Elmax Steel

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Tkrocky

Joined
Sep 6, 2013
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I have heard of this steel being really good from a few places but haven't seen a lot of it on this forum for the time I have been using it. I may have missed it, but I don't believe it's in the stickies.. Can anyone give me a basic pros and cons for it? Workability, how does it compare with others such as s30v, basic composition?
 
Welcome to the forum, on the top right of bade forums there is a search location, there's a lot of talk on elmax.

Have fun enjoy yourself.
 
The short answer is, I like it even better than CPM-154... and I like CPM-154 a lot.

Here's the datasheet for Elmax. The chemistry isn't extreme or bizarre; it's just well-balanced and very clean.

PROS: If you've worked with other high-alloy tool/stainless steels like S30V, you won't get any nasty surprises. I find it a little more difficult to grind than plain carbon steels of course, but a little easier than CPM-3V. It doesn't seem to be real hard on drill bits. It's really clean, finishes very well and can support a very thin, keen edge. It's not terribly hard to sharpen but it does hold an edge quite well, and it has good corrosion-resistance. It's also pretty tough, especially for a stainless steel. It's still relatively new to the custom knife market, and interest in it continues to grow... that can be a selling point. I have a couple custom orders on the books right now simply because the client wants to try Elmax in a handmade knife.

CONS: It's kind of expensive, and sometimes a little hard to find in the size you want. It requires good HT and benefits from sub-zero or cryo treatment. I send mine out to Peters' for HT and cryo.
 
james terrio said:
The short answer is, I like it even better than CPM-154... and I like CPM-154 a lot.

Here's the datasheet for Elmax. The chemistry isn't extreme or bizarre; it's just well-balanced and very clean.

PROS: If you've worked with other high-alloy tool/stainless steels like S30V, you won't get any nasty surprises. I find it a little more difficult to grind than plain carbon steels of course, but a little easier than CPM-3V. It doesn't seem to be real hard on drill bits. It's really clean, finishes very well and can support a very thin, keen edge. It's not terribly hard to sharpen but it does hold an edge quite well, and it has good corrosion-resistance. It's also pretty tough, especially for a stainless steel. It's still relatively new to the custom knife market, and interest in it continues to grow... that can be a selling point. I have a couple custom orders on the books right now simply because the client wants to try Elmax in a handmade knife.

CONS: It's kind of expensive, and sometimes a little hard to find in the size you want. It requires good HT and benefits from sub-zero or cryo treatment. I send mine out to Peters' for HT and cryo.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for taking the time to help me out! You sir, are the man! That's kind of what I have gathered but I wanted some opinions of those more experienced than I. I plan on sending it to peters anyways so it sounds pretty good!
 
Its a really cool steel. It has incredible toughness and excellent stain resistance while having good edge holding. its really dependent on heat treat. At 58 you get get extreme toughness (think something like 01) and less edge retention. At 61-62 you get great edge holding that approaches M390
 
I have used it in several folder blades. James said it all. It too will take 62 Rockwell and work extremely well. And yes, sizes are limited. I will sometimes go to the trouble of grinding down over thickness pieces to get the size I want.
 
Give Chuck at Alpha Knife Supply a call. He can get you a whole sheet but it may take a while.
 
I get mine at USA Knifemaker. They are pretty well stocked most of the time but are limited by the thickness Bohler sells it in. If you want a sheet you can contact the manufacturer directly and they will put you in contact with their rep. I emailed them once for more information and, no joke, about 20 seconds after I hit send they gave me a call. Scary fast.
 
Tkrocky said:
I plan on sending it to peters anyways so it sounds pretty good!
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Rumor has it that Brad Stallsmith at Peters' actually developed the HT protocol for Elmax, when used for knife blades. I cannot confirm this.

However, when I spoke with the Uddeholm reps at BLADE last spring and told them I was using Elmax and having it HT'd by Peters', they smiled and advised me to continue with that plan.

Frank Niro said:
And yes, sizes are limited. I will sometimes go to the trouble of grinding down over thickness pieces to get the size I want.
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I agree with Frank. Elmax is so good that it's worth putting some extra work into it, to get the size/thickness you want.

To date I have only had my utility/survival Elmax blades run at 58Rc, for maximum toughness. My opinion is, it's the best steel available if you want high corrosion-resistance, really good toughness, and a fine, crisp edge. I suspect it would really excel in thin slicers run at 62Rc, but I haven't tried that yet. If corrosion resistance isn't a huge issue but serious toughness is, I stick with CPM-3V.

Next week I will be bringing a prototype fighter/utility/survival knife in Elmax @ 58Rc to a gathering of nearly-fanatical knife users, to let them beat the snot out of it. I'll post the results in this thread.
 
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