What causes you to select one steel over another? Which are best for toughness, abuse and edge holding and whatever other characteristics you may desire in a working knife?

Allan

I have been told that most steels are tested to D2 standards. D2 is a nice all around good steel if it's heated treated propely. I have used 440v as well. It's a really good one for a EDC.

Usually with different steels, there are trade offs. For example, with the steel that I believe the Boses use:

1) 440V - very tough, great edge holding, great corrosion resistance but, can't put a high polish on it and it is very difficult to sharpen without a grinder or diamond hones. It is also difficult to crink for certain patterns ("as per Reese yesterday). This is the toughest of the bunch.

2) D2 - great all around steel, holds an edge well, fairly straight forward to sharpen. Not as corrosion resistant as stainless but close. The CPM-D2 finishes very, very nicely as well. Not considered to be stainless generally.

3) ATS-34/CPM-154 - very similar to each other. Both hold an edge well (but not as well as 440v). Both are reasonably straight forward to sharpen and keep sharp. Both finish well, but CPM-154, being powdered steel based (as is 440v, CPM-D2), is very uniform in molecular composition therefore, more consistent in its properties. It takes a great polish. Nicely resistent to corrosion since they are stainless, etc.

Hope this helps.

Nicely Said Bob

Thank you John and Bob! Bob, you're getting down to the nitty gritty and that was what I was looking for. This will help me a lot with smart choices down the road. I think that Tony said my carving knife is D2 and it is excellent steel and though used every day, has no stains at all yet except on the spine of the tang. It is tough and sharpens well as you said with little effort. My other user is ATS-34 and the light use it gets probably doesn't require a super steel but it has proved very stain resistant and a pleasure to fondle .

Allan

Several other things I neglected to mention. I believe Tony has used CPM-M4 (not stainless) also and has made knives using carbon steel as well as CPM-S30V (and many others).

All these steels are great. Keep in mind the most important thing when it comes to the performance of a blade is the heat treating process. You can either make or break a blade by heat treating.

Tony and Reese can I am sure give you their impressions of each of the steels that they use in more detail then I can.

Excluding 440V, which I think is a special steel, I like the D-2. I've been dressing animals (deer, pecari, ducks...) for over thirty years and the best fixed blade knive I've had is a D-2 from Reese, which I bought on this site.

D-2 leaves me with the feeling that it is a steel for pro knives, for heavy no non-sense use. The type of edge you get from a well honed D-2 knife is unique, it is razor sharp but somehow ever slightly grippy and it'll last forever as long as you use it correctly. In contrast, ATS-34 has a slick fast edge and won't last as long as D-2.

In terms of stainless, I've never had a D-2 rusting on me. Maybe because I oil and keep my knives clean no matter how hard I work them.

Very well put. You have a knack for painting word pictures. Do Tony and Reese send their steel out for heat treating? If I were a knife maker, I would because it is a specialised art. I know that some custom makers do their own but I'd guess that some Rockwell testing would be the proof of how consistently they succeed in achieving their hardness goals.

Allan

I believe they send their blades to Paul Bos.

Let me ask... Does different steel require different edge beveling?
The first Bose Knife I bought was for the perfect craftsmanship. It wasn't until after I received it that I realized that in addition to it being gorgeous, the edge wasn't just sharp. It was dangerous.... and still is after much cutting. (ATS-34)