S30V is an American steel that is also called CPM S30V. It is made by Crucible Industries using powder metallurgy, which is why it is called Crucible Powder Metallurgy. The idea behind making it was to find a good balance between all the things that make steel a good material for knives.
Crucible Industries did a lot of research to come up with S30V steel. Before making the steel, they also asked different knife makers what they thought. So, S30V steel has become one of the most popular choices in a short amount of time. In just 20 years, S30V steel became one of the most popular steels for making all kinds of knives, including kitchen knives.
In this article, we’ll look at the properties of S30V steel, explain why it’s used so often, and talk about how it works as a material for kitchen knife blades.
S30V steel chemical composition
- Carbon: 1.45%
- Chromium: 14.00%
- Vanadium: 4.00%
- Molybdenum: 2.00%
From the above, you can see that S30V is a high-carbon stainless steel with 1.45% carbon. This is more than twice as much carbon as what makes steel high carbon, so it is very hard and strong. High-carbon stainless steel has 14% chromium, but that’s not the only thing that makes it resistant to corrosion. Here’s more about how each of these affects the steel:
- Carbon is essential for making steel harder, which makes it stronger, more durable, and less likely to break.
- Chromium is the most important element for corrosion resistance in the chemical makeup of any steel.
- Vanadium: Vanadium improves the strength, hardenability, wear resistance, and toughness of steel by making the grain structure more uniform. In the right amounts, it can also help make things less likely to rust.
- Molybdenum: Molybdenum makes steel better in many ways, including its ability to resist corrosion, to be hardened, to be tough, and to have high tensile strength.
S30V steel uses
Crucible Industries says that S30V is a tool steel, but the vast majority of CPM S30V steel is used to make knives. Many people think that S30V steel is the best, which affects the price. If you want to buy a kitchen knife made of S30V steel, you should be prepared to pay a little more than usual.
Other than knives, S30V is just as easy to work with as many other materials in many industries. Still, the cost keeps it from being used more on a large scale in the industry.
S30V steel properties
Before a piece of steel is made into a kitchen knife blade, its hardness, toughness, resistance to wear, and resistance to corrosion are the main things that are looked at.
Hardness
S30V steel can be as hard as 64 HRc, but it is usually tempered to between 58 and 62 HRc to make it less hard. Most knives are between 58 and 62 HRc, which is a measure of hardness. If the steel isn’t tempered, it stays too fragile for the tasks you’d do with a knife. This can lead to chipping and other damage.
Toughness
S30V steel is very hard and strong. One reason is that powder metallurgy makes it easy to heat treat and makes carbides smaller. When Crucible Industries made S30V steel, one of the most important goals was to make it easy to heat treat. Because of this, knife makers were able to heat treat knives easily with standard tools, making knives that can take a beating without breaking.
Wear resistance
Because S30V has a lot of vanadium in relation to how much chromium it has, it has good wear resistance without giving up too much corrosion resistance. The hard vanadium carbides in S30V steel make it resistant to wear and also help it keep its edge.
Corrosion resistance
For steel to not rust, it needs to have chromium in it. Even though S30V already has enough of it at 14%, adding vanadium makes it even more so by making it harder for chromium carbides to form. With very little care, S30V steel will never rust or oxidize.
How is this steel perform as kitchen knife material?
Now comes the most important part: how well S30V works as a material for kitchen knife blades. Some things about S30V are good for some cooks, while other things are bad for others. In the end, there is no such thing as the perfect kitchen knife because everyone has different tastes. You have to decide how important each thing is.
Here’s what you can expect from an S30V steel kitchen knife, from how well it keeps its edge to how long it will last.
Edge retention
All cooks should know that a kitchen knife should be able to keep its edge for a long time. If you can use a knife for hours and still get a sharp edge that cuts easily, it can quickly become your favorite.
The hardness and wear resistance of S30V steel make it very good at keeping its edge. You can use the knife for hours without sharpening it and still get the most out of it. S30V keeps its edge longer than other steels we’ve talked about on our blog, like 440C, VG10, and D2.
Sharpness
Powder metallurgy gives S30V a very fine structure. Because of this, single or double-bevel S30V kitchen knives can get very sharp, almost like a razor. People praise it because it keeps its edge better than average. This is one of the reasons why.
Even though S30V knives can get very sharp, they tend to chip at the microscopic level. However, this doesn’t happen more often with S30V than with any other steel that performs similarly. In any case, it means the blade needs to be sharpened more often, but not as often as with simple steel. If microchipping is a problem for you, S35V is a better choice. We’ll talk more about this below.
Ease of sharpening
The second one is more like an S30V. It can keep its edge for a long time, but it might be a little harder to sharpen than other tools. This is mostly because steel is very hard to wear down. Diamond stones and other coarse sharpening stones will help you get a sharp edge quickly. Still, when it’s time to polish the blade, getting the burr off can take some time.
Still, sharpening an S30V steel kitchen knife isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it’s not too hard either. Once it’s sharp, you’ll be able to use it for a long time.
Durability
S30V is tough enough and wears well enough to make a knife that will last. Even though any knife you take care of can last for a long time, S30V is less likely to break. Even with very little care, S30V steel kitchen knives will last for many years.
Since it’s stainless, you won’t have to worry as much about rust. Rust won’t form on the blade if you wipe it dry after each use. Still, it’s important to be careful with S30V kitchen knives.
S30V is a hard steel, which makes it easier to chip than steels that are not as hard. Wear resistance is not an issue with S30V steel. Still, if you use it to cut something it wasn’t made for, like something other than food, you might find that the edge gets chipped. Keep kitchen knives on a cutting board and use pocket knives for outdoor tasks.
Comparison with CPM S35V Steel
Also, there is S35V steel, which is basically an update to the S30V steel that was already out there. Chris Reeve, a well-known South African-American knifemaker, asked Crucible Industries to make this steel to meet his needs.
This new version of S30V steel keeps its edge and doesn’t rust as well as the old version, but it is stronger. Because of this change, there was less micro-chipping and the knife could be sharpened more quickly and easily without having to use a sharpening stone to take material off the edge of the blade.
The chemical makeup of S35V is the same as that of S30V, except that it has 0.50% more niobium, less carbon and vanadium, and a lot more chromium, but the same amount of molybdenum.
FAQs
Is S30V steel stainless?
CPM S30V is a martensitic stainless steel that is made to be tough, wear-resistant, and resistant to corrosion. Its chemistry has been carefully set up to encourage the formation of vanadium carbides, which are harder and better at protecting against wear than chromium carbides.
What are the differences between S30V and 440C?
Both 440C and S30V are high-quality steels that are most often used to make knives. 440C doesn’t rust as much as S30V and isn’t as easy to break. On the other hand, S30V holds its edge better and doesn’t wear down as quickly. You really can’t go wrong with either one. The choice between the two will be made based on small preferences, not because one is better than the other.
How does S30V steel compare to D2 steel?
S30V steel performs much better than D2 steel in almost every way. The thing that D2 lacks most is that it doesn’t resist corrosion. It has enough chromium to be used for making tools, but not as much as you’d want for a kitchen. Because of this, D2 is mostly used for pocket knives. If money is no object, S30V will cut better and last longer.
Final Verdict
Overall, S30V is premium-grade stainless steel. It is used by both big and small knife companies to make different kinds of knives.
If you have the money, they are worth it for sure. S30V kitchen knives keep their edges so well that they make many others look like they’re not even trying. Still, you can get the same level of performance from cheaper options.
