Knife Gurus !!

[Stockton]

Was checking out different blades and was hoping someone could give a quick and easy on these metals used by various knife makers. By quick and easy I mean cost/durability/holds edge/ease of care and resharpening.

440c
154cm stainless
n690 stainless
cpm s30v
aus 8a
Sandovic 12c27 stainless
high carbon
D-2
VG 10
ATS34
8crMOV
N690Co Stainless
1-95 High Carbon
1095 High Carbon

[s u b k 0 r]

Not really a quick and dirty easy comparison but rather a comprehensive reference with lots of info on the attributes for specific materials used for blades..

http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/blade_materials.html

[Stockton]

Very nice sbuk0r! Thank you

[arfan66]

I'm a bit partial to Benchmade's can you tell? Anyway, here's a no nonsense, layman's guide to blade steels.

http://www.benchmade.com/about_knives/our_blades.asp#Blade_Steels

Click on the table for a metallurgical (sp) breakdown of each steel

As far as edge quality/retention goes I like S30V, D2, ATS-34/154CM amd M2 high speed tool steel. In fact, my sharpest knife was a Benchmade 730 M2 and would would cut a rubberband if you put the blade through the "O" and pulled it tight against the spine and snap released it aginst the edge.

The best corrosion resistance and ease of sharpening goes to the 440 series.

1095 carbon steel will take a keen, very sharp edge but dulls & corrodes easily.

My EDC knives are made of ATS-34/154CM and have sharp, long lasting working edges (i.e. shaves hair but not easily, cuts rope and cardboard all day long). I have high end dress knives made of S30V, D2 and M2 that are scary sharp and stay that way for a while but are a bit harder to resharpen.

Hope this helps.

Former Stockton resident