I own that exact knife, and i believe it tested at 60 hrc. I think im on edge 7 or 8 and i really like it too. I call it a chameleon steel bcuz it exceeded my expectations on every edge i threw at it. I just put a high polish on it today with some arkansas stones actually. Other than thinning down the primary grind i have no complaints with s45vn.
I enjoyed this one enough I'm definitely adding one to use and test some more. I don't see a down side to it yet. It did well no matter what finish I used.
I'm running my S45VN sebenza polished at the moment and I'm really liking how well it wears and strops back. It's definitely head and shoulders above S35VN in every aspect.
I agree, I enjoyed how this did with a polished edge and it's a good step ahead in use. I'll try a CRK S45VN soon and see how it does compared to this Para 3.
Thank you for another great test. Bought my son an s30 model a couple years ago. He loves the Para. Hoping it comes out in satin and digital camo, but will upgrade him regardless. Thanks again.
G you definitely got me interested in s45 now! I’m glad that Spyderco made the decision to change it’s base steel then considering how much improvement over s30. Thanks for all your work testing and thanks for sharing brother!!👊👊
Thanks, at some point I'd like to continue the multi finish testing likw I did on the K390 Para 3. Get a better idea how steels react to different stones and finishes.
Nice test and good info! I have a BNIB one of the Green diamond G10 Sprint PM2s. I have been on the fence about putting it to work as I'm not a huge PM2 fan but your results tempt me to break it out! ;) Thanks as always!
I recently got a Protech SnG and SBR; both in S45VN. They were BHQ exclusives. I’m glad I was able to snag em, (they sold out quickly, especially the SnG), as I definitely got a better value than the standard 154CM versions of those models provide.
Great review, thanks! I love the Para3 in s45vn for of edge retention and sharpenability.I am curious would the new Para 3 in magnacut hold a fine edge longer and would s45vn hold it's working edge longer. I presume that Spyderco will do magtnacut justice as they nailed the heat treatment on their stuff so far. Any chance you might be reviewing it at some time?
sorry, I just saw the Spyderco Mule test in magnacut and it does seem a little better than s45vn but not by much. However that was @62hrc, and I saw claims that the Native 5 Salt is already @64 hrc, so it makes me wonder where they landed on the new para 3
Thanks for the video g! I have a sprint para 3 in s45vn, and I wonder if the heat treat is different than what they are running it now. Great to hear you are so positive about it.
Nice video! Looks like S45VN is shaping up to be the improvement from S30V and S35VN we’ve been waiting for. In my mind it’s the balanced stainless of choice when you don’t need the toughness of Magnacut but want more edge retention. The biggest differences between these two will probably come down to factory heat treats and hardness I’d guess but it’s not totally clear to me yet. Thoughts?
The biggest thing I've observed is along with the increase in wear resistance over S30V and S35VN is the increase in edge stability during daily use. In S30V for example after 2 to 3 weeks of use I would see apex deformation that would not strop out while on S45VN strops back better with much less visible damage at the apex. A bonus is equal toughness to S30V at a 2 point increase in Rockwell C hardness. As far as S45VN vs Magnacut that's hard to say. In a custom setting I don't see S45VN ahead of Magnacut. How we see mass production steels done though if both were 62 hrc for example I think them Magnacut would only excel in toughness and edge stability with wear resistance and corrosion resistance being a wash. We definitely need more examples of both over time to get a real picture of what to expect and how it actually ends up performing.
I love S45vn I find it tougher, easier to sharpen, takes a better edge than S30v, and holds its edge longer. I like to think of it as 154cm pro. Like 154cm went to college scrawny and came back jacked. This steel also keeps it’s bite with a semi polished edge.
My reeves s45vn hopefully has just a burnt edge. My edge went to crap instantly like in one box. It’s only had one edge out on it. I need to put another one on.
I have heard from another CRK S45VN user being actually disappointed by it and selling it. But given the firm fan base of CRK it will take someone like Outpost to get to the bottom of it …
I sold my S45vn mnandi after getting nothing better than ~75% s30v edge retention after 4 sharpenings (2 of which were full reprofiles) My S45VN pm2 Is pretty much identical to s30v edge retention, but strops back better because it doesn't get the edge damage that s30v tends to have by the time it's gone completely dull. Just my experience. Different edges cutting different materials may have totally different results.
