It’s cool how your favs are all the newer steels that you’re recently so involved with, while your recommended are ones you cut your teeth on and have so much previous experience with. Feels like I’m watching a teacher teach from her own experience as she learns now and from what she learned so many years ago. Of course, that’s how it should be, but it’s always refreshing to see, and you do it so naturally. 👏🏻
This is so informative, brilliant, amazing, and educational!!! Loved this video and it totally helps me pick my next steel!! (Either spy27 or k390 I think!)
U Should Have ALOT More Fallowers !! Great Presentations and Nice Content !! And Ur A Young Lady , I Luv When Young Women Get Involved In Outdoor Vids , and Are Knowledgeable About Products !!! I’ll Gladly Pass Ur Info To Women I Know When Needing Good Info And Content That’s Communitive And Honest and Comprehensive, Look 👀 Forward To Seeing More Of Ur Reviews!! LUV AND ALL RESPECTS!!! B!!! 😉🤗😋!!!!!!!!!!!🇺🇸🇵🇱🇺🇦❤️👍🏼💯💙💛💙💛💙💛
I have the most experience sharpening VG-10 and 154CM. They both sharpen easily and hold an edge long enough for my needs. I've also sharpened quite a bit of 20CV, LC200N, D2, and M390. Same story with those. 20CV and M390 might take a little longer to sharpen, but marginally. Like 5 more passes per side per stone. Not a big deal.
Dayyummm….you rock, girl‼️ 19:44 Caught 1 of your vids from the Spyderco forum, as I just bought my 1st Spydie (a Manix) after many Chinese folders. Now looking for more steel types👍
14c28n/12c27 are quite similar to Nitro-V and are easy and generally less expensive to get ahold of. Civivi makes some stuff in Nitro-V like the baby banter, but I get that some want to avoid purchasing knives from there.
My 5 favorite steels are Elmax, s90v, Nitrobe 77, Aeb-l(14c28n and Nitro-v as well since they're so similar) and Cruwear. There's 2 new ones that I'm really enjoying being M398 and Magnacut but I only have one knife in each(customs with incredible heat treatment and thin grinds) and only had them for 6 months or less so I'm still torn on including them in my top 5 but they have huge potential. 5 steels I'd recommend to a new person are; 1. Aeb-l/14c28n/Nitro-v - for great toughness, ease of sharpening, stainless and hold a decent edge. 2. 154CM/vg10/n690 - great overall except okish toughness for a stainless. 3. Lc200N - like Aeb-l but more stainless and better wear resistance but a bit harder to sharpen and lower toughness. 4. Spy27 - it's a sweet spot between 154cm class and s30v class. As easy to sharpen as 154cm but better wear resistance and takes a great toothy or polished edge. Spydecro did a great job with that steel. 5. Cruwear - it pretty stainless for a tool steel, great toughness, even at 63-65 hrc it's not hard to sharpen, takes a great edge and holds it pretty well.
Totally agree with maxamet I use venneve diamond stones . Their great I use the work sharp too sometimes with my thinner veneeves using an attachment you can buy online . When I got my para 3 in maxamet the edge lasted a while and I stripped in for like months of use for the longest time I never needed to sharpen from factory it was months till I sharpened it your right after I put my 15 degree edge on it it’s just gotten better not just from the new angle but the edge has been great the sharpened edge lasted a while but the working edge is insane with the steeper angle I see this being insane it’s a great knife I love maxamet . Great video !
I'm a hobby machinist. Typically work with steel, sometimes 6061 aluminum. When I wanted a nice knife and started looking, almost all of the steels were completely unfamiliar to me. Never heard of them, unlike, say, 4140 or 1080. Knowing their metallurgy, I can see why. Now that I have a little experience with various knife steels, though I'm not a terribly heavy user, I do like Spyderco's M390. Enjoyed the video.
