Elmax vs 3V

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PatrickKnight

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Jan 24, 2012
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Im going to be picking up an EDC-4 in one of these steels but at this point im unsure which one to go with. I know the Elmax will be more corision resistant but I have heard 3V is amazingly corision resistant for being a carbon steel. I am certain that the 3V would be a tougher blade. One thing I am worried about with the Elamx is how hard is it to sharpen? I am no sharpening expert. I have no experience with either of these steels so im asking you guys to chime in.
 
Id go with ELMAX. It will hold an edge longer than 3V while being extremely stainless and tough enough for anything you can throw at it. 3V is amazing as well but I like stainless for EDC. Also ELMAX is 3rd gen PM so its really easy to sharpen.
 
mkjellgren said:
Go with elmax for edc. 3v would be great for a hard use knife or a woods knife, but the extra toughness of 3v would probably be wasted on an edc blade.
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Well EDC-4 is the model of the knife. The use for it will be my primary backpacking and woods knife. This knife will also be kept in my "go bag" that leaves my house with me when I leave and comes in when I get home. So prying and things of that nature are likely thats why I was wondering if the extra strength of 3V would be better than the added corosion resistance of Elmax even though from what I have read 3V is alot like INFI is when it comes to corosion resistance for a carbon steel though to a slightly lesser degree.

KalEl said:
Id go with ELMAX. It will hold an edge longer than 3V while being extremely stainless and tough enough for anything you can throw at it. 3V is amazing as well but I like stainless for EDC. Also ELMAX is 3rd gen PM so its really easy to sharpen.
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Well since I know you have had your tastes of the Bussekin blades how do you think these two steels compare to SR101 (52100) and INFI when it comes to toughness, ease of sharpening, and edge retention.
 
If you have a bag that you carry, why would "prying and things of that nature" be a job you'd expect your knife to perform? Bring something for prying and carry a good knife for cutting--you know, the function of a knife.
 
If it helps I bought the EDC4 in Elmax, I believe it keeps an edge longer than 3V and for that size blade I don't plan on using it for anythign but cutting.
 
PatrickKnight said:
Well EDC-4 is the model of the knife. The use for it will be my primary backpacking and woods knife. This knife will also be kept in my "go bag" that leaves my house with me when I leave and comes in when I get home. So prying and things of that nature are likely thats why I was wondering if the extra strength of 3V would be better than the added corosion resistance of Elmax even though from what I have read 3V is alot like INFI is when it comes to corosion resistance for a carbon steel though to a slightly lesser degree.



Well since I know you have had your tastes of the Bussekin blades how do you think these two steels compare to SR101 (52100) and INFI when it comes to toughness, ease of sharpening, and edge retention.
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3V is about the same as INFI. I think 3V might hold an edge a little longer but they are so similar I wouldn't be able to tell them apart in identical blades. ELMAX if run at high hardness will beat both INFI and SR 101 in edge retention by a big margin and is about the same difficultly to sharpen as INFI. Obviously ELMAX is much more stainless than either and is kind of in a league of its own stain resistance wise. The only way Ive ever gotten my ELMAX knives to stain is by leaving tomato juice on them.

I think 3V is pretty hard to beat for an outdoor blade but if stain resistance and edge holding are more important than toughness Id go with ELMAX.
 
KalEl said:
3V is about the same as INFI. I think 3V might hold an edge a little longer but they are so similar I wouldn't be able to tell them apart in identical blades. ELMAX if run at high hardness will beat both INFI and SR 101 in edge retention by a big margin and is about the same difficultly to sharpen as INFI. Obviously ELMAX is much more stainless than either and is kind of in a league of its own stain resistance wise. The only way Ive ever gotten my ELMAX knives to stain is by leaving tomato juice on them.

I think 3V is pretty hard to beat for an outdoor blade but if stain resistance and edge holding are more important than toughness Id go with ELMAX.
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Im acutally trying to find which of these two steels is the best balance. If it helps at all the webiste shows both steels being 59-60 HRC.
 
59-60 is perfect for 3V but is not optimal for ELMAX. ELMAX is really similar to S30V edge retention was at that hardness but once it gets up to 61-62 its really incredible. at 59-60 it will be like S30V but alot tougher and wont chip.
 
KalEl said:
59-60 is perfect for 3V but is not optimal for ELMAX. ELMAX is really similar to S30V edge retention was at that hardness but once it gets up to 61-62 its really incredible. at 59-60 it will be like S30V but alot tougher and wont chip.
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Well I guess 3V it is then.

Thanks for all the replys and helpful posts guys I really appricate it.
 
I have a few 3V blades and have been impressed by the corrosion resistance. Last month I was helping my FIL work cattle for 4 days at his ranch in the coastal plains area of Texas. I was carrying a BR Bravo Necker 3V in a leather pocket sheath in my back pocket all 4 days. Due to the combination of coastal high humidity and butt sweat in the sweltering heat the sheath and knife were both wet at the end of the day. I had edge rust on an ESEE the last time I was down there. I normally carry a Marine Tuf-Cloth in my bag but all I had was a bandana to wipe it off at the end of each day. The 3v made it home without a speck of oxidation.
 
Brisket said:
I have a few 3V blades and have been impressed by the corrosion resistance. Last month I was helping my FIL work cattle for 4 days at his ranch in the coastal plains area of Texas. I was carrying a BR Bravo Necker 3V in a leather pocket sheath in my back pocket all 4 days. Due to the combination of coastal high humidity and butt sweat in the sweltering heat the sheath and knife were both wet at the end of the day. I had edge rust on an ESEE the last time I was down there. I normally carry a Marine Tuf-Cloth in my bag but all I had was a bandana to wipe it off at the end of each day. The 3v made it home without a speck of oxidation.
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Yea from what I have been reading up on the steel it seems 3V is about as stainless and a carbon steel gets, much like INFI in that regaurd.
 
You can’t go wrong with either of these two high performance super-steels.

CPM-3V:
Toughness/Durability= 9/10
Edge Retention= 7.5/10
Ease of Sharpening= 4/10
Corrosion Resistance= 4.5/10
Overall Field Performance= 8.5/10

ELMAX:
Toughness/Durability= 7.5/10
Edge Retention= 9.5/10
Ease of Sharpening= 5/10
Corrosion Resistance= 9/10
Overall Field Performance= 9/10

For comparison to the more commonly used 1095:

Toughness/Durability= 7
Edge Retention= 3.5
Ease of Sharpening= 8
Corrosion Resistance= 2
Overall Field Performance= 6.5
 
hhmoore said:
Thanks - I was beginning to think everybody had forgotten about this 7.5 yr old thread.
Since you resurrected it, are those your ratings in the comparison?
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Good visual comparison if you google "bladehq steel guide" and click the top one, they have graphic interpretations of the pros and cons for most production steels
 
quesoburgesa said:
Good visual comparison if you google "bladehq steel guide" and click the top one, they have graphic interpretations of the pros and cons for most production steels
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That was sarcasm. He is responding to an 8 year old thread. The mentioned number ratings don't mean a whole lot without context or knowing how they were obtained.

Heat treat will play a huge role here. I'd take delta 3v from carothers over just about anything these days...

Edit: it makes much more sense when the posted numbers are credited to bhq.
 
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The numbers on BladeHQ don't seem to be based on any real testings. The corrosion rating especially is just all over the place with 3V at 5/10 while actual stainless steels like the 400 series and aus-8 get a 4/10.
I strongly recommend looking up Cedric&Ada on youtube for edge retention and some corrosion tests. Then Knifesteelnerds for toughness.
 
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