@@CNYKnifeNerd I mainly cut open thin plastic fruit snack and frozen pizzas up on the weekends for my kids and man this lost its edge so fast when I cut up a regular sized box.
@@CNYKnifeNerd really sorry to hear that - and I am wondering what is the reason since CRK states about 2 HRC points higher hardness for their S45VN compared to their S35VN …
@@CNYKnifeNerd idk if yours was the very first batch or not but what I hear was the first run of s45vn they did was heat treated softer than they are supposedly doing now. Idk if that’s true or not but what I heard.
I'd like to see more companies off a better offering on steels/heat treatment. Super cheap budget knives can have whatever, 14c28n on budget knives, s45vn on base knives and anything in the 300ft-400ft + on premium knives.
I'd like to see more step out and do a variety. Kizer of all companies is putting out 3V and 4V now. I'm not big on their stuff but they are offering variety now. Bradford has done a good mix of steels, it's too bad they run everything soft.
@@Outpost_76 Bradford iirc uses peters heat treatment, so while only 60 plus or minus, they have a better protocol than most. Peter's would aim for higher if the brand commission them to do so.
Kizer is sad, but glad they did justice to 4v. I was not betting they would. Not that I would buy any models from them if they did or not. But yea truth to the concept about using other steels and providing acceptable heat treatments to them for production companies.
@@Outpost_76 I wonder how long before Magna-Cut displaces the entire S30 lineage of steels, Looks like Chris Reeve knives is ready to move to magna-Cut. Says a lot because they developed the S30 series, and S45 was their newest steel in 2019.
Me personally I'd go for Cruwear. Even at 61.5 Cruwear is going to cut a bit longer and it's far tougher. Unless you need it to be stainless but even there Cruwear is hard to stain.
I sharpen those expensive knives for friends they buy a good knife but can't keep one. I carry a $10 Gerber. Spydercos best steel is imported from seki Japan.
I love my s45 para 3. I beat the shit out of it and it didn’t change any. Didn’t lose any sharpness. I have a ton of steels and I believe it has much better edge retention and toughness then s30 and s35. I mean. I’m not saying maxamet territory. But foreal doing better then some of my m390 better then all my d2. Better then my m4 imo. Very similar to my cruwear. Not far off my vanax super clean. Almost as good as my s90v. Not to much further from my s110. So yeah. There’s more just can’t remember them all
@@ericpitre4031 the sharpness isn't going to last a lifetime brother. You will have to sharpen it if you use it at all. I know the knife will last. But I'm asking how long will that keen sharpness of the edge last
@@theknifeconnection9571 longer than D2 apparently. Im sick of d2/g10 flippies. Its tired. Whats the best user steel? Honestly? I might b inclined to say 1095!! Oh boy
Love hearing your test results, if your ever free sometime id love to get you on the channel, thanks for all the hard work and testing results 👍🏼 👊🏻
That should be soon.
I just bought a Para 3 in s45vn about a month ago and absolutely love it! Love the videos man, keep em coming!
I own that exact knife, and i believe it tested at 60 hrc. I think im on edge 7 or 8 and i really like it too. I call it a chameleon steel bcuz it exceeded my expectations on every edge i threw at it. I just put a high polish on it today with some arkansas stones actually. Other than thinning down the primary grind i have no complaints with s45vn.
I enjoyed this one enough I'm definitely adding one to use and test some more. I don't see a down side to it yet. It did well no matter what finish I used.
I'm running my S45VN sebenza polished at the moment and I'm really liking how well it wears and strops back. It's definitely head and shoulders above S35VN in every aspect.
I agree, I enjoyed how this did with a polished edge and it's a good step ahead in use. I'll try a CRK S45VN soon and see how it does compared to this Para 3.
@@Outpost_76 Is this still in the plans? I’m curious about how CRK does the S45VN.
Keep up the good work I really appreciate your dedication to the community
Thank you for another great test. Bought my son an s30 model a couple years ago. He loves the Para. Hoping it comes out in satin and digital camo, but will upgrade him regardless.
Thanks again.
You're welcome and I'm sure you'll be able to find it that way.
