re: Looking for a high end pocket knife for my son for christmas

IMHO, S30V is one of the best for pocket knives. Runs directly on the edge of hardness and being able to be sharpened. VG10 was too soft for my tastes. I like to use a knife for what I want to use it for and not worry about screwing it up. I don't baby things

There are so many different types of knife-specific steels, it would make your head explode. I was bored a few years ago and sat down and read about probably 200 that were in use at the time. Everything from tool steel, axes, pocket knives, kitchen knives, to skinning knives. They all have probably 75 different types of steel.