Cold Steel uses 2 blade materials for which I can find very little information on. I take it since Carbon V is used on some of their more expensive lines that it is a superior steel (despite the need for a rust resistant protective coating). But I can find no information on the approximate Rc, or other information on either of these materials. Anyone know of a good resource that has this info, along with other blade steel info?
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Cold Steel 420 Sub Zero Quenched & Carbon V
- Thread starter Plateado
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 23, 1999
- Messages
- 3,831
Welcome to the forums, Fellow Canuck!
You can find a wealth of info right here by doing two things. Clikc the FAQ link on the top of the opening screen and rea the steel FAQ. It has lots of info there. Also, there is a search function here on the forums. Just click on the search button (not the one on your browserm but the one on the Bladeforums page) and type in Carbon V, 420, or whatever else you want to learn about.
Carbon V is a trade name for whatever Cold Steel is using at that time. The actual steel Cold Steel uses has changed over the years. But most here would agree that it always has been a quality carbon steel. It isn't stainless, hence the coating Cold Steel uses. 420 is, generally speaking, a lower quality steel, although it would beat Carbon V hands down in stain resistance!
If you can take the time to protect your carbon steel blades, get a Cold Steel blade in Carbon V over their 420. You will enjoy the performance benefits. If you cant or won't clean and protect your blade after use each time, get a stainless blade.
Good Luck!
You can find a wealth of info right here by doing two things. Clikc the FAQ link on the top of the opening screen and rea the steel FAQ. It has lots of info there. Also, there is a search function here on the forums. Just click on the search button (not the one on your browserm but the one on the Bladeforums page) and type in Carbon V, 420, or whatever else you want to learn about.
Carbon V is a trade name for whatever Cold Steel is using at that time. The actual steel Cold Steel uses has changed over the years. But most here would agree that it always has been a quality carbon steel. It isn't stainless, hence the coating Cold Steel uses. 420 is, generally speaking, a lower quality steel, although it would beat Carbon V hands down in stain resistance!
If you can take the time to protect your carbon steel blades, get a Cold Steel blade in Carbon V over their 420. You will enjoy the performance benefits. If you cant or won't clean and protect your blade after use each time, get a stainless blade.
Good Luck!
- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 9,839
Carbon V is a very good steel. According to several sources, including Joe's FAQ, it is 50100b, which contains about 1% carbon, .4% chromium and .15% vanadium. The chromium content is mainly for heat treating purposes (it takes about 12 or 13% to provide any significant rust resistance); a little bit of chromium promotes deep heat treating. The vanadium is a carbide former and helps form a very fine edge. Cold Steel uses a proprietary heat treating process with (I understand) triple tempering, which helps develop a very fine grain size, which is one reason why it can be honed so sharp. This is a very tough steel which can be flexed to a significant degree without cracking (do not try this at home, however).
Carbon V is almost the same as another very good steel, 52100 except that 52100 has about 1.5% chromium, about 1% carbon and none or very little vanadium. Marbles uses 52100 and after normal heat treating, applies a deep freezing process to assist the formation of carbon precipitates, if I understand it correctly. My Marbles knives (a Fieldcraft and a Campcraft) take and hold the best edge I have ever seen, even better than Carbon V. This may be due to a very fine grain structure.
Either steel is better than almost any stainless, IMHO, as they are easier to sharpen. I think that VG-10 stainless is as good as Carbon V but a little more time consuming to sharpen.
You shouldn't be disappointed with either. Carbon steels do require a little more care to prevent rusting, though.
Carbon V is almost the same as another very good steel, 52100 except that 52100 has about 1.5% chromium, about 1% carbon and none or very little vanadium. Marbles uses 52100 and after normal heat treating, applies a deep freezing process to assist the formation of carbon precipitates, if I understand it correctly. My Marbles knives (a Fieldcraft and a Campcraft) take and hold the best edge I have ever seen, even better than Carbon V. This may be due to a very fine grain structure.
Either steel is better than almost any stainless, IMHO, as they are easier to sharpen. I think that VG-10 stainless is as good as Carbon V but a little more time consuming to sharpen.
You shouldn't be disappointed with either. Carbon steels do require a little more care to prevent rusting, though.