Knife Steel

[Sporting_Man]

I am having a real dilemma regarding (near) perfect hunting/survival knife - something that can be used for general outdoor purposes, and that is decent for skinning, self-defense (that is easy part), butchering, etc. Say, blade length should be around 4 inch.
What material would be considered the best way to go? I lean toward 440C, since it is not as brittle, say as 154CM, for instance, but easier to resharpen than S30V blade... I use ceramic sharpening sticks. 
I also tried D2 and carbon steels (have to admit that I hate their discolorations). D2 (KOA), besides being non-stainless has some toothy edge when sharpened well.
I would appreciate some views from guys who know better than me...

[high country]

why not go damascuss blend of your favorites?

[257 Wby Mag]

I hear good things about S30V. One of my favorites, the alpha wolf is now being offered in S30V, might check it out..

[rainshadow1]

S30V is extremely dense. If you get a good (REAL good) edge on it you'll have a great tool, but it takes some patience and dedication to resharpen.

440C is good solid steel. But 154CM (which is molecularly identical to ATS34) is better. It'll vary based on the heat treat. 440C could be heat treated to a more ideal hardness/toughness than an ATS34/154CM, just depends on who did the cooking and what they were shooting for. (EXTREMELY HUGE FACTOR IN ANY KNIFE NO MATTER THE STEEL.) The heat treat being equal, 154CM/ATS34 is superior to 440C.

(Side note, the 420's, and the other 440's are inferior to 440C. But 440C is real good.)

Typically, a few carbons perform better when it comes the the hardness/toughness balance. D2, O1, A2, and a few others are top drawer. They patina, sure, but they're the best when it comes to a working knife. Stainless doesn't reach the same ideal. Good alloys (as above) can get really close, and stay shiny, but not quite as good. Carbon tool steel is hard to beat.

[Cylvertip]

Nothing like a big chunk of 1/4" thick heat treated 1095 in your hand to instill a bit of confidence.  Treat with SENTRY SOLUTIONS MARINE TUFF-CLOTH and corrosion resistance is almost the same as stainless.

Here's a link to the post I did on my Pretty Pounder from Grayman Knives.  There's also another blade I modified on that same post.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,36678.0.html