Great list of steels. I just only have some on the list, S30V in several knives, Maxamet in one knife, Magnacut in one knife. I really want some K399 blades and more Magnacut. I’m really happy about how much emphasis you put on the sharpening qualities of various steels. It really matters to those of us who USE OUR SHIT.
Benchmade is going back to 154cm. That is a testament to how great 154cm is. 440C ganzo 7651 20 bucks amazon Great starter steel. 440C steel is on the same level as 154cm.
Magnacut sounds like AEB-L in the way that you want it heat treated, thickness and grind. That is because AEB-L has a really fine grain structure and excels thin and hard. I wonder if magnacut has a similar grain structure or what the composition is in relation to AEB-L.
Larrin has written a bit about that - he's been an AEB-L proponent for some time, and you could think of Magnacut as a wear-resistant sibling of AEB-L. He's got micrographs of each on his website. They're not truly comparable, of course, as Magnacut is a PM steel and AEB-L is not. But there's a similar principle: don't have primary chromium carbides. AEB-L does this by having fairly low carbon and chromium, only containing secondary carbides. Magnacut does that by having even lower chromium, but added vanadium and niobium, and the PM process. The carbides are much finer than most other PM stainless steels, fairly comparable to AEB-L.
@@knickly that is awesome! I appreciate the knowledge. I really like the science of metals and how they are formed together at different heats and cooling cycles. How that all changes the structure of a metal at the molecular level. It is fascinating. I am trying to get together equipment to make knives myself, not as a job, but because it seems fun and interesting. Thanks again!
@@knickly also, a thought I just had... Could you powder AEB-L? I wonder how that would perform. I just got a northern hunter from LT Wright in AEB-L, haven't done much with it, but I love how it feels and it cuts through everything like butter so far.
@@jamellelangfordiii3586 yeah, it's all fascinating! A PM AEB-L would certainly be possible, but it would be more expensive and you wouldn't get a huge improvement since the microstructure is so fine already. Nonetheless, Damasteel uses PMC27, which is analogous to 12C27.
Nice list, thanks for putting it together. I’m hoping Spyderco offers future Magnacut knives, I’m thinking they will put a good heat treat on it. I’ve heard people saying they weren’t impressed with the first knife from Hogue with Magnacut. Super disappointed to hear that feedback. 👍
I picked a ruike 801 as a beginners knife and the knife is good but the 14c28n blade is bad IMHO despite a lot of hype around that steel. may be it is a fluke and the HT is so soft. it basically need sharpening every time I use it not to mention the thick BTE geometry. Do not know if my sharpening sucks or the blade is soft or exactly what. 14c28n doesn't hold an edge long enough time. Disappointed! Eager to know your comment. I noticed your list did not include 14c28n.
For the para 3 lightweight do you think spy27 is enough of an improvement over spyderco's bd1n to justify shelling out the extra cost? I have the bd1n version but I've never tried spy27... I'm under the impression that those two steels are very comparable.
So Spy27 over S45vn? My first and only EDC, a para3 in S45 turned up missing this morning. I will definitely replace it. The para3 LW is available in Spy27. Any thoughts. Total beginner.
GOOD TOPIC, HOW ABOUT DOING ONE ON BLADE SHAPE... YOU REALLY PUSHED ME TO BUY THE 940 (940-2) A FEW MONTHS AGO AND I HAVE NO REGRETS OR COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE 940.... HOWEVER I JUST PURCHASED A COLD STEEL AIR LITE TANTO IN AUS-10a STEEL FOR $80 AND BEING 100% HONEST, IT HAS REPLACED MY 940 AS MY WORK CARRY.... I CANT BELIEVE IT!!! ERICA, PLEASE CONSIDER TESTING SOME COLD STEEL
Replaced your 940? What do you do with it the Air Lite that you can’t with the 940? I agree there need to be more cold steel daily use videos on youtube. Erica won’t be able to make them. But I may. 😁
@@BumbleBeeedcYT I love the 940-2, however the CS Air Lite Just fits my needs better than 940-2 and for less money. I'm an insulation installer and I USE my knives daily for whatever and for some reason this AUS-10a steel that CS uses is pretty impressive. Also, the geometry of the 'American Tanto' is superior to that of the reverse tanto.... over all, Cold Steel has the right knives for the right price
I agree on the Air Lite.. I have a little and humble collection of edc knives and since I got the lite it's probably running for 1st place on daily use. This makes me realize 2 things... 1. It's by far the most budget knife I own. 2. The importance of not let reviews own my "opinions", at first I thought Aus10A was garbage, now I can't find a complaint about it, keen edge, decent edge wear, and strops back like a dream.
