Big Chris EDC CPM M4 short review with some rope cutting "Pic Heavy"

gine

gine

Joined
Sep 2, 2007
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Specs.
0.100 CPM M4 @ 64 HRC
Overall 8.1"
Blade 3.75"
Height 1.25"
0.008 behind the edge with about 17 DPS
Handle Black Cherry G-10 with aluminum pins and tube
Kydex sheath

The blade came hair popping sharp off chris's work bench and had a fine edge finish.


I tested this knife on 1/2 inch manila rope and sliced from the back towards the front using about 2.5 inches of blade. The blade was tested by slicing paper about every 30 cuts.





This is after 120 cuts on the rope. It still sliced paper clean and easy.


After 320 cuts it didn't slice paper as cleanly, but that's to be expected. With good blade geometry and cutting performance it was still popping through the rope.


I ran out of rope at this point but it did 390 cuts. It still had a great working edge but it would snag while slicing paper. I then moved to cardboard and it sliced through effortlessly.


The knife performed very well in this abrasive type cutting. I used my M4 Spyderco Gayle bradley as a comparison, and due to improved blade geometry and 2 points in hardness this Big Chris cut longer . I would recommend a Big Chris knife to anyone looking for a great high performance blade at a fair price!
Thanks Chris.
 
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saw and spoke to him at the louisville gun show bout 2 weeks ago,he had alot of knives on his table, prices some where under $200 with nice kydex sheaths.
 
I love his work...hope I can add one of his to my collection one day! Awesome performance!
 
I have a couple from him in 3V that are slicing monsters...I might try one in M4 after seeing this.
 
He does great work, and is a super nice guy to talk to! Nice review, great looking blade!
 
He's a great dude.
 
Chris has helped me out in the past so I thought I would do a quick review. My review isn't the most scientific, but I hope it gets the point across. I have more blades from him in different steel grades and I hope to do more reviews in the future. When I was posting the thread I forgot to log in and I lost it all when I tried to submit it. I was running short on time because I had company coming over for dinner. My original was written better but this version gets the massage across I hope.
Thanks for looking!
 
Thanks for the review. I got a change to meet and talk with Chris at Blade. :thumbup:
 
Nice review and pictorial Matt.
Thanks for all the kind words fellas.
 
BC that's a fine knife. :)

Thanks to the OP for posting this. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I've never seen nor heard of the knife. :o

A question for BC... How did you come up with 17° per side? I ask because I have a Contego that I've set at 15dps and I plan to go to around 12. That's *if* the thing will ever dull! M4 is magic. ;)
 
Thanks guys!

Strigamort the knife is thin behind the edge in comparison to production blades. I came up with the DPS when I used the sharp maker to touch the edge. Just a few passes on each side after all this. It was set on the 30 degree setting and tilted just slightly.
 
I agree, that's nice and thin. :) That's also why I wondered about a fairly obtuse bevel. After re-reading your original post I noticed that you said that it was around 17dps, not specifically. I gotta pay more attention. ;)
 
When I sharpen a knife for the first time I use a Bubble Jig set at 15 degrees on an unsupported belt. This gives the edge a very slight convex at roughly a 30 degree inclusive bevel.
My personal knives are sharpened at a lot closer to 10 to 12 DPS as I like a slicier edge. M4 is a pretty awesome steel and will hold a thinner lower angle edge, but I use 30 degree inclusive for the end user to know what it was set at for resharpening. I read on here and noticed that I must be the only guy that does not own a sharpmaker and that is the other reason I use the angles I use.
 
Big Chris said:
When I sharpen a knife for the first time I use a Bubble Jig set at 15 degrees on an unsupported belt. This gives the edge a very slight convex at roughly a 30 degree inclusive bevel.
My personal knives are sharpened at a lot closer to 10 to 12 DPS as I like a slicier edge. M4 is a pretty awesome steel and will hold a thinner lower angle edge, but I use 30 degree inclusive for the end user to know what it was set at for resharpening. I read on here and noticed that I must be the only guy that does not own a sharpmaker and that is the other reason I use the angles I use.
Click to expand...

Beautiful knife, Chris. I have a question for you. Using this particular EDC model of yours as the basis for comparison - and specific to the way that you personally heat treat the blades and grind the bevels/angle geometries - what do you see as the relative strengths and weaknesses of CPM-M4 vs. CPM-3V?
 
I really think across the board the real main difference between the two is going to be wear resistance. M4 has 1% more Vanadium and the addition of 5.5% Tungsten. M4 has close to four times the wear resistance of 3V. I really think the only times we as knife users would be able to the max either steel would be in a Bladesports Cutting Competition.
I have not done the testing to support what I am getting ready to say, but these are my conclusions from talking to a couple competition cutter competitors.
The competiotion knives I have seen would rival your thinnest hunting knife in edge geometry. Remember that these knives are also 1/4" plus thick, but they are sub .010" behind the edge. I think that 3V would also perform very well and may not chip out or chip as bad, but when time and bragging rights are on the line that slight edge in edge holding is where I would put my money. When you have to chop a 2x4, cut a 2" manilla rope, and then go split a flexy straw I am going to want a steel that will hold the fine edge longer, therefor I too would pick M4. Sorry to ramble off subject.
Back on your question using the Personal EDC, I doubt that you would ever be able to tell a difference between the 2 steels unless you have one of each next to you doing edge testing with an abrasive material. It seems also in my use that 3V has a lot more aggressive cutting action, when both steels are sharpened the same, but M4 will cut for a lot longer.
I think I made this clear as mud.
 
Chris, the sharpmaker is a good tool to have for quick touch ups. I take it with me when I'm away for portability and convieniance when packing several stones is too much fuss. When applying a new edge or changing an angle on a knife it simply just takes too long even with the diamond rods IMO.
 
Big Chris said:
I think I made this clear as mud.
Click to expand...

Not at all, Chris. That's exactly what I was looking for. :)

So often when comparing steel types, our attempts at drawing meaningful conclusions are hampered by fundamental differences in blade geometry and heat treating regimens. This is hardly news to anyone. One of the reasons Jim's extensive steel testing is so valuable to me is precisely because of the lengths he goes to test knives with similar blade styles and bevel angles. In this case, we have the luxury of receiving input from a respected maker who is able to give us some data points regarding two very popular premium steels in as near to a direct "apples to apples" comparison as one could possibly hope.
 
Since you mentioned Jim's testing I will relate that I have 3 knives with him right now for testing. To keep the playing field as level as possible all 3 are identical knives with as near identical edge geometry as possible. I was very conscious to keep edge thickness equal (I think I had about a .002" deviation down the length of the blades).
Two are 3V and one is 4V.
 
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