Bohler Elmax

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me2

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I was just perusing some of my knife references the other day and noticed Elmax mentioned in one of them. This is a steel that has been getting some attention on BFC lately as a premium blade steel. However, the reference was published in 2000, meaning this steel has been known to the knife industry for over a decade. Anybody know the earliest use for cutlery, and when Elmax was developed?
 
ELMAX and M390 both have been around for awhile, both developed for and used in the Plastics industry.

I doubt anyone really knows when ELMAX was 1st used in knife blades, it would be a custom maker that was 1st I would bet and likely outside the US.
 
One reason I ask is that time frame puts it in the period when S30V was being pushed as THE blade steel. Do you have any head to head, same maker, same geometry type comparisons?
 
ELMAX will beat S30V in every way from my data and Bohler has CATRA data posted on their website.
 
ELMAX was not stocked in the US until late in 2009. Now it is available in single sheets or in cut bars from distributors. We spent much of 2010 on tests of toughness and edge retention. Search "Bohler Uddeholm Knives" for tests and testimonials.

ELMAX, when hardened to 57-59 RC, has the edge holding performance that compares with other powder metals but the impact resistance is much higher than other stainless steels. It will take more abuse.

When hardened to 61-62 Rc the edge holding is incredible and the impact resistance is still decent. The numbers are on the web site.
 
We tested Elmax a while back and it tested very well, but availability was difficult. Now that B.U. Has established inventory in the US, I think you will see more of it. Our first production knife with Elmax is the LionSpy designed by Gianni Pauletta and is being made by Lion Steel in Maniago, Italy. Should be out soon, but quite expensive (Titan, Euro & all). We're considering a Mule Team run depending on availablity. John S. is their rep here in the US and he is available.

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
We tested Elmax a while back and it tested very well, but availability was difficult. Now that B.U. Has established inventory in the US, I think you will see more of it. Our first production knife with Elmax is the LionSpy designed by Gianni Pauletta and is being made by Lion Steel in Maniago, Italy. Should be out soon, but quite expensive (Titan, Euro & all). We're considering a Mule Team run depending on availablity. John S. is their rep here in the US and he is available.

sal
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Eh, not so sure about the LionSpy. For me, the appeal of the original SR-1 was that it was machined out of a single billet of titanium rather than 2 separate pieces held together with torx screws. I'm sure it's overkill for strength, as the pivot will likely break before any other part of the knife, but it was something unique outside of a Scott Cook Lochsa. Though an SR-1 with a premium stainless steel is somewhat of a dream knife for me, the G-10 side sort of killed my buzz.

Any chance of a run of Moran Featherweights in Elmax? I've always felt that a premium steel in a low cost and popular design would be a sure winner if the recent sprint runs of the Para2 have been any proof of that. I just sort of wish there would be a full production run with these premium steels, although thus far I haven't noted any knife manufacturer doing this. It would be unreasonable to expect a 9% vanadium steel given the difficulty in machining(would make great box cutter blades IMO), but I'm hoping Elmax and M390 opens up new possibilities given their unique traits.
 
I don't know my stuff in this area but I did read somewhere that Elmax is fairly reasonably priced relative to it's status as an elite blade steel. If this is true we should see it showing up in many more knives soon.
 
We've used ELMAX on a few runs of ZT Knives (both Composite (0350's) and solid blades (0551) starting back in 2010 I believe. We like it, a lot.
 
Thomas W said:
We've used ELMAX on a few runs of ZT Knives (both Composite (0350's) and solid blades (0551) starting back in 2010 I believe. We like it, a lot.
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Is the 3550 Speedform II a full production run?

I just ordered one last week since it seemed like a pretty good deal for a solid Elmax blade at under $80(depending on the dealer).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for one in a fixed blade, perhaps a skinner model, taken to Rc 61-62 with a dangerously thin edge. I've heard the stuff is tougher than S30V, which would make it a great guinea pig to try out thinner edges without the concern of somebody snapping the thing in two.
 
Noctis3880 said:
Is the 3550 Speedform II a full production run?

I just ordered one last week since it seemed like a pretty good deal for a solid Elmax blade at under $80(depending on the dealer).
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Ah yes, forgot about the Speedform II done up in ELMAX. Yes it is a regular Kershaw production piece.
 
Thomas W said:
We've used ELMAX on a few runs of ZT Knives (both Composite (0350's) and solid blades (0551) starting back in 2010 I believe. We like it, a lot.
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Thomas,

It is really nice isn't it. :D :thumbup:
 
That's what I wanted to hear. Is there any good reason why Elmax isn't becoming the new S30V? Is it just a matter of time?
 
jeffphansen77 said:
That's what I wanted to hear. Is there any good reason why Elmax isn't becoming the new S30V? Is it just a matter of time?
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No good reason that I can think of....

It's an all around better steel than S30V/S35VN could ever be in every way that one could think of.

IMO it should be the steel of choice for the mainstream, but I don't make those decisions so you know how it is.
 
jeffphansen77 said:
That's what I wanted to hear. Is there any good reason why Elmax isn't becoming the new S30V? Is it just a matter of time?
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I'd go off on a limb to say that perhaps some manufacturers save more money from buying steel in bulk, and even if a good potential replacement for S30V were to come out, it would take quite some time to go through that old stock. Also guessing it doesn't help that Elmax seems to have been put in use around the same time S35VN was used as well.

As well, it's tempting to jump on the new steel bandwagon for users, but I suspect manufacturers like to keep to what they know. Still, I feel the big 3 have all been doing well in introducing these Bohler steels in their limited production runs. Though it would definitely be good to see Elmax used in place of S30V. My disappointment would be that there doesn't seem to be a lot of custom makers experimenting with these steels. I honestly thought Farid would be among the first to try them given his reputation:D.
 
I'd love to see it happen, obviously. One side effect would be that there wouldn't be much of a performance increase at all with the high end stuff over Elmax at S30V prices.
 
How does Elmax compare to AUS-8 with respect to impact resistance alone? Would it be a good choice for a reblade job on a Cold Steel Tri-Ad folder used for chopping? I'm considering the Rajah II specifically as a platform for a reblade.
 
gomipile said:
How does Elmax compare to AUS-8 with respect to impact resistance alone? Would it be a good choice for a reblade job on a Cold Steel Tri-Ad folder used for chopping? I'm considering the Rajah II specifically as a platform for a reblade.
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Might be simpler to just have Andrew Demko make you a custom in Elmax. Though admittedly his backlog seems to be full 24/7:D. On the other hand, I'm not sure how many people do reblades for existing knives outside of Reese Weiland.

Not sure how tough AUS-8 is, but IIRC, Chuck Bybee mentioned hearing from a maker who bent his Elmax blade to 90 degrees without breakage. Though I'm not sure what bearing that has on impact resistance, it would be interesting to see Elmax used in a chopper. Though to be honest, I'm not sure the things people usually chop demands a stainless steel for that. The 1095 in my Junglas has held up superbly thus far, though I suppose increased edge holding would be good if you plan to cut down a forest:thumbup:.
 
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