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Can anybody tell me a little about ATS-34 steel and what it can be compared to?? Thanks.
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ATS-34 Steel
- Thread starter dutch_0311
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It can be compared to the more familiar 154cm nicely. It's not very corrosion resistant for a stainless or necessarily a "beater steel"(allthough Strider and G.Busse have made heavy duty blades out of it) but it has good wear resistance that most appreciate. Should be good for most folders and edc blades, kitchen knives too. It is a high grade stainless steel after all.
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here are some links to steel commonly used in knives...
http://users.ameritech.net/knives/steels.htm
http://ajh-knives.com/metals.html#metal2
http://users.ameritech.net/knives/steels.htm
http://ajh-knives.com/metals.html#metal2
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Thanks guys. I knew it was viewed as a good quality steel. I just got a Buck/Strider Tarani made from Bos ATS-34 steel, so I wanted to know a little bit more about it. Thanks.
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The key word here is "Bos". That man has a legendary ability to pull the best properties out of any steel he heat treats. Many custom knife makers use him.
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154CM was developed first. Then Hitachi developed ATS-34.
For a while in the '90's ('80's?), there were problems with 154CM quality and ATS-34 became preferred by knife makers. Then Crucible fixed the problems with 154CM and Hitachi started having problems with ATS-34 so 154CM became preferred. These days they are both good, though RJ Martin posted a couple of years ago saying he had photomicrographs showing that 154CM has better micro-structure.
I tend to prefer 154CM over ATS-34 simply because I like to buy American-made alloys when possible. But if there were two knives, one in ATS-34 with a design I liked better than the other in 154CM, I'd go with the design I liked in ATS-34.
For a while in the '90's ('80's?), there were problems with 154CM quality and ATS-34 became preferred by knife makers. Then Crucible fixed the problems with 154CM and Hitachi started having problems with ATS-34 so 154CM became preferred. These days they are both good, though RJ Martin posted a couple of years ago saying he had photomicrographs showing that 154CM has better micro-structure.
I tend to prefer 154CM over ATS-34 simply because I like to buy American-made alloys when possible. But if there were two knives, one in ATS-34 with a design I liked better than the other in 154CM, I'd go with the design I liked in ATS-34.
I have read several places that ATS-34 was originally meant for fan blades in jet turbines, which certainly sounds impressive. I used to EDC a Benchmade AFCK that was ATS-34, and I was very happy with it, edge-wise. I found it a little less corrosion-resistant than other popular cutlery stainless steels. If I carried it in my waistband while jogging, I had to be careful to wash off the blade afterwords, or tiny rust flecks would appear. I am of the persuasion that the CPM 154 version of this steel that is now available would be superior to either ATS-34 or 154 CM.