elmax vs 1095cv vs 5160?

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battboy

Joined
Feb 21, 2011
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What is your intended use? Elmax has great edge retention but I wouldn't want to go batonning with it.
 
an all around camp utility knife and i probably would be doing some light to medium batonning
 
As has been asked...what is your intended use? For me, as an all around outdoorsy knife my first choice is 5160 followed by 1095...Elmax wouldn't even come up on my radar. I own an AA Forge custom Camp Knife in 5160 and it is rock solid in every way for anything I need to do involving the outdoors stuff. I wouldn't hesitate to throw my 1095 knives into the same mix either. My camp knife is just prettier :D If price is a concern go with what suits you best and don't look back. Both Buck and Becker have fantastic warranties and a solid company behind them.



 
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I'd go with the Becker then. 5160 is a spring steel, with very high toughness but low edge retention. It's great for machetes and large choppers, but it goes dull very fast and thus isn't the best for fine tasks. Elmax has very good corrosion resistance and edge retention, but it subject to edge rolling and chipping when abused.

Becker's 1095CV will fall right in the range of "ideal" for basic camp tasks. Tough, but still with good edge retention.
 
thanks I was leaning towards the bk 16 in the beginning and think ill stick with my gut.
 
amg137 said:
I'd go with the Becker then. 5160 is a spring steel, with very high toughness but low edge retention. It's great for machetes and large choppers, but it goes dull very fast and thus isn't the best for fine tasks. Elmax has very good corrosion resistance and edge retention, but it subject to edge rolling and chipping when abused.

Becker's 1095CV will fall right in the range of "ideal" for basic camp tasks. Tough, but still with good edge retention.
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I tend to disagree with your assessment of 5160. The knife in my pic is 5160 it still shaves hair. I have had that particular knife for over two years and it sees regular use with no dulling in site. Granted it does a lot of wood processing and some food tasks so maybe I have not used it for what you may used yours for that dulled it so fast.
 
amg137 said:
I'd go with the Becker then. 5160 is a spring steel, with very high toughness but low edge retention. It's great for machetes and large choppers, but it goes dull very fast and thus isn't the best for fine tasks. Elmax has very good corrosion resistance and edge retention, but it subject to edge rolling and chipping when abused.

Becker's 1095CV will fall right in the range of "ideal" for basic camp tasks. Tough, but still with good edge retention.
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I disagree. I have a 5160 khukuri from H.I and i've done some wood chopping and brush clearing and it's still just as sharp.
 
1SHOT1KILL said:
I tend to disagree with your assessment of 5160. The knife in my pic is 5160 it still shaves hair. I have had that particular knife for over two years and it sees regular use with no dulling in site. Granted it does a lot of wood processing and some food tasks so maybe I have not used it for what you may used yours for that dulled it so fast.
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Well, the only thing I've used in 5160 was an Ontario machete, the heat treat was probably just crappy. I was doing some pretty heavy bushwhacking with it, but I wasn't chopping down trees or anything. It was dull as a rock after under an hour of use. If it were properly HT'd for a knife and not a machete I'm sure it'd be much better.

For my money I'd still go with the Becker over the Buck though, it's over $40 cheaper and will probably perform at least as well.
 
battboy said:
an all around camp utility knife and i probably would be doing some light to medium batonning
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Any of the steels can handle it, ELMAX, 1095 or 5160...

It all comes down to HT, tempering, blade geometry etc.

If knife maker says they can't produce one in any of those 3 steels that will handle it then they don't need to be making knives.

So take your pick. :thumbup:
 
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Ankerson said:
Any of the steels can handle it, ELMAX, 1095 or 5160...

It all comes down to HT, tempering, blade geometry etc.

If knife maker says they can't produce one in any of those 3 steels that will handle it then they don't need to be making knives.

So take your pick. :thumbup:
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Agree 100%.
 
Ankerson said:
Any of the steels can handle it, ELMAX, 1095 or 5160...

It all comes down to HT, tempering, blade geometry etc.

If knife maker says they can't produce one in any of those 3 steels that will handle it then they don't need to be making knives.

So take your pick. :thumbup:
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I also agree. It's not about the steel at all, and any of these are more than adequate.
 
I would pick ELMAX by a significant margin. Much better corrosion resistance and edge retention than either of the other options and it should be plenty tough enough. That said, the knife you're looking at in ELMAX is going to need scales made and attached, it will have to be fully sharpened and you'll need to acquire a sheath that works with it. I would guess the final cost of the knife would be somewhere between $150-200 if you have someone do it for you, a bit less if you do it yourself.
 
amg137 said:
What is your intended use? Elmax has great edge retention but I wouldn't want to go batonning with it.
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battboy said:
an all around camp utility knife and i probably would be doing some light to medium batonning
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Elmax is a lot tougher than you might think. I have no trouble batonning Elmax as long as the edge isn't super-duper thin... and that's true of any steel.

Ankerson said:
If knife maker says they can't produce one in any of those 3 steels that will handle it then they don't need to be making knives.

So take your pick. :thumbup:
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Right on :thumbup:
 
If stainless is of any value at all to you, go with Elmax. It's one of the toughest of the stainless steels and holds an edge better than 1095 or 5160. Elmax is a high-tech powder steel. I've become a big fan of powder steels. You're not likely to chip, break or crack Elmax unless you completely abuse your knife, in which case go with S7.

If you you don't care about stainless and you need toughness more than wear resistance, I'd pick 5160 of your choices, but for myself I'd prefer 3V, which is tougher. 52100 would be a nice blend of toughness and wear resistance.

And as has been said, heat treat and geometry will likely be as important or more important than the actual steel alloy.
 
Incidentally the BK-16 is one of my favorite production knives. I never used the Hood Punk but I hear good things about it and the specs look fine to me. And $56 is a heckuva deal for a ground and HT'ed Elmax blade, even if you just cord-wrap the tang and make a very rudimentary sheath for it. I'd chose the Elmax myself, but really, I don't think you'd go wrong with any of those choices. :thumbup:
 
It's always nice to get Knife maker's input...and that of some of the testers...good solid info can be had just for the asking. :thumbup:
 
amg137 said:
I'd go with the Becker then. 5160 is a spring steel, with very high toughness but low edge retention. It's great for machetes and large choppers, but it goes dull very fast and thus isn't the best for fine tasks. Elmax has very good corrosion resistance and edge retention, but it subject to edge rolling and chipping when abused.

Becker's 1095CV will fall right in the range of "ideal" for basic camp tasks. Tough, but still with good edge retention.
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Ontario uses 1095 for there machetes
Except the 22 inch and if I'm not mistaken the 22inch is 1075
 
Twindog said:
If stainless is of any value at all to you, go with Elmax. It's one of the toughest of the stainless steels and holds an edge better than 1095 or 5160. Elmax is a high-tech powder steel. I've become a big fan of powder steels. You're not likely to chip, break or crack Elmax unless you completely abuse your knife, in which case go with S7.

If you you don't care about stainless and you need toughness more than wear resistance, I'd pick 5160 of your choices, but for myself I'd prefer 3V, which is tougher. 52100 would be a nice blend of toughness and wear resistance.

And as has been said, heat treat and geometry will likely be as important or more important than the actual steel alloy.
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Why is 3V tougher than 5160?
 
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