154CM = ATS 34 used to be #1 for cutlery

blade4sell

blade4sell

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Dec 11, 2012
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Hey members,

I've goggle 154CM & found that 154CM = japanese ATS 34 Stainless Steel used to be #1 for cutlery.

If 154CM used to be #1, what steel now is considered #1 in today's market? And what brand & model uses this steel?

Dennis
 
I just ordered 6' of ground 154cm. It's still a helluva steel.
 
Seems to me like 1095 is the most common amongst the American knife makers when it comes to fixed blades. 420 HC seems to be a standard for many folding blades, however if your are counting the millions and millions of junk blades sold out of BudK then 440 series will likely be the steel used for the majority of blades made.
 
Dennis.

To be honest, best for cutlery depends on the user.

Some prefer a steel that is an aggressive cutter. M390, CPM-S90V comes to mind.
But these are wear resistant so one needs at least diamond stones to sharpen IMO.

Many feel that a steel needs to be able to take a keen edge without chipping. 12C27, AEB-L comes to the table. Easier to sharpen even on older stones.

Then there are those that want a bit of both characteristics. 154CM, ATS-34, N690, VG-10.

Now you get powdered 154CM called CPM-154 (note, no CM afterwards) and RWL-34 that IMO is the best balance between all steels when heat treated properly. Offers the maker a steel that is easy to grind, the user with a steel that can be catered to his/her use. IE, low angles, coarse/fine finish etc.

That is all IMO from my uses and the categories I mentioned are only general.
 
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s90v, cts-20cp and m390 according to ankerson's testing: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/793481-Ranking-of-Steels-in-Categories-based-on-Edge-Retention-cutting-5-8-quot-rope...but there's k390 that'll be off the charts according to this thread if it makes it into regular production: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/884643-K390-Military.

keep your eyes open for spyderco's "mule team" fixed blade in k390 in the coming months since sal glesser said that steel is next recently (they just released cts-xhp and they usually release a new mule team every couple of months so i'd say near march or april for k390).
 
estate4life said:
Hey members,

I've goggle 154CM & found that 154CM = japanese ATS 34 Stainless Steel used to be #1 for cutlery.

If 154CM used to be #1, what steel now is considered #1 in today's market? And what brand & model uses this steel?

Dennis
Click to expand...

Guess I should ask this to clarify,

do you mean #1 as a matter of personal preference, or #1 as in what steel is most commonly used?
 
S90v, CTS-204p, M390, and CTS-XHP come to mind. Spyderco uses all these steels and Benchmade so far as I know uses M390.
 
Firestrike said:
Guess I should ask this to clarify,

do you mean #1 as a matter of personal preference, or #1 as in what steel is most commonly used?
Click to expand...

#1 as in highest quality....most commonly use does not reflect quality does it? IDK...because I found many BM folders use 154cm steel so my thought was that 154cm is high quality steel? But when I google, says it used to be #1 in cutlery.

Guess what I want to know is that if I spent $300-$500 on a blade, what material is expected? And those cheap brand would not dare touch.
 
estate4life said:
#1 as in highest quality....most commonly use does not reflect quality does it? IDK...because I found many BM folders use 154cm steel so my thought was that 154cm is high quality steel? But when I google, says it used to be #1 in cutlery.

Guess what I want to know is that if I spent $300-$500 on a blade, what material is expected? And those cheap brand would not dare touch.
Click to expand...

My personal thoughts would be INFI, though I am sure many will disagree.
 
I've found CPM154 to be incredibly well balanced and quite effective in most applications.

It's tuff, and the retention is real nice.
 
They are both great steels, but one is American (154) and the other (ats)is the Japanese equal. I have several knives in each, they are great steels and easy to sharpen. There are "better" steels out there now but these 2 are both great for most uses. If you go into crucible's website and they will give you a breakdown of their newer steels.
 
I personally used to be a steel snob, and would only consider a folder if it had ATS-34 or 154 -CM.

Times have changed. Steels have gotten better, and even with all the "super steels" out there I will and do buy knives with 154-CM.

I also have knives with M4, S30V, D2, M390, CPM-3V, and several others. Anything at or above 154 -CM is fine with me. I do prefer CPM-3V for fixed blades however. Even more so than INFI.
 
I have several in m390, which is top of the line. But I have been liking m4 much better. I like it a bit better due to it is a bit easier to sharpen. And for me seems to take and keep a keener edge longer. M4 is really good steel.
 
estate4life said:
#1 as in highest quality....most commonly use does not reflect quality does it? IDK...because I found many BM folders use 154cm steel so my thought was that 154cm is high quality steel? But when I google, says it used to be #1 in cutlery.

Guess what I want to know is that if I spent $300-$500 on a blade, what material is expected? And those cheap brand would not dare touch.
Click to expand...

If you spend $300-$500 on a blade, the steel should be what you prefer.

Others have listed great steels. You need to pick what you want the steel to excel at, and go from there. Slicer, with edge retention being top consideration?

Toughness? Stain resistance?

Some steels are a great combo of all of those. Especially the modern "super steels".

It is important to note, that the steels chosen, are less important than an optimal heat treat.


I can buy the best Whizbang steel, and if I don't use an optimized heat treat, it won't matter one bit.


Another gave the example of INFI being the "optimal" steel. Infi is a compromise like any other steel. It is a great balance of everything. It is stain resistant. It is very very tough. It is not the highest in outright edge retention when cutting soft materials, or abrasive materials. If that is your goal other steels will out perform it. If you will be introducing lateral stress, shock and impact, take a look.
 
ron finkbeiner jr said:
I have a couple of Bucks that have ATS-34 heat treated by Paul Bos is that good stuff?
Click to expand...

Your experience with them should answer that (I highly suggest the answer is a resound heck yes)

I've seen 440 series with Bos heat treat outperform "higher end" steels with an amateur HT.

There are a TON of great steels available today, too many to chose from, IMO. I tend to lean towards how the HT is done and how the blade is built instead of getting hungup on the "what steel is best?" battle.
 
k390, k294, s110v, etc... great steels but to hard to work with for companies to use in production
 
As has been pointed out ats34 and 154cm are both excellent steels if heat treated properly. Unless you do extreme things with the knife you will probably never know the difference.:)
 
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