Cold Steel Carbon V discontinued?

longbeachguy

longbeachguy

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Oct 11, 2005
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Sorry if this question is old hat, but I couldn't get the search function to work for me.

I'm aware that the Carbon V steel used by Cold Steel came from Camillus and that Camillus is now closed. I just saw something that said Carbon V is a discontinued steel for Cold Steel knives. Does anyone know any details with regard to this? It would certainly make sense in view of the Camillus situation.

Thanks in advance.

Jim
 
yes, old hat. There has been much discussion of this over the last few months.

Carbon V was Cold Steel's name for the carbon steel in the blades they sold. Carbon V was a Cold Steel name and is said to have been applied to several steels. Many blades were supplied by Camillus.

Cold steel will have their carbon steel blades made using SK5, a Japanese steel akin to 1085.

Try searching for "SK5". That should lead you to some of the threads.
 
According to Mike Stewart, who should know, 'Carbon V' was always 50100-B. Joe Talmage's steel FAQ notes, it is "A good chrome-vanadium steel that is somewhat similar to O-1, but much less expensive. The now-defunct Blackjack made several knives from O170-6, and Carbon V may be 0170-6. 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." It is one of my favorite high carbon steels, and I'm sorry to see it and Camillus gone. It will be interesting to see how SK5 compares.
 
You can get (probably the same) chrome-vanadium steel in Case CV. Coincidentally, the C(arbon) V name also uses those same initials. :)

The steel is still around. Cold Steel may not be working with anyone who can get it easily.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
You can get (probably the same) chrome-vanadium steel in Case CV. Coincidentally, the C(arbon) V name also uses those same initials. :)

The steel is still around. Cold Steel may not be working with anyone who can get it easily.
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Esav, you are a genius....I never thought of that! :thumbup:
 
Carbon V, however, is pronounced "Carbon Five." It's a Roman numeral, not a letter.

Carbon V with its proprietary heat treat--what made it Carbon V in the first place--is likely a thing of the past.

Here's a good thread on the subject. Check out Phil Gibb's #17 post especially (quoted below). He should know. He named the "Camillus version" of the steel.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=449440

Phil Gibbs said:
Carbon V definately came first. It was the brainchild of the Metal God, Dan Maragni, & was, in my opinion, what put Cold Steel on the map all those years ago.

When Cold Steel came to Camillus to make their carbon steel knives, they did not want to pay for the vast amount of steel that had to be purchased in order to have a custom steel made to their specifications.
Consequently Cold Steel agreed that Camillus could also use the steel (& pay them a royalty, I believe) but could not call it Carbon V.

I came up with the name 0170-6C, based on an almost close (but NOT) steel produced by Sharron Steel called 0170-6.

All this is historical trivia.

The real issue for those who understand is Heat Treatment!

The reason that the Camillus Beckers perform so well is that Dan Maragni set up a system of heat treatment at Camillus for the Cold Steel knives, & oversaw almost every batch of knives produced. What we learnt about heat treating Cold Steel seeped over to the Becker knives.
All that is now lost forever!

In my humble opinion, the values of the Camillus Beckers may not rise significantly in the collector market, but for those interested in a high performance user, get them while you can. Without Maragni's methods, I don't care what a future maker of Beckers uses, they will just be well designed carbon steel knives covered in powder coat!

I dearly hope I am wrong & the new maker will consider trying to improve their methods. Time will tell..............
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Another relevant post by Phil in the same thread...

Phil Gibbs said:
CV steel is readily available.
Carbon V is not. You need to have Maragni's recipe, and the ability to buy 120,000 pounds at a time to buy a complete "heat" of steel.

Also, I believe you are totally correct about 1095 & 420!!

I would much rather have a beautifully heat treated 420 blade than a rush job on a S30V blade. Every time!

The interesting thing is how different the methods are for heat treating Stainless Steel & Carbon Steel.

Hi tech atmosphere controlled furnaces with computer controls can do a great job on stainless, not so with carbon!!

Best methods to heat treat Carbon blade steels have changed little in 100-200 years! If a knife factory is using modern methods to heat treat carbon steel, IMHO it is a compromise, & the best potential for the steel is missed.
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