Carbon V

ichor said:
That certainly is not the info I got from the Cliff Stamp test of the Recon Scout and Trailmaster that I read:

http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/trailmaster_recon_scout.html


He does say that the edges can chip on hard surfaces, although this is definitely not the case with my own experience using my Trailmaster, Recon Scout and SRK. Here is a direct quote from Cliff Stamp, from the link above:

"The blades were also very strong through the full body and could take heavy side pulls while lodged halfway in an old stump. This was a similar amount of force which broken several blades from Ontario, and bent the TUSK, and a couple of khukuris from Gurkha house. The edge was also pounded directly into woods and subjected to direct heavy side loads. Both blades handled this with no problems. This was much more force that what caused both TUSKs to suffer gross failure and the Cold Steel blades handled it with no problems."

My own experience with numerous CS Carbon V knives is that it is a steel that is very, very strong....takes and holds a great edge....and will rust in a NY minute if you don't take care of it, tho' no worse than the other carbon steel knives that I've been using for 50 years. Since I take good care of my knives and don't care about a little staining, I find no real advantage to stainless unless one is a diver or some such. Bottom line is......my CS Carbon V knives are exceptionally tough and very hard to beat for the money. My two cents. YMMV.
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The test I was refering to was the point strength test where that CS blade narrows. Any knife maker can produce a 5/16" blade and have a reasonable amount of toughness to it. The 5/16" thick blade was CS's solution to the toughness issue of their steel which from my experience with BOTH the Trailmaster and Recon Scout has been lots of edge chipping on harder medias such as chopping through a White Tail leg. Not to mention that I used to have a SRK, Recon Tanto, Masterhunter, bird and trout, and a Gurka Kukri(which snapped at the tang) in Carbon V. I do like my Trailguide in Carbon V. I also have a San Mai Trailmaster that I prefer with it's rolled edge over the Trailmaster. Also, CS's San Mai products are top notch in terms of quality manufacture unlike the Carbon V blades which have poor manufacturing quality in comparison.
 
I own and use a number of Cold Steel's Carbon V knives. They have given long and sturdy usage, with no chipping or failures of any kind. I do not find any evidence of poor manufacture in any of them. I wouldn't buy any of the SS knives, but the Carbon V knives work very well and come from the factory very, very, sharp.
 
I bought mine new in box, and it came completely dull.

I was taking a look at the steel chart on the extrema ratio site, and it gives the exact composition of the Carbon V:

0.95 of Carbon
0.54 of Chromium
0.40 of Manganese
0.015 of Tungsten and
0.15 of Vanadium.

How can they know that if theoreticaly, CARBON V has a "secret formula" ???

Regards,

Andre Tiba - Brazil
 
Secret formulas get out and metals can be analyzed. I don't worry about where the information comes from too much, I am very pleased with what I see for a use like a hunting knife. The .95% carbon says that you can harden the blade up to around 60 RC for long edge holding. The vanadium and the tungsten should make for a very fine grained steel which will take a great razor edge. It is not hard to get a razor edge on a simple carbon steel, but if you alloy it with vanadium and/or tungsten you get something that should get outrageously sharp.
 
As I've always understood it...0170-6 - 50100-B These are different designations for the same steel: 0170-6 is the steel makers classification, 50100-B is the AISI designation

50100 is basically 52100 with about 1/3 the chromium of 52100, and the B in 50100-B indicates that the steel has been modified with vanadium, making this a chrome-vanadium steel...I think.

So, I guess some companies just like to have a proprietary name for a common steel...and it usually generates confusion and misinformation and spawns myths about certain steels.

Which inevitably leads to these very informative types of threads!
 
while we are talking about secret stuff, why do companies keep it quiet when cammillus makes their stuff for them?
 
It gets outrageously sharp and holds it a good long time. I haven't found too many steels that keep a razor edge longer than Carbon V, but I know that D2 is one. I haven't tried CPM 10V yet, but I want to... My D2 blade will outlast my Carbon V, but I wouldn't want to go chopping with it either.

As usual, it's all a trade off.
 
How do you know the Ext Ratio data isn't fake, based upon rumor or old news? I've seen errors in steel composition charts, Benchmade's current chart has some. AGRussell came on this forum to find out the composition of VG10 for his catalog. If the steel composition comes from the steel manufacturer it is probably correct. If the steel composition comes from the knife manufacturer, it may be reliable but it may not.

