02-20-2018, 07:12 PM
There is quite a bit of discussion regarding this topic. Many steels are pressed into service as knives when that's not the original intent. Most of the CPM/powder steels fall into this category, as many were intended as die steels for the plastic industry. Does that mean they don't make good knives? Not necessarily. 52100, 440C, 154CM, BG-42, and many similar steels were intended as bearing steels. I have not used 52100 or BG-42, but the other 2 make decent enough knives, with 154CM being one of my favorites. There is a lot of credit given to certain knife makers for developing steels in concert with steel makers for the cutlery industry. S30V is one of those steels, however, I don't know that I buy S30V was developed specifically for knives. I think you can make a good case those makers tailored their treatment for it to knives and introduced it to the knife world, but the cutlery industry doesn't seem large enough to be able to demand that kind of R&D without other industrial uses.
There are several steels that were made for cutting tools, but not necessarily knives. I tend to look for those as my optimum choice, but not everyone does that, and some are unknown enough that it hampers sales, if that's a goal. But, you have to understand, my opinions are somewhat unusual.
There are several steels that were made for cutting tools, but not necessarily knives. I tend to look for those as my optimum choice, but not everyone does that, and some are unknown enough that it hampers sales, if that's a goal. But, you have to understand, my opinions are somewhat unusual.