Are powder steels superior?

[Big Mike]

Are powder steels superior?

When it comes to hardened knife blades, yes. :thumbup: :thumbup:



The uniformity and grain structure of Powder Steels make them a better choice then their conventional counterparts.


Even better, some of the new alloys can only be made by the PM process.





Big Mike

 

[sweet]

I think it comes down to the heat treatment of the powdered steel and that they know what they are doing, like the Chinese making Japanese style katanas with ASSAB K120C getting a body of HRC 40 and the edge at HRC 60

 

[THG]

I didn't do specific testing, just casual use. I found the edge would lose hair shaving sharpness by going blunt (not becoming rough/microchipping) pretty quickly.

Wow, that's pretty lame. I thought SG2 was supposed to have really good ability to hold an edge with all that explanation of the "super dense steel with virtually no deformities."

 

[A.P.F.]

SGPS is a real super steel and illustrates what can be done with powder metal blades. That steel can achieve high hardness yet still be tough !!
Finer carbides are always better and forging or rolling doesn't change the carbides .
You can make your own comparisons , for example 154CM vs CPM154 .They have the same composition but one is a powder steel .The CPM version is easier to sharpen yet holds and edge better [contrary to what you might think.] Better properties especially transverse toughness.It certainly takes a better edge ,my all round favorite.
Other powder steels I have are Fallkniven SGPS and S30V both very good performers.

I certainly agree on the difference between 154CM and CPM154, but I am still curious about one thing. You mention that forging doesn't change the carbides, so could one expect that a hand forged CPM154 blade exhibits the same characteristics as one made with stock removal? The carbides wouldn't tend to clump during forging?