Been watching your videos for a few months now. Started with an Emerson then a couple S30V’s. Going to try Spy27 next before moving on to maybe M4. I take a lot of notes from your videos and so far haven’t found any better advice to follow. That’s because you are not sponsor driven and your advice is “Hands-On.”
She is the BEST for hands on advice! And she continues to grow in her sharpening skill. Keep taking those notes! They’ll help you immensely! (That’s my hands on experience speaking now.lol)
My 5 favorites are (cpm) 4v, rex45, cruwear/zwear, m4, and Magnacut, no stainless steel has ever made it on my top 5 till now, but your right companies we're going way below recommended hrc, 63 to 64 is optimal, if done right Magna cut is like a stainless cruwear/m4, which is pretty awesome, though I do love my patina on my tool steels, I'd have to say my favorite though is a tie between spydercos 4v and rex45, there running around 65 to 67 hrc, but still have great strength, they say m4 is stronger, but at only around 63 to 64 hrc my rex45 tends to pitperform, and we know 4v is just 3v with a tiny less strength and more edge retention, but at 66hrc 4v has great edge retention and still has great strwngth, because it had some extra strength to give away to that high hrc, spydercos just does it right when it comes to rex45 and 4v, spydercos heat treat is second to none, it is tier 1
![GEEK TIMË [OFFICIAL AUDIO]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ry-6RvkH880/mqdefault.jpg)
It’s cool how your favs are all the newer steels that you’re recently so involved with, while your recommended are ones you cut your teeth on and have so much previous experience with. Feels like I’m watching a teacher teach from her own experience as she learns now and from what she learned so many years ago.
Of course, that’s how it should be, but it’s always refreshing to see, and you do it so naturally. 👏🏻
Thank you Jer!!!
Lc200n sharpens up so fast. Gets a burr fast and easy. Something about that k390 stickiness is special. I love it as well 💥👊
This is so informative, brilliant, amazing, and educational!!! Loved this video and it totally helps me pick my next steel!! (Either spy27 or k390 I think!)
You need both!
@@ericasedc True!
Seki K390 Gang! Seki K390 Gang!!! welcome to the cult… I mean gang… I mean community of enthusiasts.
What's your favorite saw steel? I use a Swiss army farmer knife, and love the saw on it!
U Should Have ALOT More Fallowers !! Great Presentations and Nice Content !! And Ur A Young Lady , I Luv When Young Women Get Involved In Outdoor Vids , and Are Knowledgeable About Products !!! I’ll Gladly Pass Ur Info To Women I Know When Needing Good Info And Content That’s Communitive And Honest and Comprehensive, Look 👀 Forward To Seeing More Of Ur Reviews!! LUV AND ALL RESPECTS!!! B!!! 😉🤗😋!!!!!!!!!!!🇺🇸🇵🇱🇺🇦❤️👍🏼💯💙💛💙💛💙💛
I have the most experience sharpening VG-10 and 154CM. They both sharpen easily and hold an edge long enough for my needs. I've also sharpened quite a bit of 20CV, LC200N, D2, and M390. Same story with those. 20CV and M390 might take a little longer to sharpen, but marginally. Like 5 more passes per side per stone. Not a big deal.
