Opinions on LC200N knife steel

[SharpDog]

I've got two Spyderco Aqua SALT series 5" plain edge fixed blades in H1 steel for fishing and kayaking use. It seems to be on par with VG10 in terms of hardness and sharpening ease. Not exactly sure what the difference is between H1 and LC200N in terms of use. I love the blade shape.

I'm not sure about the actual strength (e.g prying) or toughness (e.g. banging) of this steel. I have not tested it. I assume it is not strong or durable but I could be wrong. The Spyderco folks are raving about it. I'm basically treating it like a ceramic blade (ie. very carefully) until I can understand it better. For my purposes for these blades, corrosion resistance is the primary attribute.

 

[JShirley]

H1 Plain Edge (PE) blades don't hold an edge as long as some other types of steel. Serrated ("Spyder") Edge (SE) H1 is claimed by Spyderco's Sal Glesser as the best-performing steel Spyderco uses.

 

[ugaarguy]

I just recently picked up a Spydiechef, so I'm still learning LC200N myself. Sal Glesser has said (written) on the Spyderco forum that in Spyderco's testing LC200N has edge retention almost as good as VG-10. Sal says that LC200N has much better edge retention in plain edge than H1, but that H1 has the best edge retention of any steel they've tested in serrated edge.

Spyderco forum member Surfingringo has the most experience with corrosion resistant steels of anyone I've read on the web, so his posts over there should be a great guide. He fishes off the coast of some Central American or Caribbean country (can't remember exactly) in the Gulf / Atlantic for hours every day in a kayak and he has the photos and vids to back it up.

There haven't been very many production knives in LC200N to this point, so except for a few folks who are hard use, early adopters, or those who work for knife companies in R&D, I think we're all still learning. If you're interested in comparing the alloy composition of H1 and LC200N zknives has good graphs you can generate.

 

[SharpDog]

Just pre-ordered a Caribbean leaf plain edge. Seems to be a lot of buzz for this one (buzz as in bumblebee (sic) ).

 

[ugaarguy]

The Caribbean is a little bigger than I'd want, but I'd like to see that blade shape in a Spydiechef like Ti handle.