Elmax Sawback Coming This Wednesday, January 18, 2023 At 9:00pm Eastern . . .

Also wanted to clarify something I said here about the hardness being higher, I must have been mistaken because I see now these are back to 58-60 RC again. So there was at least a point in time where they were running the Elmax blades @ 60-62 RC. Still no way of knowing if the heat treat is the same as the original Steak Knives even given the same end result in hardness.
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
I don't believe the original Steak Knives from years ago were in fact the same heat treat they are using now. I recall the hardness on the old ones was 58-60 and on the newer Elmax Slicer Variants (Crab Shack Blind Grab bags and beyond) it was said to be 60-62 RC.

Which, of course, would suggest that the heat treat has been modified to increase the final hardness. Which in theory should help the edge retention and strength overall but without testing no way of knowing and they've never mentioned why they increased hardness. The other thing is the grind on these new slicers is quite different than the Steak Knives. You cannot simply say they are both 'saber grind' and assume it's the same. The newer Elmax has relatively thin edge thickness behind the edge compared to what I recall the original Elmax SK being pretty beefy behind the edge. This can definitely make for a thinner and weaker tip geometry which could suffer a small break at the tip if you're digging hard and really leaning into it.

I say all of that to state that I agree with you in general that the original Steak Knives were up for hard use in factory form. They certainly aren't intended for EXTREME USE as they have the INFI models for that with the appropriate geometry and design specs going behind it. I know I'll be in the minority here but I absolutely would say you can have a hard use knife at 1/8" thick or maybe a bit less if it's well made and you understand it's limitations end at hard use (and you're not going to cut a car or a toilet in half with it just for shits and giggles).

I'll be sitting these out but if I were in the market I'd be questioning the saw teeth on the spine for such a small knife. What sort of things would it come in handy for in actual use and carry? It seems like if anything it would become more of a hindrance at many things depending on what you're cutting but that's pure speculation. I'd say if i had to guess the main reason for the alleged interest in these is probably rooted in novelty and fantasy more than any real practical need to have the teeth there. I say this all not to ruffle feathers but merely add my perspective to the mix for others to consider and weigh against their needs and wants.
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Why? Because everyone has been wanting one. Probally because of the cool looks?And the ppl who are lucky enough to get them never complained. So I guess since they are selling them now we will see how tough they are. And the price isn't bad either.
 
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In for a regular (not nuked) with black canvas!
Man, Busse has really upped their game and the ordering and checkout process is super smooth. Also like how you can click on your handle type and a window pops up and shows you what it looks like. 👍👊
You guys are really rocking it! ;)
 
David Brown said:
already released a bunch of them ;)

7FtcQb1.jpg


Sawing things :)
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🤔... 10 more & you'll have 27 😅
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
Also wanted to clarify something I said here about the hardness being higher, I must have been mistaken because I see now these are back to 58-60 RC again. So there was at least a point in time where they were running the Elmax blades @ 60-62 RC. Still no way of knowing if the heat treat is the same as the original Steak Knives even given the same end result in hardness.
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I don't recall any Busse Elmax at above 60RC...
But I do recall a whole lot of grumbling after the original 3-4 SYKCO Elmax Slicers & Busse Steak Knife were released about the low hardness when industry standard for Elmax was at 61-63RC...
There was even one rage quit over that!
 
David Brown said:
Don't sleep on these
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I keep going back and forth on this. I'm not sure what I would do with one that already isn't covered by my Crab Shack Slicer.

I like the Nuclear option, but I really like the Crab Shack handles. So many decisions.
 
tokerblue said:
I keep going back and forth on this. I'm not sure what I would do with one that already isn't covered by my Crab Shack Slicer.

I like the Nuclear option, but I really like the Crab Shack handles. So many decisions.
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Get one No regrets :)
 
tokerblue said:
I keep going back and forth on this. I'm not sure what I would do with one that already isn't covered by my Crab Shack Slicer.

I like the Nuclear option, but I really like the Crab Shack handles. So many decisions.
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What is the difference between the crab shack and the nuclear?
 
Nuclears get some non-stock colors; but Crab Shack knives get the full custom shop treatment.
 
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