G you definitely got me interested in s45 now! I’m glad that Spyderco made the decision to change it’s base steel then considering how much improvement over s30. Thanks for all your work testing and thanks for sharing brother!!👊👊
You're welcome and thank you. It's definitely a nice step up and I look forward to getting one of my own to further test and use.
Love that you are doing different finishes. Great video as always buddy!
Thanks, at some point I'd like to continue the multi finish testing likw I did on the K390 Para 3. Get a better idea how steels react to different stones and finishes.
Nice test and good info!
I have a BNIB one of the Green diamond G10 Sprint PM2s. I have been on the fence about putting it to work as I'm not a huge PM2 fan but your results tempt me to break it out! ;)
Thanks as always!
Nah you don’t wanna do that. What you are feeling the overwhelming need to do is sell it to me :)
@@theknifeconnection9571 I'm listening.....
Try that thing out. It fills the void XHP left when it became scarce.
@@Cycletroll lol. Not sure what they're going for now being discontinued and all. But would love to own it
I recently got a Protech SnG and SBR; both in S45VN. They were BHQ exclusives. I’m glad I was able to snag em, (they sold out quickly, especially the SnG), as I definitely got a better value than the standard 154CM versions of those models provide.
I am just glad they decided to run this one harder than they did the S30V.
Great review, thanks! I love the Para3 in s45vn for of edge retention and sharpenability.I am curious would the new Para 3 in magnacut hold a fine edge longer and would s45vn hold it's working edge longer. I presume that Spyderco will do magtnacut justice as they nailed the heat treatment on their stuff so far. Any chance you might be reviewing it at some time?
sorry, I just saw the Spyderco Mule test in magnacut and it does seem a little better than s45vn but not by much. However that was @62hrc, and I saw claims that the Native 5 Salt is already @64 hrc, so it makes me wonder where they landed on the new para 3
That's hard to say without testing any to see where they ended up. They do vary as well so one may be 62 while another is 64.
Good video I would like to know the Rockwall on . 👍
I'm going to do hardness testing tomorrow before I send these loaners back on Monday.
Thanks for the video g! I have a sprint para 3 in s45vn, and I wonder if the heat treat is different than what they are running it now. Great to hear you are so positive about it.
You're welcome. I'd guess it's about the same as the current ones are. I've heard positive talk from known users about the sprint versions.
I do enjoy my para 3 in s45 it does better than my pm2 in s30v
Nice video! Looks like S45VN is shaping up to be the improvement from S30V and S35VN we’ve been waiting for.
In my mind it’s the balanced stainless of choice when you don’t need the toughness of Magnacut but want more edge retention. The biggest differences between these two will probably come down to factory heat treats and hardness I’d guess but it’s not totally clear to me yet.
Thoughts?
The biggest thing I've observed is along with the increase in wear resistance over S30V and S35VN is the increase in edge stability during daily use. In S30V for example after 2 to 3 weeks of use I would see apex deformation that would not strop out while on S45VN strops back better with much less visible damage at the apex. A bonus is equal toughness to S30V at a 2 point increase in Rockwell C hardness.
As far as S45VN vs Magnacut that's hard to say. In a custom setting I don't see S45VN ahead of Magnacut. How we see mass production steels done though if both were 62 hrc for example I think them Magnacut would only excel in toughness and edge stability with wear resistance and corrosion resistance being a wash. We definitely need more examples of both over time to get a real picture of what to expect and how it actually ends up performing.
Did we get a hrc on these?
I love S45vn I find it tougher, easier to sharpen, takes a better edge than S30v, and holds its edge longer. I like to think of it as 154cm pro. Like 154cm went to college scrawny and came back jacked. This steel also keeps it’s bite with a semi polished edge.
My reeves s45vn hopefully has just a burnt edge. My edge went to crap instantly like in one box. It’s only had one edge out on it. I need to put another one on.
I have heard from another CRK S45VN user being actually disappointed by it and selling it. But given the firm fan base of CRK it will take someone like Outpost to get to the bottom of it …
I sold my S45vn mnandi after getting nothing better than ~75% s30v edge retention after 4 sharpenings (2 of which were full reprofiles)
My S45VN pm2 Is pretty much identical to s30v edge retention, but strops back better because it doesn't get the edge damage that s30v tends to have by the time it's gone completely dull.
