Is S35VN The Most Balanced EDC Steel? | Knafs Guide

In our galaxy, and not too long ago, S35VN was the cream of the crop for blade steels. Long associated with being expensive, S35VN has come down in price as more and more knife makers and manufacturers have made it their mainstream steel. So, what’s so great about S35VN? What can it do for you? Well, a little bit of everything.

THE FACTS!

S35VN is one part of a series of powdered steels created by Crucible Industries. It was originally designed as an easier-to-machine alternative to S30V. It’s a well-balanced steel that has good edge retention, toughness, and corrosion resistance. 

EDGE RETENTION

S35VN sits in the middle of the edge retention scale - nested between Elmax and D2. At this rating, the edge retention of S35VN is muy bueno for an EDC knife. 

TOUGHNESS

Regarding S35VN - you could do a lot worse in terms of toughness. When hardened between 60-62 HRC, S35VN outperforms its predecessor, S30V, as well as common steels like 154CM, M390, and VG10.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

S35VN has been widely adopted as a common steel by a multitude of knife brands because it’s well-balanced. There’s no one area where S35VN has proven to be a top of the pack or bottom of the barrel. It does a great job at resisting corrosion, it’s tough and abrasion-resistant, and it holds a good edge. It’s also easy to sharpen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

S35VN sits in the middle of everything. There are steels that outperform it and steels that underperform by comparison. It’s been widely adopted in the knife market since its release in 2009 and since then has come down in price considerably. Like MagnaCut, you can’t go wrong with a knife that has S35VN.