Best steels for chopping knives?

[BagofDeadCats]

3V is my choice in this class for the time being. 52100 is one of my favorites but I like it not in choppers as much as skinner and EDC/utility type knives. With the right heat treat at RC 62 or so it can do amazing things but I wouldn't use it for chopping like that.

Thank you for your choice of steel in the "I like it not in choppers" category. The OP was asking about Choppers specifically not skinners or utility knives...I can name all sorts of steel that make good swords/skinners/balisongs/shovels/pogo-sticks, but they weren't asking about them were they? Sorry if I seem like a Richard... been a long day.

 

[JayGoliath]

I make hatchets out of D-2. It is a die steel, it will make a good chopper.

John I.

Hi John,

Very interesting and i see that you are residing in a very cold place too.
Is D2 that good for a hatchet?
I read recently about an axe made out of D2 for breaching doors.

As what i understand D2 has high wear-ness but not on toughness.

Mind to enlighten us?

Thanks!

 

[Liveitloud]

Thank you for your choice of steel in the "I like it not in choppers" category. The OP was asking about Choppers specifically not skinners or utility knives...I can name all sorts of steel that make good swords/skinners/balisongs/shovels/pogo-sticks, but they weren't asking about them were they? Sorry if I seem like a Richard... been a long day.

...and thank you for your astute monitoring of this thread and trying to keep it on topic but I believe that Mastiff answered what he thought was a good chopping steel. Does he not get to offer an opinion of what he does not like? Maybe I should wander over to the wool thread, carry on.

 

[Ankerson]

For me in choppers it's INFI.

SR 101(52100) is also excellent as is CPM 3V.

 

[Joshua J.]

Something cheap and easy to sharpen. I almost always dull my choppers by hitting rocks in the dirt.

I still like INFI though.

 

[Mike-The-Knife]

It's always been my understanding that D-2 is a very hard tool steel and although it can hold an edge for a long time , that hardness makes it brittle . So I have read that it doesn't make for a good chopper , but a great cutter . I HAVE a D-2 Ontario TAK-1 and you need a diamond sharpener to put an edge on it . It's not a chopper(as it's handle heavy) but I have done some battoning with it when it was all I had and it held up fine . I'd suspect like most metals it can be heat treated in different ways to bring the hardness up or down somewhat and maybe make it a little softer and less brittle . But I have always heard D-2 used for cutters and not choppers . Just my $.02


HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !

 

[gooeytek]

I like S7, and had a chopper made from it (the one in my sig pic), HT'd to as high as possible for the steel. So far, it hasn't disappointed in any way except that I've run out of things to chop for the meantime.

 

[me2]

Something cheap and easy to sharpen. I almost always dull my choppers by hitting rocks in the dirt.

Amen. Cheap is relative, but steels I'd consider for a chopping knife have less than or equal to 0.8% Carbon and basically rely only on their hardness for wear resistance. Steels like S7, S5, 1055 through 1080, 12C27M, 5160, 9260, A8, 4340, L6, and a few others. I think it's a little odd to choose a steel like D2, ATS-34, etc. for a chopper. None for me if I'm the one to have to maintain them.

 

[hardheart]

Thank you for your choice of steel in the "I like it not in choppers" category. The OP was asking about Choppers specifically not skinners or utility knives...I can name all sorts of steel that make good swords/skinners/balisongs/shovels/pogo-sticks, but they weren't asking about them were they? Sorry if I seem like a Richard... been a long day.

52100 and SR101 were mentioned many times in this thread before Mastiff posted, including the original post and in your first post to the thread. He is completely on topic.

Every day is 24 hours, midnight to midnight, so length is consistent. I bet the Richard-o-meter reading doesn't vary too much, either.

 

[gine]

Another good steel is cpm m4.Tough at high hardness,wear resistance,decant corrosion resistance for tool steel.