Nitro-V vs S35VN Steel

Nitro-V and S35VN are two high-performance stainless steels that offer an optimal balance of properties for cutlery applications.

Nitro-V is a steel produced by New Jersey Steel Baron in collaboration with Buderus Steel. It is based on Uddeholm’s AEB-L formula with added nitrogen and vanadium.

CPM S35VN steel developed by Crucible Industries as an improvement over S30V, contains higher vanadium, molybdenum, and niobium content. 

The key difference between these knife steels lies in their toughness and wear resistance. 

Nitro-V demonstrates superior toughness to S35VN due to its lower alloy content and finer carbide structure, making it more resistant to chipping and edge damage. 

However, S35VN achieves higher hardness and greater wear resistance through its increased volume of vanadium and niobium carbides, providing better edge retention under cutting loads.

Nitro-V vs S35VN Steel At A Glance

Toughness

Nitro-V demonstrates superior toughness over S35VN, which can make it better suited for more demanding knife applications.

Nitro-V achieves a toughness of 20 ft-lbs through its lower alloy content and finer carbide structure compared to S35VN toughness of 15 ft-lbs in Transverse Charpy C-notch Testing. 

The higher volume fraction of large vanadium and niobium carbides in S35VN steel negatively impacts its toughness.

Additionally, Nitro-V forms less brittle chromium carbides than S35VN due to its leaner composition. Proper heat treatment is critical for both steels to optimize toughness.

Austenitizing Nitro-V between 1900-1950°F and S35VN between 1950-2025°F produces a fine martensitic matrix and avoids excessive carbide formation. 

The higher toughness of Nitro-V makes it more resistant to chipping and edge rolling when subjected to high impacts and lateral forces.

So Nitro-V can better withstand activities like chopping, prying, and cutting hard materials. However, S35VN maintains the edge retention advantage from its higher hardness and carbide content. 

Hardness

Nitro-V reaches a peak hardness of 64 HRc through its carbon and nitrogen content, along with a fine carbide structure. 

While S35VN achieves a maximum hardness of 64 HRc with its higher alloying additions like vanadium, molybdenum, and niobium which form hard carbides.

The higher hardness and carbide content of S35VN stainless steel gives it an edge retention advantage over Nitro-V Stainless steel.

Edge Retention

S35VN demonstrates better edge retention and wear resistance than Nitro-V due to its higher alloy content and carbide volume.

S35VN attains an estimated CATRA score of 145% relative to 440C steel, while Nitro-V is projected to score around 130% like AEB-L steel.

The increased percentages of strong carbide formers like vanadium, molybdenum, and niobium in S35VN result in a higher volume of hard vanadium and niobium carbides compared to Nitro-V.

These fine carbides strongly resist abrasive wear, prolonging the sharpness of the edge.

However, the superior wear resistance of S35VN comes at the cost of reduced toughness from the brittle carbides. 

S35VN will retain a sharper edge longer under cutting loads compared to Nitro-V. But Nitro-V provides sufficient wear resistance along with improved toughness.

Ease of Sharpening

Nitro-V is easier to sharpen and grind compared to S35VN due to its lower alloy content and carbide volume.

The addition of vanadium, molybdenum, and niobium in S35VN results in a higher volume fraction of very hard vanadium and niobium carbides, making S35VN more wear-resistant. 

This increased wear resistance causes S35VN to be more difficult to abrade during sharpening and grinding. More effort is required to cut through the hard carbides using typical sharpening abrasives. 

Nitro-V stainless steel, with its lower carbide content, offers less resistance to grinding and sharpening. 

However, the ease of sharpening Nitro-V comes at the cost of reduced edge retention compared to S35VN. 

Corrosion Resistance

While S35VN stainless steel has higher bulk chromium and molybdenum content, Nitro-V stainless steel exhibits slightly better corrosion resistance due to more nitrogen in the solution. 

The 0.11% nitrogen addition in Nitro-V provides significant pitting resistance by promoting chromium retention during heat treatment.

According to Dr. Larrin, Nitrogen has 16 times the effect of chromium in increasing pitting potential. So the 0.11% nitrogen in Nitro-V is equivalent to roughly 1.75% chromium. 

This gives Nitro V steel an advantage over S35VN for environments prone to pitting corrosion, like saltwater. 

Proper heat treatment helps maximize corrosion performance in both steels by controlling carbide formation and avoiding chromium depletion.

Final Thoughts on Nitro-V vs S35VN Steel

In my experience, Nitro-V blade steel superior toughness allows it to take a very fine edge without rolling or chipping like S35VN is prone to do. 

The ease of sharpening Nitro-V knife steel is also a major advantage, saving significant time and effort.

I would recommend Nitro V stainless steel overall for its toughness and ease of grinding, making it ideal for hard-use blades that need to withstand impact and lateral stresses. 

However, for tasks demanding ultimate edge retention, wear resistance S35VN steel higher hardness and vanadium carbide content gives it a slight edge-holding advantage.

But the difference is small, and in practical use the additional wear resistance of S35VN over Nitro-V is minimal. Most users would be hard-pressed to notice this difference.

S35VN is my recommendation when pure cutting performance is needed, however, for an optimal balance of edge retention, corrosion resistance, and toughness I highly recommend Nitro-V steel.