154cm

According to Mr. Ernie, Crucible approached him to see if he'd be interested in 154cm since he was using ATS-34. Crucible was there for Mr. Ernie and Mr. Ernie is there for Crucible. It's a relationship based on loyalty, is the way I heard it.

That said, he did do a run of S30V commanders. I think using other stainless products form crucible wouldn't be a bad idea. S30V or S35VN or even CPM 154 are great steels. I personally like 20CV and M390, but these are produced my different companies.

gooeytek said:
I'd be fine with CPM-154, in terms of a natural progression.
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I can understand EKI staying with Crucible steels, but Crucible makes a helluvva lot of steels. Wouldn't mind something a bit more exotic - then again an Emerson in 154CM heat treated a bit harder would be exotic enough. It's not just a question about steel, to have any difference EKI would have to change their heat treat and I think that might be too much to ask for.

Also, it'd make putting a V edge on an EKI much harder.
 
I don't think there has been a steel that has seen more battle testing in a folder than 154cm over the years. Correct me if I'm wrong. Some of the operators that use Mr. Ernie's knives would know a hell of a lot better than we would. While there are more "exotic" steels out there, most of that is marketing crap. I do wish 154cm was a bit more corrosion resistant, but nothing a good coat of Ren Wax won't take care of.


gastonian said:
I've never had any issues with their 154.:thumbup:
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matt f. said:
While there are more "exotic" steels out there, most of that is marketing crap.
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No it isn't.
There is big difference in edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, and other things.
Whether you need those attributes is a whole other discussion, but the attributes themselves are not "marketing crap".
 
Show me one steel that I can't dull by regular use. The whole "super steel" debate is marketing plain and simple. All steels dull at some point or another. What matters is how easy it is to bring that edge back. With 154cm, restoring an edge is very doable. I would venture to guess it would be harder to bring M4 or M390 or 20CV, or CPM110V back in the field. I agree, though, there are slight differences, but when has corrosion ever been a real issue when we're talking about tools? Toughness is based on whether or not a blade breaks. Guess it's just a difference in philosophy.



stabman said:
No it isn't.
There is big difference in edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, and other things.
Whether you need those attributes is a whole other discussion, but the attributes themselves are not "marketing crap".
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matt f. said:
Show me one steel that I can't dull by regular use. The whole "super steel" debate is marketing plain and simple. All steels dull at some point or another. What matters is how easy it is to bring that edge back. With 154cm, restoring an edge is very doable. I would venture to guess it would be harder to bring M4 or M390 or 20CV, or CPM110V back in the field. I agree, though, there are slight differences, but when has corrosion ever been a real issue when we're talking about tools? Toughness is based on whether or not a blade breaks. Guess it's just a difference in philosophy.
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CPM 3V is so much tougher than 154CM it's incredible, and I can sharpen it in the same amount of time.
It's okay to just like the steel as is without making claims that there are no (or very minor) benefits to other steels.

I'm fine with 154CM on Emerson's too (the last one I bought had it, naturally), but I wouldn't mind a few options.
 
3V is a great steel, but a lot depends on the geometry of the grind, etc. Just another factor on how well a knife performs. 3V will rust faster than "stainless" steels. That said, I considered a 3V knife when I was looking into Bark River for fixed blades. I opted for S35vn. Spartan Blades also uses S35vn. M390 and 20CV are great stainless steels for folders. Blade steel can become a heated debate.

I guess my whole rationale is for tactical folders what more do you need? I mean 154cm has been battle/field tested for decades. It continues to be used by the military elite across the world. What more could you gain by using 3V in a folder?

You could find one of those S30V commanders that are floating around. ;)

stabman said:
CPM 3V is so much tougher than 154CM it's incredible, and I can sharpen it in the same amount of time.
It's okay to just like the steel as is without making claims that there are no (or very minor) benefits to other steels.

I'm fine with 154CM on Emerson's too (the last one I bought had it, naturally), but I wouldn't mind a few options.
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I believe unicorn piss is actually the secret ingredient in Emerson's 154CM. 👍 Not really interested in seeing Emerson's with boutique steels though, just saying I've had better their experience with their 154CM than Benchmade for example.

Besides, an Emerson with exotic steel would be like ESEE getting rid of 1095.
 
I was absentmindedly opening and closing my Super about two weeks ago. I was reading something and my foot was dangling off the side of the bed. I had an itch on the top of my foot suddenly and withou thinking reached down with the open Super to scratch it.

It worked at first and then all I felt was hot burn baby. I put my foot up on the bed to inspect and beheld a most gruesome sight. Let me just say that it didnt bleed all that much. I was able to flap it closed and line the seam up well. Had that been one of the kids with that kind of wound I would have been at the ER in a jiffy. But it was just me.

I super glued that bad boy closed and I'll have a really cool assanine scar to remind myself to pay attention when messing with an Emerson. That steel is wicked evil sharp! The thing is, it's been used before this and never sharpened and it is still surgical sharp.
 
Newknif raises a valid point: If you carry a knife for fighting any steel will do quite well as human skin is not really that tough.
 
903lew said:
Newknif raises a valid point: If you carry a knife for fighting any steel will do quite well as human skin is not really that tough.
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I really wasn't making any point in my post actually. It's just me idly rambling on about my sharp Emerson. It may have a lot to do with not knowing all that much about knife steels but still wanting to contribute something to keep the thread going because I'm enjoying it.
 
Cut my apple just fine... Then lunch (chicken fajitas) and dinner (prep and BBQ if whole beef tenderloin)...

22dq92.jpg
 
INFI cqc16. Am I the only one that likes the 16? I'd settle for a 12 though.
 
matt f. said:
I guess my whole rationale is for tactical folders what more do you need? I mean 154cm has been battle/field tested for decades. It continues to be used by the military elite across the world. What more could you gain by using 3V in a folder?
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154CM is a great all-around steel...many of my knives are in that steel. :)
For what CPM3V might give, for me it would be that extra toughness if I want to use it for cross-grain batonning for things like shelter building:







Now that was a blade in S30V steel, but thicker than what Emerson uses. The Emerson blades should hold up to such things fine as well, but in CPM3V I'd feel even more sanguine about such uses.

Some offerings in whatever the USA made equivalent of H1 would be great for people always around the sea. :)

I would see the idea being that 154CM remained the base steel for all the models, with some other steels as options for those for want them for some specific reason. Limited production, as what's being used thus far works just fine for most things.
 
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