What is the best knife steel

[mountain lion]

What is the best knife steel? One that holds an edge forever and is easy to sharpen. Not worried about stains

[sticshooter]

A knife steel that will hold a edge forever? All knife steel will hold a edge forever....IF you never use the knife   :D   .<><

[m midd]

Most knifes that hold an edge well  are not easy to sharpen.

[akaboomer]

Im pretty sure a steel with those qualities does not exist. There are trade offs in trying to get the perfect knife for each guy.  All steels need maintainance but which part is most problematic for you? The staying sharp, the re-sharpening, or the stain resistance?

A good knife is like any other tool, it will need maintained or you not going to be happy.  I prefer a knife that is wicked shap and stays that way for a greater amount of time and handles the job it was intended for plus some. For these reasons I like 5160, W2 and carbon steels with similar traits.

 The best way to keep one sharp short of not using it is maintainance. Don't let it get DULL. Search the archives here and you should find a topic about that by Karl Anderson.

Like a fine shotgun or any firearm a bit of the right oil goes a long way in maintaining the original appearance of your knife. Take a little time and pride in your tools and they take care of you.

Chris

[Bobby Urban]

That is easy - as easy as asking on the main forum which is the best recurve, longbow or broadhead  

Good information above - steel wears.  

My best suggestion is to first decide on a knife design and what you plan to use it for.  Different steels are better for different uses all other things being equal.  

If it is going to be a very specialized knife that will only be used to gut or skin you could have it HT'ed to a harder final product in a 60+ making for a more brittle and harder to sharpen steel but an edge that lasts longer.  If it is going to see some chopping action or used to pop the pelvis you likely want it closer to 56-58.  

then do a little steel research and weed through the hoodoo and voodoo that is online finding a steel that will perform the task you choose.  

For the record, I have some very expensive custom knives created to my specs by very reputable MS smiths that have been pro HT'ed, cryo dipped, etc..  Although very, very nice knives - they still wear and get dull with repeated use.  I find having a method of retouching the edge and getting good at sharpening will be more beneficial than looking for a super steel.  That is unless you know and alien smith.  

I really like 5160 and O1 for mono blades.  

Bob Urban

[kbaknife]

2 things:

Geometry cuts. Heat treatment determines how long.
(By saying "geometry cuts." what is meant is that how the blade is physically shaped to the cutting edge is what determines HOW it cuts. Steel type has nothing to do with it, contrary to what many would want you to believe.) Now, the proper heat treatment and steel TYPE! will determine how long it cuts.


and

Jesus Christ, Himself, could send a bar of steel down from Heaven. It will only be as good as the heat treatment it gets on Earth.


And to say that a steel that cuts a long time is "not easy to sharpen" is incorrect.

ALL! knife steels are easy to sharpen - if you don't let them get dull! Sharpen them BEFORE they go dull.

[sinawalli]

Originally posted by kbaknife:
2 things:

Geometry cuts. Heat treatment determines how long.
(By saying "geometry cuts." what is meant is that how the blade is physically shaped to the cutting edge is what determines HOW it cuts. Steel type has nothing to do with it, contrary to what many would want you to believe.) Now, the proper heat treatment and steel TYPE! will determine how long it cuts.


and

Jesus Christ, Himself, could send a bar of steel down from Heaven. It will only be as good as the heat treatment it gets on Earth.


And to say that a steel that cuts a long time is "not easy to sharpen" is incorrect.

ALL! knife steels are easy to sharpen - if you don't let them get dull! Sharpen them BEFORE they go dull.

Yup!! What he said!! Without the proper heat treat, it'll be just a flaccid piece of junk, no matter what type of steel you use.

[Ray Hammond]

Nothing is even close to forever.

I like CPM154.  Its tough, a steel that is a little harder than many to rust- and if "heat treated" properly will hold an edge a while.

[4est trekker]

To what has been said...     Excellent advise.  I'm no expert, but here's a coupl'a tricks I use...After each use, I strop the blade a few times on my jeans/shorts.  Cotton, particularly denim, works well.  In fact, I've got a few antique strops with horse hide on one side and a cotton webbing on the other.  The second trick is similar, and one I learned from Karl.  To touch up a blade, or even bring it back from a pretty rotten state, I use the edge of my truck window.  I roll it down about 1/3 of the away and use the edge just like a whetstone.

I also like to use a fixed-angle sharpening system (by Smith's) regularly.  I find this keeps me accurate, doesn't require as much steel to be removed, and keeps me from screwing up the edge geometry too much.

Hope that helps!