Dayyummm….you rock, girl‼️ 19:44 Caught 1 of your vids from the Spyderco forum, as I just bought my 1st Spydie (a Manix) after many Chinese folders. Now looking for more steel types👍
Yay!
A very helpful video. I think beginners and old hands can get a lot from this.
Really happy with the Spy27 para 3 LW, thank you so much for the suggestion.
Maxamet blows my mind and Spy 27 is on my Native 5 and it’s my daily friend.
14c28n/12c27 are quite similar to Nitro-V and are easy and generally less expensive to get ahold of. Civivi makes some stuff in Nitro-V like the baby banter, but I get that some want to avoid purchasing knives from there.
My 5 favorite steels are Elmax, s90v, Nitrobe 77, Aeb-l(14c28n and Nitro-v as well since they're so similar) and Cruwear. There's 2 new ones that I'm really enjoying being M398 and Magnacut but I only have one knife in each(customs with incredible heat treatment and thin grinds) and only had them for 6 months or less so I'm still torn on including them in my top 5 but they have huge potential.
5 steels I'd recommend to a new person are;
1. Aeb-l/14c28n/Nitro-v - for great toughness, ease of sharpening, stainless and hold a decent edge.
2. 154CM/vg10/n690 - great overall except okish toughness for a stainless.
3. Lc200N - like Aeb-l but more stainless and better wear resistance but a bit harder to sharpen and lower toughness.
4. Spy27 - it's a sweet spot between 154cm class and s30v class. As easy to sharpen as 154cm but better wear resistance and takes a great toothy or polished edge. Spydecro did a great job with that steel.
5. Cruwear - it pretty stainless for a tool steel, great toughness, even at 63-65 hrc it's not hard to sharpen, takes a great edge and holds it pretty well.
Happy sunday erica & thank you for the very good info on the knife steels
Totally agree with maxamet I use venneve diamond stones . Their great I use the work sharp too sometimes with my thinner veneeves using an attachment you can buy online . When I got my para 3 in maxamet the edge lasted a while and I stripped in for like months of use for the longest time I never needed to sharpen from factory it was months till I sharpened it your right after I put my 15 degree edge on it it’s just gotten better not just from the new angle but the edge has been great the sharpened edge lasted a while but the working edge is insane with the steeper angle I see this being insane it’s a great knife I love maxamet . Great video !
I'm a hobby machinist. Typically work with steel, sometimes 6061 aluminum. When I wanted a nice knife and started looking, almost all of the steels were completely unfamiliar to me. Never heard of them, unlike, say, 4140 or 1080. Knowing their metallurgy, I can see why. Now that I have a little experience with various knife steels, though I'm not a terribly heavy user, I do like Spyderco's M390. Enjoyed the video.
Hey. Doing a great job. One of my favourite steels is Spy27.
I can’t wait till they drop the manix 2 in magnacut.
I need to give Spy27 a try. I love Lc200n, and you're saying it's basically the same, so I'm assuming I'll love Spy27 as well
Just picked up the Blue Spy27 Native - Love it. Super functional blade shape and weight.
Great list of steels. I just only have some on the list, S30V in several knives, Maxamet in one knife, Magnacut in one knife. I really want some K399 blades and more Magnacut. I’m really happy about how much emphasis you put on the sharpening qualities of various steels. It really matters to those of us who USE OUR SHIT.
Benchmade is going back to 154cm. That is a testament to how great 154cm is. 440C ganzo 7651 20 bucks amazon Great starter steel. 440C steel is on the same level as 154cm.
Magnacut sounds like AEB-L in the way that you want it heat treated, thickness and grind. That is because AEB-L has a really fine grain structure and excels thin and hard. I wonder if magnacut has a similar grain structure or what the composition is in relation to AEB-L.
