Bark River Gunny Elmax vs Cruwear

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Sparky22

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Aug 21, 2017
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Thinking about a bark river gunny for a hunting knife but which steel is better for edge retention and corrosion resistance-elmax or cruwear?
 
Elmax is stainless, cruwear is not. Unless I am mistaken, you will have better corrosion resistance with Elmax. Not sure about edge retention, I think better edge retention with Elmax as well, but I am sure others will chime in.
 
Both are really good for edge retention but as mentioned before only Elmax is stain resistant.
 
Sparky22 said:
Thinking about a bark river gunny for a hunting knife but which steel is better for edge retention and corrosion resistance-elmax or cruwear?
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Elmax is very stainless, will hold an edge well, and is very tough for a stainless. Cruwear is an awesome steel. It will be significantly tougher, have similar edge retention, and significantly less corrosion resistance. It is not stainless.

For hunting, assuming there will be contact with blood, I would choose Elmax. It is plenty tough, and the corrosion resistance will be welcomed. If you were chopping or processing wood I would say Cruwear. Both are incredible steels in their own right.
 
Trying to get some help on a bravo 1.... Cruwear, 4v, or elmax... Tough all around outdoor knife, some corr. resistance, good edge retention. I know this isn't the place but I'm new.... And need to make a decision. Asap!! Any help pms appreciated. Sorry for the hijack
 
White Warrior said:
Trying to get some help on a bravo 1.... Cruwear, 4v, or elmax... Tough all around outdoor knife, some corr. resistance, good edge retention. I know this isn't the place but I'm new.... And need to make a decision. Asap!! Any help pms appreciated. Sorry for the hijack
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As stated above, Elmax is very stainless and has good toughness and great edge retention. Similar edge retention with Cruwear, but much tougher and not stainless. If corrosion is your concern, go wit Elmax. If toughness is your priority, go with Cruwear. Both are exceptional steels.
 
jstn said it well.
These are two of my favorite steels. You will not be disappointed with either one. That said, I don't know anything about the BRK heat treat of these steels. You can get a custom for the same price, and that is usually where my money goes.
 
I have experience with both steels. Edge retention is pretty close on them, a slight edge being given to Cru-Wear (but mine was PM, I've read it is also available as an ingot steel). Cru-Wear has better toughness, but not by a huge margin. Corrosion resistance is hard leaning to Elmax, it was designed to cut in caustic conditions, in its edge retention class it only competes with LC200N for corrosion resistance. For ease of sharpening, I'd give the edge to Cru-Wear, but Elmax is surprisingly easy to sharpen, neither was difficult to reprofile.
 
Do you want stainless or not? That's about the only question. My hunting knife is a 420HC Buck and I don't feel I'm lacking in the edge retention category, and these can only be better at that right?
 
I will be regularly using this for fishing, and cutting up eastern turkeys, big white tails, and obviously fish. Also though, toughness will be semi important as I will be using it for camping and some Bushcraft chores. I have a Silky saw, and an ESEE junglas I carry for big stuff in the woods. I'm now thinking about the LT version as I will be doing more cutting than anything, but should this greatly effect my decision between the elmax vs cruwear, as some toughness will be lost via stock thickness?these seem to be my two main choices as I've heard 4v sucks for corrosion, and m4 seems to lack in toughness for what I want. The thing is, is that I've been reading every thread I can find on cruwear says it has EXCELLENT corrosion resistance for a non stainless. Another thing, why rampless? I understand what the BRK ramp is supposed to be used for, and I actually like the look/idea. Thoughts? Btw I can't thank you all enough for the help.
 
Also, I have been looking at custom knives. My problem is literally that I just can't seem to find the right knife maker. Lt wright is nice, but I'm into other steels. I'm actually about to dump off like 5 nice 1095 knives. I've looked on Google and really haven't found any good options/methods for purchase or selection. It all just gets confusing. Any custom maker suggestions are fully encouraged
 
Instead of hijacking someone's thread, maybe just start your own. Or use the search feature.

The BRK bravo 1 LT is a great knife. Either of those steels will serve you for a lifetime. If you think you need stainless, just get the elmax. I have one in Cru-wear and its my favorites knife.

Me personally, I'd just get the knife in the configuration you like best. Both steels with be great.
 
White Warrior, unless you beat the crap out of your knives and generally don't take care of them, any of those steels should work very well for a woods knife. A year ago, everyone was raving about 3V as the ultimate woods knife steel. Now folks talk Cru-wear.... it never ends. I just bought a BRKT Wilderness Explorer model (5.75") in Cru-wear and so far I haven't done much cutting with it. It might be a tad long for me, but I like 5.5" for a general woods knife. But frankly, I just like the knife and I would have been satisfied with A-2, or any of the steels you mentioned. Chose it over the Bravo 1.25 because of the bottom guard.

I would get separate knives for general woods purposes and Eastern hunting chores and so forth. I would go with something around 3" for hunting/fishing and 5"-ish for general use. I use Dozier blades (D-2) for hunting. I don't worry about staining from blood exposure but I do wipe them off fairly quickly after use. (I usually have a bottle of water with me anyway or there is a stream, puddle, or snow.) My main requirement is simply that the knife does not get dull during a normal hunting day in the field. Frankly, Buck 420HC works too. The good old Buck 192 (have the Cabela's version) is a great hunting knife. So is the Spyderco Moran in VG-10.

Sparky22, I think your question was addressed and now it's time to make your choice. I don't think you'll be unhappy with either choice.
 
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Sorry about the hijack, I honestly didn't know how to start a thread, and didn't know if I could yet because I'm so new. Plus I saw how old the thread was. Either way, my bad.
 
Sparky22 said:
Thinking about a bark river gunny for a hunting knife but which steel is better for edge retention and corrosion resistance-elmax or cruwear?
Click to expand...

Couldn't say about the steels, but Bark River has sold more than one knife that was not made with the steel it was supposed to have. With that track record it doesn't really make a diffference what steel they say it is. Do a search before you buy.
 
Sparky22, you might take a look at the newly released Fox River EXT that is being offered by DLT. Apparently the handle is longer and you might prefer that.
 
I am thinking Cruwear would be the better choice but I wanted to know if you got your knife? I have a coupon for an Aurora in Cruwear for $203 with the black micarta handle and was thinking this was a great deal. If you want custom without too high of a price check out Bearded Bladeworks. I found him on FB and he gets the 3V blades sharp from what I have seen. The guys at Dutch Bushcraft Knives ordered one from him that is a work of art. Desert Ironwood Handles and custom work for around $250
 
Would love to see it if you can post a picture after you get the Dutch Bushcraft knife.
 
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