Blade steel for a custom necker

J

JCK

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Nov 7, 2009
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Hello everyone, I was after your advice on what you think would be the best steel choice for a custom necker knife I am getting made for me.

I asked this in general, and got some very good answers, but thought I'd ask here as well.

I plan for the knife to be

3" blade with a 4" handle
either 0.16" or 0.19" thick blade
full convex grind.

The reason I want a thick blade on only a 3" blade, is because I wish this to be a stout and tough little 'necker', kind of like the fehrman Thru Hiker Companion Knife, as thats 0.19" thick, and this knife appeals to me.

I plan on using this as a primary knife, where i'm in areas where a smaller knife is better, or more importantly, I just want to carry a smaller knife.

I originally wanted to try CPM 3V steel, but what other steels do you think would be good, for a strong, stout little necker. From the suggestions in the other thread, I was told cmp 3v would be uite hard to field sharpen.

On that note I was told 52100 steel would be my best, and I suggested this to my maker.

But I would like your input, as knife makers, on what you think would be the best steel for my knife.

Thanks
 
Stick with your 3V, as long as you don't mind the fact it's not technically stainless. If you sweat a lot, you might eventually get a bit of pitting, but it shouldn't be a problem if you wipe your blade down. I have a Krein Cicada in 3V and I wear it(and sweat) a lot. So far, no probs.
 
My neck knife is CPM154 a great steel . But for your 3' blade I would never go over 1/8 ".
 
Thanks for the reply Danbo. My bravo 1 is A2, so thats not stainless, and I find maintenance on it an easy thing to do. I really don't have a preference, just want a good, strong steel.

Can I ask, why grind is the Cicada, and with the 3V steel being the way it is, how do you find sharpening it - do you ever have to sharpen when your away from home?

EDIT: Mete - do you recommend not going over that thickness, as it will cause it to become an bad slicer? or due to weight?
 
Mine is custom by E Boese, 2.5" warncliffe , 1/8" CPM154.
For both weight and slicing I think 1/8" is more appropriate.
 
mete said:
Mine is custom by E Boese, 2.5" warncliffe , 1/8" CPM154.
For both weight and slicing I think 1/8" is more appropriate.
Click to expand...

Well I guess I shouldn't have used the term 'necker', as if its 7" OAL and 0.2" thick its gonna have a bit of weight to it.

As a reference point, the Ferhman Thru Hiker did give me a bit of inspiration, thickness I want, heard very good things about the steel, and has a 3" blade length, and close to 4" handle. But I don't want to get it, as I don't like the blade shape, or the choil.

But thanks for the steel suggestion, I've heard very good things about CPM154.

blgoode - Thanks, but I don't like D2 steel, and 3/32" stock is to thin for me.
 
7" overall knives I use 1/8" stock. 0-1 is hard to beat. 3v isn't stainless and has good reviews as well.
 
How about some damasteel Odin's Eye? If not that, or another damascus-type, S30V is outstanding stuff. If you're concerned about ease of sharpening in the field, AEB-L is great. Easily takes a phenomenal edge, takes a great polish, and quite affordable.

To tell the truth, I don't think you should have much problem keeping any type of properly hardened steel sharp, even in the field. Of course if you get some super-hard stuff, esp. that D2 you're not fond of, it'll hold a crazy, scary-sharp edge beyond belief. It does take more work to sharpen. But still, if you get it good and sharp to begin with, you shouldn't have much trouble keeping it sharp.

Whatever steel, a pair of strops with coarse & fine abrasives can be super lightweight and portable in your pack. So even if you have to skin an elk, you can prevent that bad boy neckknife from ever getting dull.
 
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thanks for the replies. I don't mind it not being stainless, as I don't have a preference to either, as I don't mind oiling it every now and then, so carbon vs stainless is not a big deciding factor to me.

I'm just not sure what would be more important to me, greater toughness= stronger knife or greater wear resistance=more edge holding. Is CPM9v ever used in knives? I was looking at the charts, and it has nearly the same toughness as CPM3V, but about 3 times as much wear resistance. Of course this would probably make the knife near impossible to sharpen, so I think 3v would be a good steel. Of course maybe I am going a bit OTT, but I want this to be like a thru hiker, just a bit better.
 
If youre going to wear it as a necker, sweat may be an issue. O1 probably wont pit but it will discolour depending on the sheath type and how much of the blade is exposed to your sweat/skin. the 3V should be fine but you could also try RWL 34 for the stainless and edge holding.
 
Stellite 6K with the right profile grind would be pricey but fill all your requirements.
 
J if you don't mind me saying so, you're overthinking it! Flip a coin if you have to, every one of the steels mentioned in this thread is worthy. You literally cannot go wrong.

PS no such thing as a steel blade that's impossible to sharpen, that's why God made DMT abrasives.
 
Tippet- I don't mind you saying that at all. I do think I'm overthinking it, but I thought why not try some 'supersteel'. But what you said definately seems like the easy thing to do. I've contacted a few knife makers to see what steel they suggest/use, but I'm thinking why ont stick with a steel I've had good experiences with, like A2. Or ones that many seem to like, like 01, D2. But I do have a bit of an itch for CPM 3V.

thanks everyone.
 
All of the steels mentioned will work very well for a necker. I'd go with the steel your maker of the knife feels the most comfortable working with.
Scott
 
Yes that's a good point. I learned the hard way not to ask a maker to do something he hasn't done before.
 
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