s30v steel

[colt45er]

So...I hear a lot of good things about s30v steel, but why is it so good?

The reason I ask is my ZT 0301 should be here tomorrow and I am looking and different articles about them and I keep seeing that its a good steel but nothing goes into detail why

 

[Bradsknives]

S30V

The following information has been adapted from the Crucible Materials Corporation Web site and Data Sheets for CPM S30V. It provides some technical comparisons to other common high-end knife steels and can explain, to a degree, why CPM S30V excels.
CPM S30V is a martensitic stainless steel designed to offer the best combination of toughness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance. Its chemistry has been specially balanced to promote the formation of vanadium carbides which are harder and more effective than chromium carbides in providing wear resistance. CPM S30V offers substantial improvement in toughness over other high hardness steels such as 440C and D2, and its corrosion resistance is equal to or better than 440C in various environments.
The process of producing CPM (Crucible Particle Metallurgy) steels involves gas atomization of pre-alloyed molten steel to form powder. This powder is then screened and then isostatically compressed into 100% dense compacts. The CPM process produces steels withe no alloy segregation and extremely uniform carbide distribution characterized by superior dimensional stability, grindability, and toughness compared to steels produced by conventional processes.

Toughness (Transverse Charpy C-notch Testing) Grade Impact Energy
CPM S30V 10.0 ft.lbs.
440C 2.5 ft.lbs.
154CM 2.5 ft.lbs.

The CATRA (Cutlery & Allied Trades Research Association) test machine performs a standard cutting operation and measures the number of silica impregnated cards which are cut (TCC = total cards cut). It is considered a measure of relative wear resistance.
Edge Retention (CATRA Testing Relative to 440C) Grade %
CPM S30V 145%
440C 100%
154CM 120%

 

[tyler34]

in short it is purpose built knife steel, not a tool or other steel adapted for knives.

 

[cubby]

s30v is very good. but it is not the "miracle" steel many made it too be for a few years. it is difficult to sharp without power equipment, if left to dull too much.

but it is a VERY good knife steel. VERY good.

 

[Vlad the Impaler]

I have no difficulty sharpening my S30V blade with wetstones and it stays sharp through average pocket knife use for months.
Powder metalurgy makes for fantastic carbide distribution without the need for solution heat treatment. Like Cubby said, It's not a miracle, but it's damn good.
I wouldn't hesitate to spend a small premium to own another.

 

[CountryBoy19]

in short it is purpose built knife steel, not a tool or other steel adapted for knives.

This is precisly the short, easy answer. Its designed specifically as knife steel and it uses a great deal of special alloy metals and processes.

s30v is very good. but it is not the "miracle" steel many made it too be for a few years. it is difficult to sharp without power equipment, if left to dull too much.

but it is a VERY good knife steel. VERY good.

Well, simple reasoning tells you that if you have an edge that will last a long time against cutting hard/mildly abrasive materials, then its also going to be difficult to sharpen because it is abrasive resistant. Thats the easy explanation. You can either have a knife thats easy to sharpen, but you have to sharpen it frequently, or you have one that doesn't need sharpened often, but its a pain to sharpen when it does need it.

 

[grunt soldier]

country i have to disagree with you. if you keep the s30v blade up , i mean touch it up after good use on a regular its easy to maintain. if you let it go completely thats when its hard to sharpen. and i am by no means good at sharpening.

its a awesome knife steel that keeps a great edge and works very well for edc tasks and the heavier duty ones

 

[CountryBoy19]

country i have to disagree with you. if you keep the s30v blade up , i mean touch it up after good use on a regular its easy to maintain. if you let it go completely thats when its hard to sharpen. and i am by no means good at sharpening.

its a awesome knife steel that keeps a great edge and works very well for edc tasks and the heavier duty ones

But when you compare that to other steels, its more difficult. If you apply a little common sense, a harder/tougher steel isn't going to be as easy to sharpen as a softer one. I agree that its easiest to keep up if you touch it up often, but thats with any knife, its still more difficult than a softer steel.

I wasn't trying to say that you shouldn't get something that is S30V because its harder to sharpen; I personally think its a wonderful knife steel. What I was trying to say is that its all a trade-off. If you want better edge retention you're going to have to give up a little bit of the ease of sharpening.

In college I did a 5 week long project/report on knife steels/materials for my advanced materials engineering course. I can tell you that S30V is one of the best out there, even if it is a little more difficult to sharpen.