Larrin has written a bit about that - he's been an AEB-L proponent for some time, and you could think of Magnacut as a wear-resistant sibling of AEB-L. He's got micrographs of each on his website. They're not truly comparable, of course, as Magnacut is a PM steel and AEB-L is not. But there's a similar principle: don't have primary chromium carbides. AEB-L does this by having fairly low carbon and chromium, only containing secondary carbides. Magnacut does that by having even lower chromium, but added vanadium and niobium, and the PM process. The carbides are much finer than most other PM stainless steels, fairly comparable to AEB-L.
@@knickly that is awesome! I appreciate the knowledge. I really like the science of metals and how they are formed together at different heats and cooling cycles. How that all changes the structure of a metal at the molecular level. It is fascinating. I am trying to get together equipment to make knives myself, not as a job, but because it seems fun and interesting. Thanks again!
@@knickly also, a thought I just had... Could you powder AEB-L? I wonder how that would perform. I just got a northern hunter from LT Wright in AEB-L, haven't done much with it, but I love how it feels and it cuts through everything like butter so far.
@@jamellelangfordiii3586 yeah, it's all fascinating! A PM AEB-L would certainly be possible, but it would be more expensive and you wouldn't get a huge improvement since the microstructure is so fine already. Nonetheless, Damasteel uses PMC27, which is analogous to 12C27.
@@knickly what is pmc27 and 12c27? Sorry, I am a layman to all this. I just like to research and read a lot.
Great information. Thank you.
Totally ageee my para3 in maxamet is one of my favourite users . Get good diamond stones and learn to sharpen. Great video.
Yes. Not that hard as poeple say. Great steel
Lol... I've seemed to aquire alot of m4 lol but I'll say....I don't like sharpening it lol but I love using it lol
Just got my 1st spy 27, love it! my other 2 are s30v. your reviews are great.
Lol all great steels thanks!!!!and other than s45vn I'm pretty sure all my protechs are 154cm!!!! And yes it's great!!!I love 154cm it's tough!!!!
Well done. Great content.
Nice list, thanks for putting it together. I’m hoping Spyderco offers future Magnacut knives, I’m thinking they will put a good heat treat on it. I’ve heard people saying they weren’t impressed with the first knife from Hogue with Magnacut. Super disappointed to hear that feedback. 👍
I’ve always enjoyed 154cm. M4 for me has really shined. Lasting edge and the Benchmade m4 sharpens easily for me. I’m testing S35VN right now.
Awesome J!!! I love all of those
I've never tried spy 27........ I'll have to get something in it soon.......
Great video. Have you try the KPL Knife shield? Lots of video out there showing it can protect your knife from rusting.
Awesome stuff thanks for sharing 🤙
Thank YOU for watching!
So great to see more female knife reviewers!! Great video
Genius topic idea. 🤜🏼
I picked a ruike 801 as a beginners knife and the knife is good but the 14c28n blade is bad IMHO despite a lot of hype around that steel. may be it is a fluke and the HT is so soft. it basically need sharpening every time I use it not to mention the thick BTE geometry. Do not know if my sharpening sucks or the blade is soft or exactly what. 14c28n doesn't hold an edge long enough time. Disappointed! Eager to know your comment. I noticed your list did not include 14c28n.
I love k390 is my favorite of all .
For the para 3 lightweight do you think spy27 is enough of an improvement over spyderco's bd1n to justify shelling out the extra cost? I have the bd1n version but I've never tried spy27... I'm under the impression that those two steels are very comparable.
Haven’t tested my BD1N fully yet- so can’t say!!!
So Spy27 over S45vn? My first and only EDC, a para3 in S45 turned up missing this morning. I will definitely replace it. The para3 LW is available in Spy27. Any thoughts. Total beginner.
I’m fairly new to your channel and am so glad I found it. Great independent content. It’s like finding another Bearded Gear. Please keep it up!
You need to try s60v.
