What's so great about VG-10 ...?

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
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And ...IF...it's so great, why is Spyderco changing the Native to SV30 from VG-10?

I ....have.... a Native VG-10 and love it. Don't know...WHY.

But I recently saw an ad for a knife in VG-10 inner edge with 420 or 440 wrapped around it on the sides.

What is the special property of VG-10 ?

:confused:
 
I thought they changed from 440V to S30V, and that the Native III was VG-10, being made overseas, while the CPM steels are all on American-made models/versions.
Either way, I really like VG-10. Very stain resistant, and holds a good edge. Best part for me is the ease of sharpening, and the "feel" of the edge it takes.
 
I've found VG-10 blades to be the easiest of the "high-performance" steels to sharpen well. Of course, this may have as much to do with the factory bevels on my VG-10 blades as on the steel. Also, you find VG-10 on many reasonably-priced, high-quality knives (Temperance, Fred Perrin bowie), so I assume that it must be relatively inexpensive as a raw material and easy to work with. Obviously these are advantages to the manufacturer, but they can translate into a lower cost for the user.
 
If I remember correctly, VG10 was originally designed for Japanese grafting knives. Grafting knives have to be ground very thin, in order to make precise grafting cuts, AND also must be strong enough to pry those little cuts out of the wood. VG10 is some great stuff.
 
Spyderco did not switch from VG-10 to S30V. Knives made in Golden, Colorado U.S.A. Earth are made with S30V; knives made in Seki, Japan are VG-10.

Cliff Stamp did a review of the Temperence recently on the reviews and testing forum and found the VG-10 to be quite satisfactory, IIRC.

In my experience VG-10 holds an edge well but is easy to sharpen.

I don't know what in the steel makes it perform well, but it does have a good dose of Cobalt in it. :confused:
 
I have noticed that it's very easy to get a very sharp edge on. I suck at sharpening, but can still get my little vg-10 spyies to shave. Maybe its the design of the blade?
I also noticed that it seems to really bite into whatever you cut, even fingers! :eek:
 
If you look at the Spyderco steel table you'll see that VG-10 is a lot like AUS-10 only it has more chrome and more cobalt. It has about 1% carbon content which lets them harden it up to 60 RC. It has vanadium and a very fine grain structure. That helps it to take a fine edge an be relatively wear resistant. It is also has high stain resistance for a cutlery grade stainless.

http://www.spyderco.com/education/steelchart.asp?sts=6/1/2004+1:01:01+PM
 
Is CPM-s30v more expensive because it is made both in the USA and the factory process is more intensive and difficult? And VG-10 is cheaper because production is easier?
Shiden


Audentis Fortuna Iuvat
 
Shiden said:
Is CPM-s30v more expensive because it is made both in the USA and the factory process is more intensive and difficult? And VG-10 is cheaper because production is easier?
Shiden


Audentis Fortuna Iuvat
Click to expand...

Basically I would say that is correct.

And Keith is right. Spyderco is NOT changing from VG-10 to S30V. All of the Japanese knives are VG-10 for the most part, and all of the USA knives are S30V for the most part. (Not all)

The origional Native (but still produced) was 440V and was upgraded to S30V. This is a made in the USA knife.

The Native III is a Japanese knife and has always been VG-10.
-Kevin
 
Don't know why but VG-10 seems to have more 'bite' than any other stainless steel I've come across. It compares favorably to Carbon V (50100-B) in edge holding but takes a little more effort to sharpen than high carbon steels, in my experience. Falkniven has tested VG-10 and found it to be a very strong steel; it's also very stain resistant. My F1 in VG-10 Fallkniven does bear some scratches from use but that's to be expected with any steel.
 
According to Fallkniven the Japanese will not export raw VG-10. They will only sell finished knives, blades or knives minus the grip.
My A2 Fallkniven in laminated VG-10 is the strongest, sharpest, and best edge holding knife I own for waht that is worth.
 
I don't own a VG-10 blade (yet), but I had a Spyderco Temperance on loan for a few days and VG-10 edge-retention was amazing.

Edge-retention exceeded both my Military 440V and 806D2 blades.

Good stuff!
 
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