Hot take: most people here are way too precious about blade steel

I was at a knife show in Nashville last weekend and this guy spent 20 minutes lecturing me about why M390 is garbage compared to CPM 20CV. I just nodded along. Later I looked up the actual difference in edge retention tests. Its like 3% in real world use. Three percent. And people act like one is a broken hacksaw and the other is a lightsaber. Meanwhile I sharpen my VG10 every 6 weeks and it works fine. Has anyone else noticed the steel snobs are usually the ones with the dullest knives at the meetups?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.tara9d ago

Precisely this. The whole steel obsession is just marketing hype and people wanting to feel superior. Been using basic 440C for years and it cuts just fine. Never had a knife fail on me.

cooper.nathan9d ago

Heard you loud and clear but I gotta push back a little. 440C is fine for sure but there's a REAL difference when you try something like S35VN or even good old VG-10. It's not just marketing hype. I've sharpened a LOT of knives and the cheap steels just don't hold an edge as long in my experience. You might not have had a failure but I've definitely seen cheaper steels roll or chip after just a few tough cuts. It's not about feeling superior, it's about picking the right tool for the job and sometimes the "upgrade" saves you time and frustration.