I think supersteels are not meant for ordinary knives, but for some industrial knives and special needs. S35VN is considered as the ideal knife steel. Going beyond this is mostly for enthusiasts.
Don’t you know?! As soon as mainstream American knife companies start to use a Chinese budget steel in their “cost efficient” model lines, that steel suddenly becomes an officially good one!
Anyway I can’t see any problem with 8Cr13MoV for regular EDC tasks. Depending on the design I would consider a knife with that blade steel to buy below the $30 mark although there are plenty of alternatives with D2 or even with 12C27 blade in the $20 - $30 segment.
In my experience, 8Cr13Mov is definitely better than 3Cr13, 5Cr15, cheap 420, etc. However, edge retention is usually worse than 12C27, 14C28N, AUS-8, Acuto 440, 9Cr18Mov, Chinese D2, etc. Of course, that's all anecdotal from my regular EDC use.
Have I turned you guys on to Outpost 76's YouTube channel? He does controlled cut testing on different knives and different steels. He has been doing it for a while, using a standard edge on a standard medium with a taped off section of blade. He sharpens down several edges to start with fresh steel and then tests subsequent edges to get repeatable results.
His results have confirmed my experiences with some of these steels. Coincidentally, I sent him some 9Cr18Mov for a recent test. Not only did it smoke a lot of the Chinese D2, it did as well as some of the production-level S35VN and M390. That might seem insane but it says a lot about composition vs heat treatment. Steels like 9Cr18Mov and 14C28N are both decent in composition and well-suited to big-batch heat treatment. S35VN and M390 have more impressive compositions but they require a lot more care in their heat treatments.
Any other black Friday deals out there?
I’ve carried one or two for a couple of years now and even the 8CR model holds a decent edge.
I just bought a bunch more for gifts.
Has anyone bought TwoSun knifes from Aliexpress “twosunt cuttlery” store?
I made two orders and tracking shows nothing after a month on both… (post NL)
I feel that way about a lot of Kershaw’s Chinese-made Kershaws in 8Cr13Mov. The Atmos and Fraxion are prime examples.
As we’ve seen, 14C28N is just a terrific budget steel. While it was originally made for Kershaw, now we are seeing Chinese companies like Ruike using it at Kershaw’s 8Cr13Mov prices.
With a proper heat treatment, 9Cr18Mov can be good too. I don’t know who Kershaw uses for their Chinese manufacturing but I have a hard time believing that they couldn’t get a better entry-level steel. Then again, they still make overpriced knives in 4Cr14 and 3Cr13. :confounded:
BTW, have you seen WE’s new bottom-tier brand, Sencut? They’ve got a new knife in 9Cr18Mov for $32.
Can anyone comment on the 9Cr18MoV used in the Civivi line (eyeing off the ORTIS model for a bit of a pocket thrasher). They’re rating it at 57-59 HRC.
It’s a good budget steel and Civivi does amazing things with it. I shared this 9Cr18Mov showdown a few posts back. Spoilers: The sample from Real Steel did better than a lot of Chinese D2. The samples from Civivi ranked right up there with some of the production M390 and S35VN coming out of China.
Anyone know of a way to tighten up side play in a Boker Kalashnikov. Tried tightening up the screw till the knife wouldn’t deploy but even then it still had the same amount of side play, so backed off till it just would deploy. Seemed no amount of screw adjustment changed anything in the blade side play. Can shims be added…?
Or is this just the way these cheap autos are…? To bad, as its a light easy to carry edc that deploys with authority. Got the Boker Strike Plus and it has no side play, none, but feels much heavier…?
Could it be because I got the left handed Kalashnikov…? I’m ambidextrous so got the Strike in right hand and Kalashnikov in left handed for $34 at Grindworx. Would that make a difference in side play…?
Guess even with the .015” side play still like the knife, especially for the budget price. It feels good in the hand.