Just my experience. Different edges cutting different materials may have totally different results.
@@CNYKnifeNerd I mainly cut open thin plastic fruit snack and frozen pizzas up on the weekends for my kids and man this lost its edge so fast when I cut up a regular sized box.
@@CNYKnifeNerd really sorry to hear that - and I am wondering what is the reason since CRK states about 2 HRC points higher hardness for their S45VN compared to their S35VN …
@@CNYKnifeNerd idk if yours was the very first batch or not but what I hear was the first run of s45vn they did was heat treated softer than they are supposedly doing now. Idk if that’s true or not but what I heard.
What's that other knife in the thumb nail? Thank you
It's the Cols Steel AD-10 S35VN I used as a comparison in talking g about S45VN.
Thanks
You're welcome
I'd like to see more companies off a better offering on steels/heat treatment. Super cheap budget knives can have whatever, 14c28n on budget knives, s45vn on base knives and anything in the 300ft-400ft + on premium knives.
I'd like to see more step out and do a variety. Kizer of all companies is putting out 3V and 4V now. I'm not big on their stuff but they are offering variety now. Bradford has done a good mix of steels, it's too bad they run everything soft.
@@Outpost_76 Bradford iirc uses peters heat treatment, so while only 60 plus or minus, they have a better protocol than most. Peter's would aim for higher if the brand commission them to do so.
Kizer is sad, but glad they did justice to 4v. I was not betting they would. Not that I would buy any models from them if they did or not. But yea truth to the concept about using other steels and providing acceptable heat treatments to them for production companies.
Looks like spyderco is switching to this steel it’s PM2 base model vs S30V. Thoughts?
It's much better in use for me, it's more like a well done XHP. I like it over S30V.
@@Outpost_76 I wonder how long before Magna-Cut displaces the entire S30 lineage of steels, Looks like Chris Reeve knives is ready to move to magna-Cut. Says a lot because they developed the S30 series, and S45 was their newest steel in 2019.
I hope they put that steel in every model they have that uses s30v right now. Especially the Manix line.
@@vgman94 I'd like to see it in all the Golden base models.
@@vgman94 my lightweight salt just arrived today. Blade swapped the s30v version.
I have that buck 110 in cf/alum bolsters in s45. R A Z O R sharp!! Its $200 worth ov nice.🔪😎
I'm curious what their S45VN will do.
This or CruWear for an EDC para 3?!
Me personally I'd go for Cruwear. Even at 61.5 Cruwear is going to cut a bit longer and it's far tougher. Unless you need it to be stainless but even there Cruwear is hard to stain.
@@Outpost_76 awesome thanks man!
@@jeffthompson1231 you're welcome.
Cold Steel should make the Lawman in s45vn Gerald, it would be like the XHP glory days 🤓
I sharpen those expensive knives for friends they buy a good knife but can't keep one. I carry a $10 Gerber. Spydercos best steel is imported from seki Japan.
You’re confused buddy
@@theknifeconnection9571 no thats pretty much how it goes.
I love my s45 para 3. I beat the shit out of it and it didn’t change any. Didn’t lose any sharpness. I have a ton of steels and I believe it has much better edge retention and toughness then s30 and s35. I mean. I’m not saying maxamet territory. But foreal doing better then some of my m390 better then all my d2. Better then my m4 imo. Very similar to my cruwear. Not far off my vanax super clean. Almost as good as my s90v. Not to much further from my s110. So yeah. There’s more just can’t remember them all
I hv a cobratech in their D2 its in top 3 sharpest of my collection. Scarey Sharp, as the big dogs say
@@ericpitre4031 the question is how long will it keep it
@@theknifeconnection9571 if properly used it shd last a longtime. Kinda like a wife🤣
@@ericpitre4031 the sharpness isn't going to last a lifetime brother. You will have to sharpen it if you use it at all. I know the knife will last. But I'm asking how long will that keen sharpness of the edge last
@@theknifeconnection9571 longer than D2 apparently. Im sick of d2/g10 flippies. Its tired. Whats the best user steel? Honestly? I might b inclined to say 1095!! Oh boy
Like your vids bud.🔪🔪🇺🇸
Thank you