ats 34

M

mike nelson

Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
171
how do yall feel about an ats 34 blade steel being used on an edc folding knife?
if it is not preferred what steel would be better?

thanks much!!
 
perfectly good option. Until a few years ago it was considered one of the top steel choices for general purpose folders and smaller edc fixed blades. Obvious other options are 154CM and CPM154
 
My personal preference is ATS-34, fine grain, good edge retention, edge polishes up nicely.
 
composition of ATS-34 and 154cm are identical. CPM version of 154cm is better. it's good, although I prefer S30V
 
Nothing wrong with it. Used to be my "go to" steel for stainless. I like CPM 154 better, but nothing wrong with ATS-34. Far as that goes, nothing wrong with any knife steel for an EDC folder, provided the heat treat is spot on. More arguments and blame are laid at one steel's type or the other when it should be the heat treat. In the real world there is not a huge difference in performance, some people can notice a difference, but a lot won't. More difference will be noticed between a good heat treat and a poor heat treat, far more than two different steels with excellent heat treats.
 
Why not update ? Some of the newer steels do give better edge retention and are becoming more in demand. 440-C was a very popular steel also, in the past. The thing is the buyer has become more educated and expects to buy updated results. Frank
 
440C was modified to become 154CM [ats-34]. That was modified to CPM154 [RWL-34]. I like the newer S35VN .
 
More difference will be noticed between a good heat treat and a poor heat treat, far more
than two different steels with excellent heat treat. Very true! I don't rave about most of
the newest alphabet soup steels out there. I do however have a hardness tester and put
my knives thru some very serious tests. I do not hunt squirrels with a 30-06 nor do I hunt
deer with a .22 and understand different steels for different applications. The newest rave
steels and their numbers are only a starting point for what we want to do with them.
Ken.
 
I started with ATS-34, and then went to 154CM (same thing, different companies).
Then I switched to Crucible's CPM-154, which is the same metal made by particle metallurgy ( finer grain).
Now I have switched to CPM-S35VN. It has all the same features with better edge retention and a slight gain in usable hardness.
Any of these stainless steels will make a superb folder blade. Unless you have good equipment and cryo capabilities (LN) , send them out for HT.
 
How did that beast look. Will it be able to be used for knives without any major mods?
Got to ask, what did you offer them?
I've got some other questions about it.
Send me an email. sapelt@cox.net
 
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