 

[Stickfight]

On diamond hones they are all fairly easy to sharpen.

S30V addresses a lot of the problems the highly abrasion resistant tool steels the preceded it had. D2 left ~61RC holds an edge very well, but it chips on hard material. A2 resists chips very well but doesn't hold its edge like D2. BG42 is about as tough as A2 and holds an edge as well or better, but it isn't as stain resistant as D2. ATS-34 resists stains well but chips, and has middling edge holding. Most of the simpler carbon steels fall somewhere in the middle for about everything, though some excel at resisting fracture and such. And so on and so on.

S30V does as well or better than most all the other steel in most every category. Holds an edge very nearly as well as D2. Doesn't chip. Very nearly as tough as A2. Resists stain as well as ATS-34 and similar. Just those things cover a great many cutlery applications.

There are no miracle steels because there are so many things people want to do with knives. If I needed a knife to mostly chop wood with I'd pick INFI or 3V over S30V. If I was very price conscious I'd pick a simple carbon steel. If I was going to submerge the knife in salt water I'd pick H12 or Dendritic Cobalt.

 

[cubby]

you can't beat a good carbon steel on a chopper. "infi" and 3v are cost prohibitive for most things.

 

[tyler34]

"infi" and 3v are cost prohibitive for most things.

SOOOOOOO true!

 

[cubby]

it works for busse, because their customers will pay for it. AFAIK its propriety property. its theirs to use, only. again, AFAIK, maybe not. busse customers will pay the price for it.

3v... grinds like a nightmare, is expensive to buy, in the raw state for a maker, and consumes massive amounts of time to work, especially compared to a carbon steel. but. i hear its the bees knees to use!!! bwahahahha!! where Daigle! DAIGLE!

 

[rhino]

One of things I like about CPM S30V is that it will take a really, really sharp edge. Not all stainless alloys will do that, especially those that won't support a thin edge very well due to the larger carbides they form (e.g. 440C).

 

[cubby]

yep. the fine particles make it much less prone to chipping, and can get those super sharp edges... but the shapest knife i have ever seen/used was out of 1095.... "too sharp" is not often heard... but WOW!!!!!!

speaking of sharp. rj martin. that is all.........

 

[rhino]

Well, yeah. If I have my druthers, I'm going with a high carbon steel like 1095 or one of the tool steels that lends itself to sharpness (D2 does not in my experience, but my experience is limited). 1095 with a good heat treatment will spoil someone. It couldn't be easier to sharpen (any gear will do) and the edge you can achieve (assuming good geometry) is a thing to behold.

The jury is still out on Ka-Bar's rendition of "1095 Cro-Van" in my book. I assume the addition of the chromium and vanadium are for wear resistance or reduce brittleness at higher hardness, but I've had the same results as I do with straight 1095.

If anyone want to experience this, get an old (i.e. before Schrade died) Old Timer model 08 stockman. Reprofile the edge and sharpen. Wow. If you're feeling exceptionally sporty, disassemble the knife and reharden the blades to make them harder. Resharpen and double wow. They'll be a little on the brittle side, but you won't be using this knife to baton through an oak tree either.

Some of the older incarnations of "Carbon V" sold by Cold Steel have been very good too. I know Cold Steel is a dirty word (words?) to some, but many of the products they've sold over the years have been good quality gear. Perhaps the best cutting tools I've ever owned were the original large TwistMasters. They had very wide, flat ground blades made from relatively thin bar stock. The heat treatment for whatever was being labeled Carbon V in those days was superb. Those things will slice like freakin' demons.

Another thing about 1095 is that the heat treatment isn't as tricky as it can be for more exotic alloys. That means it's harder to goof.

 

[Sheltie]

I am not a collector of knives but a user. During the course of a day I use a knife pretty hard.

To test the S30V I bought a Kershaw Blur. I was impressed with how well it held its edge. Sharpening was not as difficult for me, and I'm no expert, but I do get all my knives to shave hair.

S30V is head and shoulders above 154cm in my opinion. This isn't based on reports, it's based on personal real world daily usage.

Colt45er, so what is your opinion now?

 

[colt45er]

Well I love the steel, and my knife.

It is the most difficult knife I have to sharpen becuase well I suck at sharpening.

I haev put my ZT through some tests and it has help up well....which is good becuase I would cry if I broke my $200 knife.

 

[Sheltie]

ZT customer service is awesome. You have nothing to worry about.