Thread: Good steel for knives.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Knifeworks has two Benchmades in m390, this is excellent stainless steel, a lot better than s30v or s35vn, prices are right at the 200 mark, take a look.

Good call out. I really want to try M390, but I'm waiting for the price to drop. I have some friends who swear by it. One told me his is a joy to sharpen and keeps the edge.

+1 on what Mainaman said. Most of the new steels perform similarly for edc.

As much as I love sharpening and exploring the differences in the steel, the blade geometry is more important then the mostly minor differences between the high end steels. I tend to buy knives in the $30-$100 range. I'd rather have 10 affordable knives to choose from then 1 or 2 blades costing $150+. This is just my own quirk, my buddies mostly carry one knife above my budget like a benchmade or zero tolerance. For me, my edc choice for the day depends on what I'll be doing that day. For example, if I need a knife to thrash & pry with I'll grab a thick blade with a steeper bevel. For days at the office or around town I'll carry a thin full flat grind that is a fantastic slicer. I think were the biggest difference lies in knife steel amongst the good steels is corrosion resistance. I think there is a big difference there based on your needs. Personally I prefer stainless, but live in the desert and dry my knife thoroughly every time. If I used my knife alot for wet applications or lived in a humid environment it would be a bigger factor. For example, D-2 is a great steel for me but can stain/rust easier then others.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Sounds like D2 may be your candidate, tough as nails and good steel for knives...pretty stain resistant too. I've been wanting to mess around iwth it some with the knives I make. Only problem is that most knives out of D2 are fixed blades, but google is your friend. Thickness and grind is what you will have to pay attention to if you are going to use it hard, I would recommend a flat grind as it's about as tough a grind as you can get.

Lastly, this is going to end up a opinion thing as all the steels listed, if properly heat treated and tempered, will serve you very well. That's the heart and soul of the steel, the heat treat and temper. I believe this was mentioned above, but had to bring it up again as it's the key to any knife. Then you have to worry about ergonomics for you as well as the shape/grind of the blade.

Did I happen to mention the most important part of the knife is the heat treat/temper?

I have found viper knives makes folders in D2

I have not had a knife of theirs. I have beed wanting to try Fallkniven knives. I think my spelling is off.

Originally Posted by cosperryan

I have found viper knives makes folders in D2

I have been carrying this Benchmade for quite a long time. It has a D2 blade and yes...it is an exceptionally durable bit of goods.

I've got a benchmade 710 in M390 - not sure how it is to sharpen cause I haven't had to do it yet
Just like you found online, there are as many steels as there are opinions, and uses. It would seem any of the quality knife manufacturers use quality steels, and probably comes down to use. I have a Mora knife that was like $15 in carbon steel, and it's great.

My EDC is literally a simple ole' Case Saddlehorn Trapper. It's like Proraso, a perfect "middle of the road" that I base all others off of.

So what about a sharp finger. I have been looking at that style for some time now but I have read that the new ones are crap. Is there anyone making some that are good.

Alabama Damascus makes a sharpfinger offshoot. it is Damascus 5160,1n520 and another steel thrown in you would have to do your own handle and they are excellent knives.i have used several of their blanks, you can get them tempered or ground and ready to temper. price is very reasonable. try one you will love it.

Okay - controversy is great...but from personal experience...
D2 is the best all rounder. If you go with a Scandi grind {regardless of the steel} it is also a simple matter to re-sharpen as needed. i use this for my stock removal hunting and outdoor knives.
If it must be fully stain resistant, i use RWL34 for all my kitchen knives. Holds an edge well and takes a beautiful mirror polish. This makes it easy to clean.
M2 makes a great knife that is super tough, but needs more care taken to avoid rust. This is a favourite in the Bladesport type cutting competitions.
Just a few thoughts keeping it to practicality and ease of sourcing the materials.
Forging adds a whole new element in the shapes you can produce from stock {not limited by it} and i love it, but the performance really comes down to profile and heat treatment - does not matter if the preliminary work is stock removal or forging. Those final steps are critical.
Hope that helps a little.

This is one of those subjects that will result in enough different answers to be more confusing than anything else. I've been a bit inot pocket knifes for 5-6 years. Here are my favorite steels.

VG-10: stainless steel, easy to sharpen and can get VERY sharp, holds the edge very well.

CPM S30V: Same as VG-10 (performance related) but holds the edge longer.

CPM M4: I absolutely LOVE this steel. It's a carbon steel but won't corrod nearly as fast as most carbon steels. Just a bit of corrosion control is needed. All knives need that though. VERY good edge retention. This steel is used a lot in chopping and cutting competition.

The steel has mostly to do with how sharp can it get and how long it will stay sharp. How well a knife cuts or performs is as much about the grind. Full Flat Grind (FFG), Hollow grind, saber grind, etc.

In my experience, which is limited, Spyderco has the widest selection of different blade steels. They have lower cost steels also such as 8cR13MoV. It is similar to AUS-8. It's a good steel for EDC at a normally good price.

One thing I believe about edge retention. The job of sharpening has as much (if not more) to do with how long the edge stays sharp. The biggest problem is microscopic burrs. No matter how good the steel is, if you leave very very tiny burrs on the edge after sharpening it will be very sharp. But, after a little use these burrs will break off leaving the edge cutting poorly. Sometimes this will leave the user thinking the blade steel they spent so much on is crap. The reallity may be that a better job of sharpening is needed. I have lived through this and seen it as my sharpening skill improved. VG-10 may stay sharp longer than M4 if the M4 has burrs left on the edge. I'm talking about burrs that are very hard to detect without high magnification (100x at least). When the edge bevels meet perfectly at the edge apex (VERY EDGE) with no burrs (which are made of weakened steel no matter what steel it is) you will have an edge that will last.

You could talk about knife blade steel all day and not repeat yourself. Id ask questions on knife forums. I think what it boils down to is if you get a knife with a history of proven good results you will be fine. Your needs about corrosion will make a difference on SS or non-stainless (carbon) blades. Someone who works on a shrimp boat in the ocean needs stainless steel or even H1 which is advertised as rust proof. Stainless steels are not rust proof. They just 'STAIN LESS".

Good luck