Recommendation? Is S30V the right steel?

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Buck268

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So I've been using S30V for many years and I've tried to love it. I mean, nothing wrong with it but just doesn't seem to be much better than VG-10 for me. I generally use my knives pretty light duty. Letter envelopes, packages, etc. Seems like a lot of packages are coming with that heavy paper and corded tape these days. While this is generally light duty use, I like to keep my edges rather keen- I like to be able to readily shave arm hair at any time. When this is no longer possible its time to touch up.

Is there a main-stream steel which would be better suited to this than S30V by any meaningful margin? I'm mainly experienced with Spyderco but I do have a 940 in the mail currently. So it will be interesting to compare the performance of the same steel between the two companies.
 
I'm curious.....are you sure you've totally removed the wire edge, or have an extremly shallow bevel angle?

S30v should be laughing at your usage. If it seems like it is goin dull after opening a single package, especially cutting tape rather than strip after strip of cardboard....something is wrong.

It's either the steel isn't heat treated right (spyderco is known for doing heat treats well) or the edge that's shaving for you is really the wire edge and is folding over and making your knife seem to be dulled quickly.

Having the wire edge issue is a very common reason to have a "very sharp" knife in testing (shave hair, paper slice, etc) that behaves like a dull knife very quickly.
 
I’ve never used S30 but I have used S35VN. I like it. Easy to sharpen and it holds an edge pretty well for all the basic stuff.
 
I am an s30v fan. Properly treated s30v is awesome. Highly underrated I think. If it’s dulling cutting paper and tape, like you say, then something is wrong. Either heat treat is off or the wire edge isn’t gone. I have two main users, a shiro and an al Warren, in that steel and both wouldnt have a problem with what you describe.
 
S30V is a terrific steel, along with S35Vn, but lately I've come to appreciate tool steels like 3V and CPM-M4 as very close to equivalent and easier to hone to a scary sharp edge.
 
As others have mentioned, for your uses S30V should work just fine. You could look at other steels like XHP, S35VN, Maxamet, and they are marvelous for EDC. Just make sure you got the right sharpening equipment (and patience!) to maintain them.

Enjoy your blades and happy hunting.
 
S30v is pretty much the standard, not sure there really is any steel that is more popular and better?

You could try D2 which may bridge the gap between edge holding of s30v and Vg10. 20cv is slightly better than s30v. Maybe try another brand as heat treatment can make the same steel very different.
 
Alberta Ed said:
S30V is a terrific steel, along with S35Vn, but lately I've come to appreciate tool steels like 3V and CPM-M4 as very close to equivalent and easier to hone to a scary sharp edge.
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I have developed the same tastes lately. The only downside to the tool steels is corrosion but that hasn’t been a problem yet.

Op, is your knife a PM2? I think Spyderco messed up the heat treat on a lot of them. I have bought a couple of PM2s and sold them because I was in genera disappointed with them. Edge holding was one of my complaints.
 
I have a couple of knives in S30v and it is a great steel. Easy to sharpen with ceramic benchstones and stays sharp for a reasonable length of time. I agree that you may have a wire edge burr from sharpening.
 
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Finger nail polish remover works real good to clean tape gunk off..
 
Keep in mind, a few years ago when S30V was new, it was almost considered a "super steel." But like everything else with technology, it goes so quickly that now often, people will look down on it.

Its a GREAT steel and for most people. If you are noticing it getting dull from your daily tasks quickly, you could have a wire edge, or as others have said, there may be residue from packages left on the bevel, which will cause drag and make it feel duller. Try using rubbing alcohol to clean off edge and see if that makes it any different before touching it up.
 
Personal tastes thing. For me, personally? I don't really like S30V. I use it, because of the knife it's built around. My knife uses are very light duty, and a keen, razor edge is very useful to me. S30V loses that razor edge if you sneeze on it (just my experience), so for the difficulty in sharpening a truly dull S30V blade, it's not worth it for me.

Yes, I realize S30V holds a working edge a long time. But for me personally, that is not an important thing.

But I enjoy knives and I still adore my PM2. Even if the S30V isn't a good fit for me.
 
I'm going to write something that might not be very popular with the huge amount of videos out there, on shaving sharp, hair-splitting, mirror edge knives, etc., and their sharpening ... but it's true for me:

I realized that (1) shaving and (2) most other tasks around the house are different: there is not much practical use for a shaving sharp knife, other than for - well shaving - or in the kitchen, for cutting meat in particular.

For all other house-hold tasks, opening boxes, cutting tape, whittling, etc., a coarser edge is much more useful. These days, I sharpen all my knives on a medium ceramic Spyderco stone (around 600 grain ?) and am happy with the slightly coarse long-lasting edges.

In this context s30v does pretty well, but m390 and s90v are better, if you want to stay stainless. If corrosion is not a huge factor, there are many even better choices, like zdp189, m4, 10v, k390, etc.

Roland.
 
Billy The Hungry said:
Personal tastes thing. For me, personally? I don't really like S30V. I use it, because of the knife it's built around. My knife uses are very light duty, and a keen, razor edge is very useful to me. S30V loses that razor edge if you sneeze on it (just my experience), so for the difficulty in sharpening a truly dull S30V blade, it's not worth it for me.

Yes, I realize S30V holds a working edge a long time. But for me personally, that is not an important thing.

But I enjoy knives and I still adore my PM2. Even if the S30V isn't a good fit for me.
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I tend to agree with you....
These harder steels are great for holding an edge, but harder to sharpen.

Something like aus8 would be a great idea for light use because all OP would need to do is strop it when it gets appreciably less sharp, doesn't need special stones, and isn't hard to get screaming sharp.
 
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