S30V vs. 154CM

[jahwarrior]

what is the practical difference between the two? i don't want the chemical makeup; that's like reading latin. just the physical differences between them: edge retention, toughness, all that good stuff. is one better than the other? or will it make a difference for a working knife? thanks, guys.

 

[hso]

Kinda like asking what's the best gun? For what?

There's probably no practical difference for a working knife as long as you're talking about a knife blade. It's much more important for you to learn to sharpen.

154CM: An American made premium grade stainless steel originally developed for tough industrial applications. Known for its best all-around qualities, it offers great corrosion resistance with good toughness and edge quality.

S30V: An American made and developed premium grade stainless steel created especially for knives. It is a powder made steel with a uniform carbide distribution and clean steel properties. As a blade material it offers excellent corrosion resistance and superb edge qualities.

D2: An air-hardened tool steel, which offers good corrosion resistance and excellent mileage in wear resistance. A good choice for hard use applications.

440C: A high-chromium stainless steel with a terrific balance of good hardness and corrosion resistance. 440C takes a nice edge and is fairly easy to resharpen. An excellent value priced steel for its performance.

N690: An Austrian made stainless steel, which is comparable to 440C in performance and value. Keen edge qualities with great corrosion resistance.

9Cr13CoMoV: A Chinese made high-carbon stainless steel with increased levels of cobalt added for greater edge retention. Offers a higher level of corrosion resistance at a great value.

AUS-8: A Japanese made medium-carbon, high chromium stainless steel, which offers a good balance of toughness, edge sharpness and corrosion resistance.

8Cr14MoV: A Chinese steel with similar performance characteristics to AUS-8. An excellent value priced steel for its performance.

X15 T.N: This French steel was developed for the aircraft industry for jet ball bearings, as well as the medical industry for scalpels. It has the ability to resist rust in the worst of conditions while maintaining ample edge retention. The capability behind this steel is in the way it is manufactured, resulting in the finest steel for use in harsh environments such as salt water. The edge on an X15 T.N blade is easier to maintain.

 

[Valkman]

S30V should probably be compared to CPM154 as it'll have much more wear resistance than 154CM.

 

[alaskanativeson]

May I ask a similar question here? What are the practical differences between D2 and CPMD2?

 

[JTW Jr.]

Majority of the people couldn't tell the diff between S30v to CPM154 to ATS34 in actual use.

You also have to factor in the HT , which makes all the diff in the world , as does a real cryo quench ( not just a simple toss in a home freezer ).

HT'd correctly , for a working knife , you won't notice a difference.

 

[Valkman]

May I ask a similar question here? What are the practical differences between D2 and CPMD2?

From what I've seen (when both have equal heat treat) CPMD2 stays sharper longer.

 

[hso]

What Don says is the same as Walter Brend. CPMD2 makes for a very wear resistant steel.

 

[damyankee]

I have a 806 D2 I use for everything for at least over a year now and it would still cut whatever if I need it to.

Since were on this topic, what about CPM-M4? I have the 12800 and what I read about the materials of the blade it sounds crazy strong.

 

[Valkman]

CPM M4 is crazy tough - I don't know how anyone grinds it or sharpens it.