The only documented evidence of what Carbon V is that I have seen is someone on this forum posted an analysis of the steel that they had done and said it match one type of steel closest. One sample, one time, and "closest match" is certainly not definitive. That's may be where the Ext Ratio info came from, since Cold Steel has never released the information. As to whether or not Cammilus makes their knives, I've never heard it from either Cold Steel or Cammilus. I have heard it from a bunch of self appointed experts on this forum. Besides, it may steel X and Cammilus today, but since Cold Steel is a contract shop, it could be another steel and company tomorrow.

People keep quiet if the manufacturer is Cammilus, for a variety of reasons. One reason is they want you to identify with their brand, and thus make more money for them. Another reason is Cammilus makes a variety of products, some high quality stuff, some in the middle, but some of their product is pretty low end.

Spyderco also does not identify who does their contract work. Some is done by Moki, but not all. Same with Al Mar, SOG, etc.
 
I have a Cold Steel SRK in Carbon V that I am very fond of. As it came from the factory, it is way too thick, and the edge way too obtuse, but it was extremely sharp, and stayed that way for a long time. It probably would have been a "back of the drawer" knife, except that it was a gift from my brother on recieving my commercial helcopter pilots licence. So I took it to a belt grinder. This was before the internet was so helpfull in letting one learn from other people ruining their own knives, but I figured that if I went slow, an cooled the blade in water often, it should be OK. It was. After thinning it out substantially, raising it to full-flat ground, and building in some distal taper (although I didn't know that was what it was called at that time), of which the original had none, it has become a very useful knife. The Carbon V blade takes a wicked edge, and seems to cut agressively, even at a high level of polish. It doesn't get the use it once did anymore, due probably to a multi-order-of-magnitude increase in the number of knives I own, but it now resides in my flight bag, which is where I am most likely to need a "survival knife" so I guess I must trust this steel. Also, in all these years, it has only required resharpening on a stone one time, with just some stropping on a loaded belt in-between. It has cut a lot of alder stakes, split a fair amount of firewood, and chopped countless dead branches from trees, I even chopped down a 8" birch for a meat pole, and never once chipped, or rolled an edge. When I first saw the Becker BK-7, I thought "hey, thats my knife" with the new grind, they look very simmilar, although the BK-7 appears to be wider, so the edge should be more acute. If so, and if Carbon V is indeed 0170-6C, it must be a great all around performer.
 
mooseman said:
I have a Cold Steel SRK in Carbon V that I am very fond of. As it came from the factory, it is way too thick, and the edge way too obtuse, but it was extremely sharp, and stayed that way for a long time. It probably would have been a "back of the drawer" knife, except that it was a gift from my brother on recieving my commercial helcopter pilots licence. So I took it to a belt grinder. This was before the internet was so helpfull in letting one learn from other people ruining their own knives, but I figured that if I went slow, an cooled the blade in water often, it should be OK. It was. After thinning it out substantially, raising it to full-flat ground, and building in some distal taper (although I didn't know that was what it was called at that time), of which the original had none, it has become a very useful knife. The Carbon V blade takes a wicked edge, and seems to cut agressively, even at a high level of polish. It doesn't get the use it once did anymore, due probably to a multi-order-of-magnitude increase in the number of knives I own, but it now resides in my flight bag, which is where I am most likely to need a "survival knife" so I guess I must trust this steel. Also, in all these years, it has only required resharpening on a stone one time, with just some stropping on a loaded belt in-between. It has cut a lot of alder stakes, split a fair amount of firewood, and chopped countless dead branches from trees, I even chopped down a 8" birch for a meat pole, and never once chipped, or rolled an edge. When I first saw the Becker BK-7, I thought "hey, thats my knife" with the new grind, they look very simmilar, although the BK-7 appears to be wider, so the edge should be more acute. If so, and if Carbon V is indeed 0170-6C, it must be a great all around performer.
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I've often thought of doing that to my SRK, mooseman. What you have done is turned your SRK into a heavy duty, slightly longer CS Master Hunter, by flat grinding and adding a distal taper. The Carbon V Master Hunter, BTW, is right up there on my list of all time favorite knives. You've motivated me to consider this again, but I'm not too hot with a grinder, which is why I abandoned the idea once already. :rolleyes:
 
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