Under $50 - What is your favorite blade steel?

Thank you, The_Iron_Joe The_Iron_Joe ! Another question right away: K110, supposed to be D2, made in one of Bohler’s Chinese factories… What exactly is the difference between the K110 and D2, besides of course different nomenclature, I’d guess, because of different manufacturers. And is such animal as “Powdered D2” steel exists ?
 
I don't have a favorite in that price range. There are lots of excellent options, but I definitely have some least favorites. Considering what is available in the under $50 category these days, 8cr and below is a non-starter, and if it's got AUS 8 it better blow me away.
 
POCEH KOCEB said:
Thank you, The_Iron_Joe The_Iron_Joe ! Another question right away: K110, supposed to be D2, made in one of Bohler’s Chinese factories… What exactly is the difference between the K110 and D2, besides of course different nomenclature, I’d guess, because of different manufacturers. And is such animal as “Powdered D2” steel exists ?
Click to expand...
As far as I know, K110 is essentially AISI D2 standard, which is interesting as, apparently, according to buildusingsteel.org...

CARBON AND ALLOY STEELS: AISI used to designate certain standard grades of carbon and alloy steel bars, blooms, billets, slabs and rods with specified ladle chemistry ranges and limits (e.g., AISI 1040 steel). However, AISI is no longer directly involved with the development and/or maintenance of standard steels. The Association for Iron and Steel Technology has assumed these activities and AIST’s publication, “Pocket Book of Standard Wrought Steels,” provides current information.
Click to expand...

So, there's that.

A more useful answer would be to recommend checking out this particular chart; https://zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=K110, d2&hrn=1&gm=0
And, Bohler's website also contains some good information here; https://www.bohler-edelstahl.com/en/products/k110/

You can see that they really are quite similar in composition. Actual differences in testing would be interesting to see.

As far as a powdered D2, I am aware of CPM-D2, which is a powdered version of the ingot steel. I'm not sure if there are other variants out there.
 
I have a piece of Bohler K110, in the form of a CRKT Onion Skinner. Takes a toothy edge, holds it acceptably well, easy enough to resharpen. It does color some with use, but doesn't tend to rust easily, with minimal care. About like D2.
Steel choice is a personal thing, to some degree. I get that. And not all steels will make a good knife. But, in conversation with Blackie Collins many years ago, he imparted a piece of wisdom that has stuck with me.

There's no such thing as a bad knife steel. If it can be hardened above about 55RC, it will make a perfectly serviceable knife. Proper heat treatment is more important than steel type. Better steels will perform better, all things being equal,
but proper cutting technique is more important than brute strength. Don't get too hung up on steel. It's a knife, a tool for cutting stuff. Get that part right, and everything else is gravy.
 
POCEH KOCEB said:
Thank you, The_Iron_Joe The_Iron_Joe ! Another question right away: K110, supposed to be D2, made in one of Bohler’s Chinese factories… What exactly is the difference between the K110 and D2, besides of course different nomenclature, I’d guess, because of different manufacturers. And is such animal as “Powdered D2” steel exists ?
Click to expand...

I thought I answered this previously but it might have been in another thread.

K110 is effectively D2 but made by Bohler. At least according to Larrin, it is NOT made in China. The supposed advantage in Chinese knives is that the imported K110 is either cleaner or made under tighter quality control than the usual Chinese D2. I haven't used it and I haven't seen any testing to confirm those ideas.

CPM-D2 is the powdered-steel version of D2. It is made by Crucible. At least in theory, it has slightly improved toughness and might have better edge retention. I've never used it.
 
POCEH KOCEB said:
Ok, who manufactures it, if you can share please ?
Click to expand...

Chronovore Chronovore Beat me to it :) Steels noted with the CPM prefix are made by Crucible; CPM-S30V, CPM-20CV, etc...

Chronovore said:
CPM-D2 is the powdered-steel version of D2. It is made by Crucible. At least in theory, it has slightly improved toughness and might have better edge retention. I've never used it.
Click to expand...
 
Well, thank you both for your answers ! I know that the pre-fix CPM applies for the Crucible manufacturer, maybe I should ask differently - do you know about a knife with blade of such steel… ?
 
EatingSarma said:
I don't know where's this information from, but I know some people even claiming Sanrenmu produces Spydercos, Benchmades and whatnot, so I decided to take a look myself.

"Because of this, Realsteel Knives ensures the consistent high quality and high product safety through 100% self-production."

