Another Question on CPM-440V

J

James Y

Joined
Feb 18, 1999
Messages
6,504
These have all probably been answered but here goes:
After reading the catalog, it would seem this steel should sharpen easily as it's listed at 56-57 Rc, but perhaps it is the unusually high carbon and other ingredients that resist wear that make it difficult to resharpen? Also, the Chromium seems very high, but how stainless is CPM 440V? Is it more or less than, say ATS-55, or Benchmade's satin finish ATS-34? Or VG-10?
THanks,
Jim
 
James,

It's not the carbon in this case that makes it harder to sharpen. It's really the Vanadium which gives it a high wear resistance. Which of course means it's harder to sharpen. Of course if you have a Sharpmaker it's not a problem at all. Also RC hardness can be a misleading thing to go by. Hope this helps.


Regards,


Tom Carey
 
Actually, I have read that it is the Vanadium Carbide crystals that form in the matrix that give it the fantastic wear resistance and hard to sharpen characteristics. And one of the members here, Jeff Randall, who runs an expedition company(?) out of Colorado, I think, took knives of 440V down into the Amazon rain forest for an expedition and wrote about it a while back in Tactical Knives. His experience was that they were quite stain esistant and held up quite well to the work required of them, if I remember correctly. Jeff, if I got something wrong, I am sorry.

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
I had a fair bit of bother getting my Military hair popping sharp. The reason is simple, the CPM-440V is so wear resistant I was not removing the burr, but moving it back and forth. Now I finish of by stropping with the 1200 grit stones a couple of times, then very very lightly one each side honeing. Once the edge is perfect I place my Ultra Fine benchstone on the Sharpmaker and put the 'final' edge on it. This knife is SO sharp with a 20deg each side angle that it does not need to contact the object I am cutting! It scares the cardboard et al int o cutting itself! Its that sharp!

I find that CPM 440V has better rust resistance than either ATS-34 or 154CM. I have had little trouble with rust on my knives as I use Marine Sentry Tuf Cloth. However it is VERY wet in Wales and I live close to the sea. As long as you don't have a glass bead finish, I don't think many will have trouble. D2 likes to rust though...

W.A.

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I've only had two stain resistant knives rust or develop spots. Both were on the same trip, carrying them both all the time, while camping. They were a BM 710 (ATS-34) and the Bladeforums Spydie Native (CPM440V). Rust near equally, the 440V maybe slightly more. Hard to say if it was that it was less stain resistant, or just used more, or cared for less. Anyway, when I got back home, the 440V had more staining. But in neither case was it severe, by any stretch of the imagination.

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The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog. - Ambrose Bierce
Most dog owners are at length able to teach themselves to obey their dog. - Robert Morley

iktomi
 
Hey, rockspyder, just what in the H*ll do you do to your knives? Jeff Randall took 440V to the Amazon where it was used to clean and prep various animals and such, to cut shrubbery, etc. and it didn't rust and held up well, and now the man in the famous staple incident has a story about taking one out and getting it to rust. I wonder what you do to them.

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by FullerH:
Hey, rockspyder, just what in the H*ll do you do to your knives? Jeff Randall took 440V to the Amazon where it was used to clean and prep various animals and such, to cut shrubbery, etc. and it didn't rust and held up well, and now the man in the famous staple incident has a story about taking one out and getting it to rust. I wonder what you do to them.</font>
Click to expand...

WHOA! I got Hugh's dander up!
biggrin.gif


Honest, I didn't do much to them. But not much FOR them either. It was hot and humid in the mountains of PA during the summer, camping out for about 4 days. Both were used at various times to cut vegetables, some meat -- hot-dogs and hamburgers (oops, with mustard and ketchup a couple of times, think that would matter?) -- and some sticks for marshmallows, that sort of thing. I wiped them off after every use, but they didn't exactly get washed after every use. And a couple of times of doing kitchen duty they got left laying around for a bit with some gunk on them. So, maybe I DID do a lot to them.

You know, though, now that I think about it, I have use my Military in 440V to cut through spicy pork barbecue, hot-dogs with mustard, etc. also, with only a wipe afterwards, and I haven't seen ANY staining or rust. Hmmmm.....

Hugh, I just have not had very good luck with my BFc Native, apparently.
redface.gif


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The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog. - Ambrose Bierce
Most dog owners are at length able to teach themselves to obey their dog. - Robert Morley

iktomi
 
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