Would you par $500+ for a Millie in CPM Rex 121? I would!

[hardheart]

Progress always continues. Perhaps 121 is still in the experimental stage as a cutlery steel today, but in 15-20 years, I truly believe that "truck stop" knives will use it.

I would say absolutely not. There's a reason not every car on the road has a turbocharger or a full carbon fiber body. It's expensive and pointless for the type of driving 99.9% of people do despite the weight savings and efficiency. There's no way to justify the alloy and tooling costs for a steel that isn't going to to be tested in the slightest. There are people praising 440C, S30V, AUS8, etc for not needing to be sharpened more than a couple times a year, what are they going to get from REX 121 in a 'truck stop' knife? It also has pitiful toughness, less than a third of something like S30V. People couldn't sharpen their knives and would be breaking them.

Diamond grinding would also be a bad idea, since power grinding iron alloys with it causes the carbon in the diamond to be absorbed into the iron at grinding heat. It's one reason we get to play with boron nitride and other super abrasives, diamonds aren't good against steel in fast grinding.

Anyway, if something like this were to be done, MPL-1 would be better as it is stainless. It also has the highest carbon content at 3.75%. If only we could get some sintered. I tried emailing Bodykote, but they never responded about the sintering or sourcing the similar alloy Fe70. You can get Supracor/MPL-1 in powder form, but good luck getting someone to roll it, I've contacted several makers with no luck.

[Ben Dover]

Time will tell!

In the meantime, I would be satisfied with a Millie in B-U K390 at HRC 63-64.

[Ken44]

I would be satisfied with a Millie in B-U K390 at HRC 63-64.

We know, and have for a LONG while now

Any day now I fully expect to see you change you BF user name to "Ben Dover K390"

Just kiddin with ya

[ibute21]

Time will tell!

In the meantime, I would be satisfied with a Millie in B-U K390 at HRC 63-64.

Didn't Sal say that there is going to be a K390 Mule?

[Joshua J.]

Maybe the Military is the wrong knife, big blade, full flat grind, what we want in this situation is something like the FRN Native or Manix 2. Something with a short, thin, hollow ground blade.

(A Yojimbo 2 would be more my style though.)

[farid.]

Hello everyone,
Interesting thread, there is a lot of talk on CPM REX-121, I will be seeing Sal at BLADE this year, If any of you want to have a Milli in REX 121 you will have to talk to Sal about that first but I’ll be happy to make a very few for collectors, It is Sal’s decision thou.
Farid

[hardheart]

how's the K2 folders coming along?

[benthughes]

I don't get it. I think the standard Millie in S30V with a liner lock is fine. I occasionally have to sharpen it with regular use which is fine. I have Millies in BG42, 440V, M4 and, for me, there isn't a huge diffenence. All are adequately tough and hard to keep and edge for stuff I'd use a folder full. My old S30V survived a BTLS access class where I used it to cut out the bottom of a car. I sharpened it and tightened the pivot screw and it was fine. I could do a lot with $500 and a Millie wouldn't be in the cards. For some reason, some Infi ..l

[MCM]

I know I wouldnt.

[Ankerson]

Personally I think a Military in 10V/K294, S110V, K390 at high hardness would be more reasonable in both use and expense and would be near the limit of what could be handled at reasonable cost (Still expensive due to wheel wear) in a production knife.

That would be much more than most people would ever dream of needing in a user knife.

[Joshua J.]

I don't get it. I think the standard Millie in S30V with a liner lock is fine. I occasionally have to sharpen it with regular use which is fine. I have Millies in BG42, 440V, M4 and, for me, there isn't a huge diffenence. All are adequately tough and hard to keep and edge for stuff I'd use a folder full. My old S30V survived a BTLS access class where I used it to cut out the bottom of a car. I sharpened it and tightened the pivot screw and it was fine. I could do a lot with $500 and a Millie wouldn't be in the cards. For some reason, some Infi ..l

This boils down to the "because we can" argument. This is a hobby, it's not like we buy all these knives because our lives depend on it (though many may act like it does).

[Ben Dover]

This boils down to the "because we can" argument. This is a hobby, it's not like we buy all these knives because our lives depend on it (though many may act like it does).

I think you hit the nail on the head. We don't put turbochargers and Cf bodies on automobiles because we need them. We do it because we want them.

I could live the rest of my life with a 1095 slip joint if I had to, but it would take a lot of the fun and enjoyment out of life.

[NoFair]

Never. Carbon fiber and CTS 20CP or better (I even love BG-42 ) is knife heaven for me. Added wear resistance at the expense of toughness wouldn't add any value at all for me

[Ankerson]

I think you hit the nail on the head. We don't put turbochargers and Cf bodies on automobiles because we need them. We do it because we want them.

I could live the rest of my life with a 1095 slip joint if I had to, but it would take a lot of the fun and enjoyment out of life.

There are Custom makers that will work with steels like S125V, 15V and Rex 121, but one would be paying a premium for the extra work involved over the more standard steels.