GOOD TOPIC, HOW ABOUT DOING ONE ON BLADE SHAPE... YOU REALLY PUSHED ME TO BUY THE 940 (940-2)
A FEW MONTHS AGO AND I HAVE NO REGRETS OR COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE 940.... HOWEVER I JUST PURCHASED A COLD STEEL AIR LITE TANTO IN AUS-10a STEEL FOR $80 AND BEING 100% HONEST, IT HAS REPLACED MY 940 AS MY WORK CARRY.... I CANT BELIEVE IT!!! ERICA, PLEASE CONSIDER TESTING SOME COLD STEEL
Let’s use our indoor voices please. Haha. I have so many videos on blade shapes- go watch them. Thanks!!!!
Sorry wasn't yelling 🙄🤣
Replaced your 940? What do you do with it the Air Lite that you can’t with the 940?
I agree there need to be more cold steel daily use videos on youtube. Erica won’t be able to make them. But I may. 😁
@@BumbleBeeedcYT
I love the 940-2, however the CS Air Lite
Just fits my needs better than 940-2 and for less money. I'm an insulation installer and I USE my knives daily for whatever and for some reason this AUS-10a steel that CS uses is pretty impressive. Also, the geometry of the 'American Tanto' is superior to that of the reverse tanto.... over all, Cold Steel has the right knives for the right price
I agree on the Air Lite.. I have a little and humble collection of edc knives and since I got the lite it's probably running for 1st place on daily use. This makes me realize 2 things... 1. It's by far the most budget knife I own. 2. The importance of not let reviews own my "opinions", at first I thought Aus10A was garbage, now I can't find a complaint about it, keen edge, decent edge wear, and strops back like a dream.
LC200N or K390. Done and done.
What do we use for sharpening and how much. time
Watch my sharpening videos. Thanks!
Been watching your videos for a few months now. Started with an Emerson then a couple S30V’s. Going to try Spy27 next before moving on to maybe M4. I take a lot of notes from your videos and so far haven’t found any better advice to follow. That’s because you are not sponsor driven and your advice is “Hands-On.”
She is the BEST for hands on advice! And she continues to grow in her sharpening skill. Keep taking those notes! They’ll help you immensely! (That’s my hands on experience speaking now.lol)
What a compliment! Thank you!!!
Oh! You have a youtube!
How could one tell if its Japan's k390 vs USA? Certain spyderco models?
It says on the knife(:
@@ericasedc Ty! 🤯😆
lets go finally
Knit + Pick. 😉
😂😂
I’m still waiting for the lightning to strike me. 🤷🏼♂️
Where are the magnacut deka test updates?
No AEB-L love?
Protech is still more than happy to charge you $500 for 154CM
Hence why you never see those on my channel hehe
@@ericasedc Yeah, one of my pet peeves is high end knife manufacturers using bottom shelf materials.
BTW Civivi uses Nitro-V in a lot of their folders
Huh?
You can get a ProTech Godfather Operator for $250.
@@gabrielbaker2667 They also have a "limited" version of the Godson that has the same steel with a $500 price tag.
@@arrowheadguys7637 oh that’s because of the bronzed aluminum and mother of pearl insert
s45vn/ nitro v ..
SPY27>S45vn
My 5 favorites are (cpm) 4v, rex45, cruwear/zwear, m4, and Magnacut, no stainless steel has ever made it on my top 5 till now, but your right companies we're going way below recommended hrc, 63 to 64 is optimal, if done right Magna cut is like a stainless cruwear/m4, which is pretty awesome, though I do love my patina on my tool steels, I'd have to say my favorite though is a tie between spydercos 4v and rex45, there running around 65 to 67 hrc, but still have great strength, they say m4 is stronger, but at only around 63 to 64 hrc my rex45 tends to pitperform, and we know 4v is just 3v with a tiny less strength and more edge retention, but at 66hrc 4v has great edge retention and still has great strwngth, because it had some extra strength to give away to that high hrc, spydercos just does it right when it comes to rex45 and 4v, spydercos heat treat is second to none, it is tier 1