Well, Art, I did find this - describing S3V..So, you could make comparisons knowing that on paper at least, S9V is stronger than (greater wear resistance) and about 75% as tough S3V. I took this excerpt from the Crucible site where they are talking about S3V steel...I think S3V and S9V are both excellent steels...I doubt however, that we will see them here because of their high prices.


"The combination of wear resistance and toughness
offered by CPM 3V make it an excellent alternative to
shock-resistant grades such as S7 or A9 in applications
where they wear out too quickly. Or, it can replace wear resistant
grades such as A2, D2, Cru-Wear, or CPM M4
in applications where they tend to fail by impact, i.e.
chipping or breaking. CPM 3V offers the highest impact
toughness of any tool steel with this range of wear resistance."