CPM-S110V - What do ya think?

R

Rhodies

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Jul 27, 2017
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Should I be concerned about reading stories of the edge having problems with chipping, some people stating the edge can be brittle? I am looking at buying a Para 3 in this blade steel or perhaps in s35vn for a back up to my Delica. I drive up to Cook County 5 nights a week and there is a 3" Blade Limit up there.
 
Depends on what you're cutting. If you cut lots of hard tough stuff s35vn will be chip less but go dull faster. S110V will hold an edge significantly longer (not that s35vn is a slouch) but isn't quite as rough and tumble ( not that it's glass brittle).
 
I am very happy with my PM2S110V.
Based on this experience I like s110v better than s30v on spyderco Knives.
 
Alright so S110V is a steel I recently gained experience with, so I will share my insight. It doesn't hold a razor edge terribly long, but far better than S30V. Getting the razor edge takes a lot of work, because the steel is incredibly difficult to sharpen. Basically you have to take your sharpening procedure and multiply the time on each step by like 5. The edge takes a near mirror polish on a surprisingly low grit (mine took it at 3 micron).

How you should sharpen it is based on your experience and tools. If you are comfortable with trying, and you have good stones (SiC or harder), you can take it to mirror with a lot of elbow grease. If you have good stones but aren't comfortable with sharpening it too much, you can leave it at a more coarse finish around 600 grit and it will cut well and for a very light time without even needing to touch it up. If you don't have good stones, and don't want to get any, I'd suggest outsourcing the sharpening.
 
I personally love S110V. I started making knives with it a few years ago and had a bit of an issue profiling the blade. It eats band saw blades (on a portaband) and is impossible to cut using a hacksaw. Takes twice as many belts to grind (soft) and is a bear to polish to anything above a satin finish. It destroys drill bits.

Having said that, for an edc type blade it is the one of my top choices as it will cut for a very, very long time. It performs better at a lower grit edge than polished, but will cut fibers, meat, plant material, leather, plastic, wood, with out issues, and I have never had an issue with the alleged chipping that I keep hearing about. The rust resistance and ability to bring the blade to a higher hardness makes it a choice for me over S90V (I work in and around humidity and water.)
 
No chipping so far, but I cannot get it as sharp as my VG10 or M4. Using diamond all the way.

There’re few tricks and advices I haven’t tried, but if I go through these, and make it work, it will only mean that it’s achievable. Still more trouble than other high end stuff (M4, Or HAP40).
At current state, it cuts fine, just don’t dry shave my face cleanly while others that I tried can do (incl ZDP, Superblue AUS8 and 8Cr13MoV).

Having said that, I only have one sample, Manix 2 Blurple.
 
I see the advantages of s110v with its long lasting working edge and its great corrosion resistance, but it is the most difficult steel I have to sharpen, even with diamond stones. I generally prefer m390/cts204p for my folders.
 
I have a PM2 in S110V and I have had problems with the edge chipping. Doing things that haven't caused problems with s30v or 154cm have chipped s110v. I would prefer the regular Para3 in s30v.
 
My manix2 s110v had chipping. Didn't cut anything hard or even hard use at the time.

After sharpening to a wider bevel it works without issues. Cut up a bunch of carpet. I don't use it much cause it's a wide knife in the pocket but always grab it when I need to use its abilities.

If you want toughness try cruware, m4 etc.
 
dkb45 said:
Alright so S110V is a steel I recently gained experience with, so I will share my insight. It doesn't hold a razor edge terribly long, but far better than S30V. Getting the razor edge takes a lot of work, because the steel is incredibly difficult to sharpen. Basically you have to take your sharpening procedure and multiply the time on each step by like 5. The edge takes a near mirror polish on a surprisingly low grit (mine took it at 3 micron).

How you should sharpen it is based on your experience and tools. If you are comfortable with trying, and you have good stones (SiC or harder), you can take it to mirror with a lot of elbow grease. If you have good stones but aren't comfortable with sharpening it too much, you can leave it at a more coarse finish around 600 grit and it will cut well and for a very light time without even needing to touch it up. If you don't have good stones, and don't want to get any, I'd suggest outsourcing the sharpening.
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That mirrors my experience exactly. I bought a Kershaw Shallot sprint/limited edition and set about beveling/sharpening to my personal preference. I took a long time to do it. I never got the blade really "slicey" and "shaving sharp" like I do most of my other blades.

I love a very sharp knife and touch up the knife in my pocket a few times a week. I subscribe to the thought that any cutting instrument or tool that is dull is more dangerous than one that is properly sharp. I work in construction and I can be hard on blades without meaning to (current pocket champ: ZT 0909!) even though I am careful. The Shallot is a very thin knife and I really like how it fits in the pocket so I thought I would give it a go since I don't need bulk in my pocket with nail bags on top of it. Should have been perfect. Liked the idea of no/little touch up, and long time between sharpenings.

Didn't stay slicey long, had to use my diamond rods to touch it up, and without doing anything more than simply cutting it got a small (but very clean) chip about 1/2 the size of the head of a pin. How? I don't know. I sharpened my carpentry pencils, made a couple of small wood plugs and trimmed some moldings for fit.

When I saw the chip, I was very disappointed and that really put me off Kershaw. I was in the process of "sharpening out" the chip which when realizing the the size of that task, I decided to quit. Too much hassle, and realizing that if the knife will simply chip again under light use I know I won't carry it. Too many other good steels out there for the working man to fiddle with one that doesn't perform well under light use.

Robert
 
I haven't used S110V but from what I have read here and most everywhere else it is a fine steel but for an EDC knife right now in my book it is hard to beat the balanced performance of M390/CTS-204P/CPM-20CV.
 
Haven't had a chance to do anything real intensive with my S110V CF/Ti frankenmillie.

I can say though that it renders down cardboard like no ones business.
 
My Native 5 in 110v has proven to be very prone to chipping. Best steels for me are M4 and Cruwear and spyderco definitely gets the heat treat right on them. If stainless is a must, M390 is great (don’t have a Spydie in it). My Sebenza in S35vn has taken use and even abuse with very little damage, (again I don’t have a Spydie in that steel either).
 
Even though I sharpen my own knives S110 is one that I send out. I only have the KME with Dia stones and it takes forever to sharpen and I just don't have that much patience. If and when I get my Tormek I will resume sharpening at home. My two favorite steels are M4 and M390 and it's counterparts such as CTS 204.
 
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