CPM154 questions

colu41

colu41

Joined
Dec 24, 2014
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So in another thread I mention I had some Cpm154 laying around that I may finally make something from. And from doing a little searching I found its not that bad to have the prof. heat treated. So I may make the swap from 1084 to stainless to get some better blades. Now I have a few questions.

Heat treating 1084 at home I've been able to get away with grinding down to .01 before heat treat with no warping issues whatsoever. Now how far should I go down to with this stainless, before I send it out? I've heard of .03-.04 but, I don't like to do a lot of post HT grinding. But if its needed then, it will have to be done.

Also, the differences between CPM154 and 154cm I hear isn't HUGE, but the CPM154 is made with slightly better quality. Is this noticeably different in a blade? Aldos seems to have 154Cm in stock a lot compared to CPM.

And last, for these stainless steels, and others I guess also, is cryo treatment necessary? Or is it just another perk? I guess I should ask is it worth the extra $4-$6 a blade? I'm already assuming everyone will say yes...

I just want to get this all cleared up before I go ahead and order 5 feet of stainless. :o
 
I use Peters' Heat Treating for CPM 154. On their website, they suggest leaving your edge at .015. Sometimes I send them blades that are a bit thinner than that (not on purpose, I'm just new at grinding) and have never had a problem. As for the cryo, they just do it, I trust Brad S. at Peters' so I just let them do what they think will give me a better blade. I've not been disappointed yet. I think there is a difference between CPM and cm 154. The argument always is toughness and edge refinement. I carry a CPM 154 blade heated at peters' and it holds a good edge and I'm happy with it.
 
Ill have to give them a call. Thanks

Ive read up and it seems like they would be the best for the job but, extremely expensive. Looks like the only way to get even half a deal I'd have to send in 20+ pounds of blades! I'm not even sure how many that would be but, I'm just a casual maker/seller. I don't have the materials or cash to send that many at a time.
 
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Peters will give you a better deal for 20+ blades. TruGrit will give you a better deal for less that 20 blades.

Cryo is definitely necessary for Stainless. It will give you at least 2 Rc points higher hardness.

Brad at Peters told me that .01" is the minimum edge thickness he prefers.

CPM154 is a particle metal stainless. It is definitely better than 154CM. Try searching bladeforums for discussions.

Tim
 
Your question has been answered, but I will add one more thing, the post heat treat grinding of cpm154 or 154 cm takes longer and is harder on belts. Like twice as hard to grind as 1084 from my experience. So get it as close as you can while keeping the edge thickness your HT place desires.
 
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