Is S30V steel a good knife steel?

RELH · Oct 18, 2024

I bet the headline for this post may get Bess shaking in his boots thinking his S30V knife is not worth a hoot. Now that I had my fun with pulling Bess' leg. I have been getting questions from possible customers as to "why is S30V such a great knife steel over other knife steels". Or "is it worth the extra money that it costs over other knife steel.

To answer these questions and other questions that customers have would take several pages so I decided to post a link below that will answer these questions and give you the information you may want concerning knives made with CPM-S30V steel.
No Bess I have not made you that gut hook knife, maybe someday.

https://knifebasics.com/is-cpm-s30v-steel-the-best-knife-steel/

elkassassin · Oct 18, 2024

Waiting Impatiently On The GUT-HOOK!

Phantom Hunter · Oct 20, 2024

Interesting read on s30v steel. Thanks for the link!

DeerMadness · Wednesday at 12:58 PM

I dint know why though, but I used both knives and then my Havolon to finish just one Deer. Is that normal, and is this okay for sharpening my Hatfield knives? It works well for my Buck knives.

ktg · Wednesday at 2:13 PM

I've got a knife made of that steel. I get it shave sharp along with my standard Buck 110. It just seems that the Buck lasts just as long or longer till it's dull. Am I doing something wrong?

RELH · Wednesday at 6:38 PM

How many game animals that the knife will do depends on how the hunter uses the knife. I only get two deer with mine, but that is due to me using the knife to rip open the rib cage as I do not like working blind in the chest cavity with a sharp blade.
Also how you re-sharpen the knife is important. I use a grinding belt system that I take all the way to a 2000 grit polishing belt. Some guys use a more course system that is not as sharp as I make my knives.
As for that buck. if it is a older Buck, I feel the steel is better then what they use today and the older Bucks has a rep for holding a sharp edge. My first hunting knife from 40 years ago was a Buck 110 folder. Also today Buck uses S30V steel on their high end knives.
Below is a link to where my knife was tested by "Mike" from "Ireviewgear". They buy hunting gear and will test it for about a year and report on it. I think some of you members know Mike and his forum.

https://ireviewgear.com/.../hatfield-custom-hunting.../

RELH

eelgrass · Wednesday at 8:04 PM

RELH said:
Also how you re-sharpen the knife is important. I use a grinding belt system that I take all the way to a 2000 grit polishing belt. Some guys use a more course system that is not as sharp as I make my knives.

I bought a 1" belt grinder/sander from Harbor Freight that I use. It makes quick work of it. I think 1200 grit was as fine as I could find at the time and as it wears it gets better for finish work. A little practice goes a long ways. Out in the field, the diamond sharpener that came with my knife works fine. I also have a small steel that works to help keep it sharp. I don't have the skill to get it as sharp as it was when it was new, but how sharp is sharp enough? The trick is to not let it get too dull when out in the field. I'll hit it with the steel a few times while butchering. That's what butchers do. The knife is fun to use and something I look forward to.

Elkassain, I've never had to sharpen my gut hook and it still works great.

RELH · Wednesday at 8:50 PM

Using a Harbor Freight 1X30 inch belt sander is a very good way to sharpen knives at a low price for the belt sander. Eel if you can find a 1X30 inch leather belt and use 1800-2000 grit polish compound on the belt as the final step, you will be surprised how sharp you can get your knife. I consider Harbor Freight a man's candy store and I visit ours several times a month.
RELH
Eel I just checked Amazon and they have a 1"X30" inch leather belt with white buffing compound. Just 19 dollars for belt and compound. Take it to the 1200 grit belt and then use the leather belt with buffing compound and you will shave with that knife. You can save on razor blades.

eelgrass · Wednesday at 9:09 PM

I like the idea of the leather belt and the polishing compound. I'll check into that.

I'll grab a handful of kitchen knives and sharpen them in just a few minutes on the belt sander. It's all in the angle and the pressure applied. Keep it moving so it doesn't get hot. That's very important. I can actually get a knife too sharp for my wife. She likes it sharp but not scary sharp.