CPM M4 & Stag

H

Hmathews

Joined
Feb 22, 2005
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This is a hunter I made from CPM M4, stag, buffalo horn and nickel silver. It has a 4.5 inch blade. The stag was a small piece I turned around backwards and cut a single finger groove behind the guard. It will be with us at the Blade Show, table 19M. Stop by and check it out.

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One of the nicest knives I ever seen is my humble opinion

That's going to make an owner very happy :)
 
Thanks for the comments guys. CPM M4 is probably the most difficult steel we have worked with to date. In a tempered state it just doesn't respond well at all to sand paper. We finish our knives by hand polishing and this stuff takes forever, even when it is taken to a near finished state before hardening. Tapering the tang (done after tempering) on the knife below was a real pain. There is a definite reason for a premium price on a knife with a blade of CPM M4. It's not just the added cost of materials, but the wear resistance adds so much time to the process of making the knife. This is one steel that might make us rethink our policy of resharpening any of our knives for the cost of return postage.

This knife has a blade of CPM M4, ivory handles with black liners, tapered tang, domed pins, and stainless bolsters. It comes with an alligator sheath that is lined with deer skin.


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oh I like both of those. Great curves on that top one! Blade accents that handle material:thumbup:
 
Thanks for your view on working with CPM M4. I have heard the same from other makers that have worked with this steel.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. Keith, I think that CPM M4 has its place in knifemaking, but it will be a steel that is used on specialty knives or knives that will get a lot of use by people that don't mind spending the time to maintain and sharpen one correctly. For a practical using knife, which we mostly like to make, I still like BG42 and CPM S30V. They both are stain resistant, look good with the type finish we like, and can be sharpened without much trouble by a customer. Stain resistance has become more important to me since we began receiving knives back for sharpening. Some people don't maintain knives at all. They just seem to shove them back in the sheath with all the blood, hair, fat and fish scales still on them. CPM M4 won't like that kind of treatment and I don't want to have to polish out pits on that stuff at all.
 
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