What's the very best steel for an everyday carry pocketknife?
Published: 3 years ago
Today, I'm remaking an old video, and discussing my thoughts on the best steels for your daily knives, talking about some of the things that matter much more than steel chemistry, and giving my take on the steels that are good, great, bad and ugly for your specific needs.
Common Knife Misconceptions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixCG6p86KPM
Pocketknife 101 Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUmtWgxAY2QDz-TRT-SjCDPbIwAzLtK4R
'Knife Engineering' Book (Affiliate link, if you'd like to support the channel): https://amzn.to/3vFy6wL
And here's the list from the video:
Things that matter more than Steel
- Blade and Edge Geometry
- Heat Treatment
- Stainlessness and other needs
- Your sharpening comfort
- A note on ‘Damascus’
- Steel matters less than you think
My ‘Nope’ Steels
- 3Cr, 4Cr, 5Cr, 7Cr…
- 420/440A/440B
- Cheap Damascus
‘- Surgical Stainless’ or ‘Stainless Steel’
My ‘Probably Not’ Steels
- 1.4116
- 420HC
- 8Cr13MoV
- AUS-8
- H1
- Victorinox
My ‘Solid Budget’ Steels
- 12C27
- 14C28N
- 154CM
- 440C
- 9Cr18MoV and AR-RPM9
- AUS-10A
- CTS-BD1 / Z
- D2*
- N690 / N690Co
- VG-10
My ‘Good to Go’ Steels
- 1095
- 52100†
- AEB-L
- CPM-154 / RWL-34 / ATS-34
- CPM-4V†
- CPM-CruWear
- CPM-D2
- CPM-MAGNACUT†
- CPM-REX45
- CPM REX-121†
- CPM-S30V
- CPM-S35VN
- CPM-S45VN
- CPM-S110V
- CRUFORGE†
- CTS-BD1N
- CTS-XHP
- Damasteel
- Elmax
- HAP-40
- Nitro-V
- PSF-27
- SM100**†
- SPY-27
- Terravantium/Dendritic Cobalt**
- Vanadis 4†
- Z-Max†
My Personal ‘Steels of Choice’
- CPM-3V
- CPM-10V
- CPM-M4
- CPM-S90V
- Damacore
- K390
- LC200N / Z-FiNit
- M390 / CTS-204P / CPM-20CV
- Maxamet
- Sandrin Tungsten Carbide**
- Vanax Superclean
- ZDP-189
Legend
* - ’D2’ means many things and there is an unusual variance in final performance
** - This is not chemically a steel
† - Based on community feedback and data, not personal experience
Where to keep learning
- Knife Engineering (2020) by Dr. Larrin Thomas
- http://knifesteelnerds.com
- TripleBHandmade (Shawn Houston)
- Cedric & Ada Gear and Outdoors on YT
- Knife Steel Composition Apps and Charts
- Forums (e.g. BladeForums, Spyderco Forums)
Common Knife Misconceptions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixCG6p86KPM
Pocketknife 101 Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUmtWgxAY2QDz-TRT-SjCDPbIwAzLtK4R
'Knife Engineering' Book (Affiliate link, if you'd like to support the channel): https://amzn.to/3vFy6wL
And here's the list from the video:
Things that matter more than Steel
- Blade and Edge Geometry
- Heat Treatment
- Stainlessness and other needs
- Your sharpening comfort
- A note on ‘Damascus’
- Steel matters less than you think
My ‘Nope’ Steels
- 3Cr, 4Cr, 5Cr, 7Cr…
- 420/440A/440B
- Cheap Damascus
‘- Surgical Stainless’ or ‘Stainless Steel’
My ‘Probably Not’ Steels
- 1.4116
- 420HC
- 8Cr13MoV
- AUS-8
- H1
- Victorinox
My ‘Solid Budget’ Steels
- 12C27
- 14C28N
- 154CM
- 440C
- 9Cr18MoV and AR-RPM9
- AUS-10A
- CTS-BD1 / Z
- D2*
- N690 / N690Co
- VG-10
My ‘Good to Go’ Steels
- 1095
- 52100†
- AEB-L
- CPM-154 / RWL-34 / ATS-34
- CPM-4V†
- CPM-CruWear
- CPM-D2
- CPM-MAGNACUT†
- CPM-REX45
- CPM REX-121†
- CPM-S30V
- CPM-S35VN
- CPM-S45VN
- CPM-S110V
- CRUFORGE†
- CTS-BD1N
- CTS-XHP
- Damasteel
- Elmax
- HAP-40
- Nitro-V
- PSF-27
- SM100**†
- SPY-27
- Terravantium/Dendritic Cobalt**
- Vanadis 4†
- Z-Max†
My Personal ‘Steels of Choice’
- CPM-3V
- CPM-10V
- CPM-M4
- CPM-S90V
- Damacore
- K390
- LC200N / Z-FiNit
- M390 / CTS-204P / CPM-20CV
- Maxamet
- Sandrin Tungsten Carbide**
- Vanax Superclean
- ZDP-189
Legend
* - ’D2’ means many things and there is an unusual variance in final performance
** - This is not chemically a steel
† - Based on community feedback and data, not personal experience
Where to keep learning
- Knife Engineering (2020) by Dr. Larrin Thomas
- http://knifesteelnerds.com
- TripleBHandmade (Shawn Houston)
- Cedric & Ada Gear and Outdoors on YT
- Knife Steel Composition Apps and Charts
- Forums (e.g. BladeForums, Spyderco Forums)