That quote is directly from their website. They claim to produce all of their products in same factory and to produce all of their products themselves.
Click to expand...
RealSteel is made at Sanrenmu，this is clear confirmed info. if you are a guy working in local folding knife industry.RealSteel is located in Hangzhou，China. The company is small ，around 10 people？ They can‘t make the knives themselves
 
There’s a lot of good steels in the $50 price range. But, if forced to pick one I’d have to go with D2. A knife with well done D2 (optimum heat treat - blade and edge geometry) can about hold its own with M390 which is a much more premium and expensive blade steel.
 
Most of the answer here are expected.

I would like to say 440 series (especially the 440C and its equivalent such as 9Cr18mov), AUS-8 (8cr13/14mov) and D2 quality wildly with price, those above 50USD/60CAD are generally much better. Otherwise, they are more or less the same across the board aside from stainless vs non-stainless.

I also don't understand why some people are fine with 420HC, but avoiding AUS-6 like plague even though AUS-6 is composition wise better than 420HC .

On partially related note, I contacted some chinese companies/factories about their steels, some responded that they go full with AISI/AIST/big brands name instead their xCrxMov because no one would buy, for example the D2 knives if they used the Cr12mov designation. While big brand name are generally immune from that.
 
Deino said:
Most of the answer here are expected.

I would like to say 440 series (especially the 440C and its equivalent such as 9Cr18mov), AUS-8 (8cr13/14mov) and D2 quality wildly with price, those above 50USD/60CAD are generally much better. Otherwise, they are more or less the same across the board aside from stainless vs non-stainless.

I also don't understand why some people are fine with 420HC, but avoiding AUS-6 like plague even though AUS-6 is composition wise better than 420HC .

On partially related note, I contacted some chinese companies/factories about their steels, some responded that they go full with AISI/AIST/big brands name instead their xCrxMov because no one would buy, for example the D2 knives if they used the Cr12mov designation. While big brand name are generally immune from that.
Click to expand...

I avoid 420HC like the plague. 🧐

440C is a steel that can be pretty good with a decent heat treatment. The trouble is that in a lot of the budget production knives where we see it used today, it doesn't get a very good heat treatment. On the other end of that, check out any of the knives in 9Cr18Mov from Sencut or Civivi. They get a fantastic heat treatment and the edge retention is about as good as it gets on the budget end.

Chinese D2 is a bit of a mess. It's entirely possible that there are different sources for it in China or that the 12Cr is less clean or consistent. It just never seems to match the quality "D2" that built the reputation that is still driving sales today. At its worst, the edge retention is at least better than 8Cr13Mov. At its best, it'll hold a better edge than the average 9Cr18Mov but the Sencut/Civivi stuff is close enough that I don't care.
 
dogstar said:
I'm guessing most folks would say AUS8 and 1095.

I really like steel that easy to sharpen with rudimentary tools and skills. 4116 or 420HC for stainless, 1095 for carbon.
Click to expand...
13C26 and Whatever was in that Sears Craftsman slip joint that my dad had.
 
Chronovore said:
I avoid 420HC like the plague. 🧐

440C is a steel that can be pretty good with a decent heat treatment. The trouble is that in a lot of the budget production knives where we see it used today, it doesn't get a very good heat treatment. On the other end of that, check out any of the knives in 9Cr18Mov from Sencut or Civivi. They get a fantastic heat treatment and the edge retention is about as good as it gets on the budget end.

Chinese D2 is a bit of a mess. It's entirely possible that there are different sources for it in China or that the 12Cr is less clean or consistent. It just never seems to match the quality "D2" that built the reputation that is still driving sales today. At its worst, the edge retention is at least better than 8Cr13Mov. At its best, it'll hold a better edge than the average 9Cr18Mov but the Sencut/Civivi stuff is close enough that I don't care.
Click to expand...
Remember that some steel grade standards have big range of acceptable values that anything within these values are considered ok. From a perspective, this tolerance means not all steel of the same grade are even the same. The chinese Cr12 (Not the same as 12Cr!) has more or less compositions range of the AISI/AIST D2, as much like 9Cr18mov analog to 440C. Other standard has more or less tolerance between their grades, therefore multiple grades from one standard may be equivalent to a grade of another standard.

Then again, D2, 440C, AUS-10 and some other are not belong to the 50$ price range if we want their optimal quality. In their poor heat treated state, they are no better than some well treated "lesser" steel. Basically you get what you paid for, doesn't matter steel grade.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top