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Thread: Knife Steel Article

  1. #11
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    It seems the more reading I do, the more confusing the topic gets. You also have steel snobs that claim X steel is garbage, yada yada, when it has a generally good track record. Seems just as important, if not more so, how the steel is heat treated. You'll read 440C is a good all around steel and keeps price points down, followed by someone claiming it's total crap.
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  2. #12
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    Well even well heat treated 440c will not retain a keen edge anywhere near as long as some the "super" steels. Heat treat is very important, as each steel has a sweet spot where it gets as hard as it can get without getting brittle. 440c hits that point between 55-58 rc, whereas m390 hits it at 61-63 rc. There is no physical way for a 58 to retain an edge as long as a 61, so yes 440c is inferior...not to say garbage.

    I would say the steel should meet the task. I prefer certain steels, but if the best steel costs more than you want to pay and is overkill for the tasks you will use it for, then I can see how someone telling you that x steel is garbage and y steel is what you want...that seems absurd. With how many knifemakers are now producing d2 knives in the $50 and less range, it is easy to get overkill for a good price, and yes properly heat treated d2 will retain an edge longer than properly heat treated 440c. I see a ton of people piss on 440 mostly due to terrible knives made with terrible heat treats have given it a bad name. It is fairly inexpensive to produce, and easy to obtain, so a ton of discount knife makers use it and produce garbage knives...not always the fault of the steel.

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  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by JackFanToM View Post
    Well even well heat treated 440c will not retain a keen edge anywhere near as long as some the "super" steels. Heat treat is very important, as each steel has a sweet spot where it gets as hard as it can get without getting brittle. 440c hits that point between 55-58 rc, whereas m390 hits it at 61-63 rc. There is no physical way for a 58 to retain an edge as long as a 61, so yes 440c is inferior...not to say garbage.

    I would say the steel should meet the task. I prefer certain steels, but if the best steel costs more than you want to pay and is overkill for the tasks you will use it for, then I can see how someone telling you that x steel is garbage and y steel is what you want...that seems absurd. With how many knifemakers are now producing d2 knives in the $50 and less range, it is easy to get overkill for a good price, and yes properly heat treated d2 will retain an edge longer than properly heat treated 440c. I see a ton of people piss on 440 mostly due to terrible knives made with terrible heat treats have given it a bad name. It is fairly inexpensive to produce, and easy to obtain, so a ton of discount knife makers use it and produce garbage knives...not always the fault of the steel.
    Good info, thanx. You'll read about some knife made to fit a purpose and price point, perhaps made of 440c, or 1095 and someone invariably says "...it would be perfect if it were only made with X steel"

    My problem is, if I buy a higher end knife, it sits in the safe cuz I don't want to scratch it! $50 for a knife made from d2 sounds great.
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  4. #14
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    Well, the steel will mini cutjack is like $40 and Bestech has a buncha knives with bearings, g10, and d2 steel all around $50.

    I have a number of knives ranging from $100-300, and I use them all without fear. In the event you want a good knife and are still worried about scratches, send it to me and will stonewash or acid stonewash the blade for you.

    One pic is a ferrum forge Crux that I modded and the other is a Bestech lion that I acid stonewash, sharpened, tuned then gave away.

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  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by JackFanToM View Post
    Well, the steel will mini cutjack is like $40 and Bestech has a buncha knives with bearings, g10, and d2 steel all around $50.

    I have a number of knives ranging from $100-300, and I use them all without fear. In the event you want a good knife and are still worried about scratches, send it to me and will stonewash or acid stonewash the blade for you.

    One pic is a ferrum forge Crux that I modded and the other is a Bestech lion that I acid stonewash, sharpened, tuned then gave away.

    Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
    Nice. Like the mirror edges on them as well. Overkill on an edc knife cuz they don't stay that way, but nice nonetheless. Even Brous is now selling his import D2 lines in the $70 and less range.

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by JackFanToM View Post
    Well, the steel will mini cutjack is like $40 and Bestech has a buncha knives with bearings, g10, and d2 steel all around $50.

    I have a number of knives ranging from $100-300, and I use them all without fear. In the event you want a good knife and are still worried about scratches, send it to me and will stonewash or acid stonewash the blade for you.

    One pic is a ferrum forge Crux that I modded and the other is a Bestech lion that I acid stonewash, sharpened, tuned then gave away.

    Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
    They look great. What steel do you prefer for large fixed blade survival/utility/SHTF knives?
    Last edited by WillBrink; 09-01-18 at 17:51.
    - Will

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  7. #17
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    M390/20CV has pretty much made other steels obsolete for me.

  8. #18
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    For larger survival type knives I would prefer something like 3V. 20CV (M390) for smaller ones. The 20CV will hold an edge better than 3V and more corrosion resistant, but can't take the abuse like 3V can.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adrenaline_6 View Post
    For larger survival type knives I would prefer something like 3V. 20CV (M390) for smaller ones. The 20CV will hold an edge better than 3V and more corrosion resistant, but can't take the abuse like 3V can.
    The 3v fits me just fine. Just depends on what you're using it for.

  10. #20
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    3v and 5160 are my fav fixed blade steels, but 1095 isn't bad when heat treated correctly

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