatest knife steel, I recently came to find so many new high-tech metals being utilized by knifemakers today. So I have to ask what are the latest and greatest steels being used for working knives, folders, combat, etc?

Mike

 

[yclo]

S30V?

 

[ChrisA]

My choice for large fighting/hard-use knives would be CPM-3V, INFI, or 52100. For smaller knives or folders I'd choose S-60V, S-90V, VG-10 or good ol' tool steel...

Chris

 

[Joe Talmadge]

For folders, the latest buzz is:

1. Particle Metallurgy steels (from Crucible). I personally am not a fan of S60V, but for pure wear resistance, there's S90V. And if you're willing to sacrifice some wear resistance for a lot more toughness (which is usually a good tradeoff) there's S30V, which may end up king of the mountain.

2. Vanadium alloyed ingot steels. BG-42, for example, is fairly close to ATS-34 but with vanadium, plus BG-42 is VIM/VAR. So BG-42 is clean, fine grained, highly wear-resistant, tough. For a step down, but to see what vanadium can do, check out VG-10.

3. Cobalt alloys. Maybe they're just being re-discovered. These alloys, like stellite 6k and talonite, are extremely wear resistant and are tough, but are very weak, which in my opinion limits their usefulness. But, they're a favorite of many people, and command a premium.

4. The re-discovery of some old tool steel favorites for folders. Benchmade's move of putting M-2 on their flagship AFCK has led to a bunch of tool steel options, including Kabar, Camillus, and Benchmade offering some D2 folders, etc.

Joe

 

[ZENGHOST]

My favorite is ATS34/154CM. It's a good balance between ease of sharpening and edge holding.

 

[tkl]

S30V

 

[Sorridsky]

http://www.bkcg.co.uk/guide/steels.html

take a peek there,
Stainless Damascus Supersteel would be my pick,
but then I've yet to find anyone that uses it!

 

[FC.]

S30V

 

[ledfanfromjuno]

Here are my favorite wish list knife metals for what is readily available as premade knives and the prices for the knives:

Best overall sharpenning, edge holding, corrosion resistance is rumorred to be infi steel:

http://www.bussecombat.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi

Strongest steel knives readily available is supposed to be Cpm3v but it's supposed to be harder to sharpen but with the spyderco sharpmaker with the diamond rod option it should be fine:

http://www.fehrmanknives.com/knives.htm
http://store.yahoo.com/knifeart/nkonspeced.html
http://www.hossom.com/gallery/page7.html

S30v is supposed to be a great all around steel for edge holding, ease of sharpenning and corrosion resistance:

This store has lots of s30v knives http://store.yahoo.com/knifeart/index.html
SO does this store http://www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com/
I like Chris Reeve's knives in s30v, his large plain sebenza which I have and his green beret fixed knive which I don't have.

THis place has a neat looking throwing knife:
http://www.americantomahawk.com/index.htm


Born out of rigorous live-testing at Best Ranger Competition 2002, Fort Benning GA, the Airborne Ranger enlisted as a throwing knife, built to endure the rigors of countless throws by our nation's elite Army Rangers. Today, upgraded with precision machined cutting bevels, hand-finished razor sharp edges, and a glare reducing glass bead-blast finish, the Airborne Ranger has dropped into the LZ for battle...anywhere.

The massively strong, integral design affords the user a complete sense of security in doing ANYTHING with this knife. The swath cutting double-edge pattern is a cross between the Roman Short Sword or Gladius, the Roman Scaramax, and the late COL Rex Applegate's Combat Smatchet.

Most double edged knives couldn't dream of standing up to what the Airborne Ranger has already defeated. We WANT you to throw this knife. We WANT you to fearlessly engage any target, any task, and any job meant for a knife or not, get the job done, and move on. Your Airborne Ranger will be itching for the next mission.



Airborne Ranger Combat Knife

Steel: H-13, .375 or 3/8th stock
Blade: Double-edge, precision fly-cut bevels
Construction: Integral, cord wrapped handle
Overall Length: 11.75
Blade Length: 6.5
Width at Guard: 2
Blade Width: 1.5
Rockwell C Hardness: 54-56
Finish: glass bead-blast
Sheath: London Bridge Tactical Nylon

Price: $185.00

 

[FalconFX]

M2HS tool steel (on a Benchmade)...

 

[Medic2110]

It would depend on what the knife will be used for...Personally, I like 440V for its long-term edge holding. VG-10 is easy to sharpen and takes an extremely sharp edge. 8A is also easy to maintain but doesn't hold its edge as long. S30V also seems like it will be a great steel, but I do not have any experience with it at this point.