hey everyone David C Anderson here coming at you from the KnifeCenter and
today we're looking at some of the best deals on super steels and you can find
them all at Knifecenter.com let's check them out
modern steel technology has grown leaps and bounds in the last couple of decades
and it's changed the way we experience our knives today we can achieve
long-lasting edge retention that was unheard of just a generation ago
remember your grandfather's old pocket knife that was sharpened down to just a
sliver of a blade well if his old knife was made with one of these steels there
would still be a lot of usable blade left because he wouldn't have needed to
sharpen it so often the best part of this new crop of steels though is a lot
of the great options have been coming down in price making this
high-performance even more attainable so we've rounded up eight knives with
eight super steels and all of them can be had for less than 150 bucks
sometimes even far less while there are differences between all these steels
for sure and practical uses on these folders what you can expect is a knife
that will stay sharp for a long time meaning you won't have to break out the
sharpener to keep them useful the first steel we're gonna look at is S35VN shown
here on a Cold Steel Code 4 S35VN is the successor to S30V that steel is the
first modern steel developed specifically for cutlery and it
kick-started the particle metallurgy revolution in knife steels this new way
of manufacturing allows the steel to be more uniform on the molecular level
which is where all of these steels get their performance the Code For in S35VN
can be had with a couple of different blade options we like the drop point
here for utility we've also got nice slim handle construction made out of
aluminum and Cold Steel's famous triad lock which provides a lot of security to
this blade combine that with some prominent finger grooves and this makes
a great knife for law enforcement or for anyone who needs that same level of
durability and performance next up is CPM-154 shown here on a Kershaw Leek
this is one of the most well rounded steels out there today and you can find
it in use from heavy fixed blades down to smaller pocket knives just like this
Now this steel is not to be confused with 154CM elementally they're the same but
CPM-154 is made with the particle metallurgy process and in that process
the steel has gained a lot in terms of edge retention and especially
the toughness the Kershaw Leek in CPM-154 also comes with
carbon fiber scales and it's a nice slim carry with an assisted opening mechanism
and this would make a great EDC gentleman's knife or executive knife
next up is ZDP-189 shown here on a Spyderco Endura now ZPD-189's claim to
fame is its high attainable hardness and that's what allows it to have a very
long-lasting edge this knife as I said comes from Spyderco and they're not
afraid to experiment with all the latest steels on the market sooner than many
other manufacturers so you're gonna see a few of their knives on this list we
love the Endura design it's one of their all-time greatest hits and it's made
even better with this steel and along with its sisters the Delica and the
Dragonfly which are also available with ZDP-189 the Endura is great for
all-around lightweight utility next up with extremely high wear resistance
S110V is a little harder for manufacturers to work with but the gain
is an edge that just won't quit and as I said about Spyderco they're not ones to
shrink away from a challenge and for that reason we get the excellent Manix 2
with S110V this knife is phenomenal for heavy duty chores because it's got
an excellent handle with a few different hand positions plenty of girth to really
bear down on that knife and an excellent lock that keeps your hand out of the way
of the blade when you're closing it now this knife breaks our rules on price
just a little bit but it's so close that we just had to include it next up is
CTS-XHP shown here on a Cold Steel Immortal now according to the manufacturer XHP
can be described as either a high hardness type 440C stainless steel or a
corrosion resistant D2 steel those are both solid budget steels but XHP takes
the best characteristics of both and kicks them into high gear with the
Cold Steel Immortal we get an excellent tactical design that doesn't sacrifice
performance at the expense of its attitude this knife also transitions
well to heavy duty work thanks to a very large handle and that broad tip is
inspired by old Roman Gladius swords and it gives us an excellent tip for
piercing that has a lot of strength backing up that blade is there excellent
Triad lock again as well as another Andrew Demko innovation in their
ambidextrous thumb plate that allows either hand to open the knife very
easily and it can also allow you to open the blade as you're drawing
from your pocket next up is Sliepner steel shown here on a LionSteel SR-2A
Now this steel is considered by many to be another steel that is something
like a D2 on steroids but it has better toughness and chipping resistance than D2
Italian manufacturer LionSteel uses this steel on a range of their knives
not just on this one and in their testing they've even found it to
outperform some of the other steels that are on this list despite it being a
non particle metallurgy steel what's great about the SR-2A is it's sort of a
fancier EDC design with the chops to transition to heavier tasks we get
LionSteel's famous integral construction which looks fantastic but it also
creates a stronger handle because there's no back spacer or screws to get
loose we've also got a nice frame lock as well as their patented Rotoblock
system which can be rotated and hold that frame lock in place to prevent it
from being disengaged next up is the only other non particle steel on this
list and that's LC200N here on a Spyderco Native 5. Spyderco is
using this steel extensively in their Salt series of knives because this is a
truly rust proof steel and yet unlike earlier rust proof options such as H1
LC200N has the edge retention to compete with some of the best steels in
the world the Native 5 Salt is truly a fantastic choice for carrying in any wet
environment and especially when you're around the water such as boating or
fishing it's one of my favorite EDC designs that Spyderco produces has a
nice full handle but it still carries very easily in the pocket we get a nice
lock back with this knife as well as excellent edge geometry for efficient
cutting next up is M390 shown here on the Streak from WE Knife Company in the
world of production folders right now M390 is everywhere because it offers
the right cross section of edge holding corrosion resistance and machine ability
to be used in a wide variety of situations the steel is just now
trickling into our price range and like the steel, the Streak has the best
cross-section of a variety of uses it's great for everyday carry as well as
tactical roles and heavy duty work without being too large to comfortably
carry we get G10 handles that are nice and comfortable they're thick enough
that you can really throw down on some big jobs but they're lightweight enough
that they still don't weigh down your pockets like everything WE Knife Company
does the fit and finish is excellent and we've got great flipping action
meaning you really get your money's worth when you put it down on the street
As I said at the beginning you can't really go wrong with any of these steals
they all offer high performance that older steel simply can't measure up to
to get your hands on one of these or see what other great knives we carry in
these steels, click the link in the description below
to head on over to Knifecenter.com