Favorite knife steel

I highly recommend AEB-L for a well ground kitchen knife. It gets insanely sharp very easy and strops very well. It almost acts like carbon steel, but with stainless properties. 60-61 rc is a good hardness for a kitchen knife of this steel.
 
@ Mastiff, It is not quite as tough as 3V, but with much better wear resistance. It is also intended to operate at higher rockwells, 62-64. The knife Jim has is 63. I am hoping for it to land in category 3, just above 3V alongside Vanax. This is another steel that I think would really show it's true potential with a coarse edge.
 
Thank you Chris. Still pretty darn tough then, with more wear resistance. It sounds like it's one I am going to enjoy. Being a non stainless may put some off but I'm used to them and in a position where some maintenance isn't a problem. I maintain stainless knives too anyway, as I do any tool I use. It sounds like it would be a good candidate for a Spyderco mule in fact.

Thanks,

Joe
 
The Mastiff said:
I'm still anticipating 4V and it's performance. It has the look of something I would get along with very well.
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Mastiff, I don't have CPM 4V, however I do have Fred Haakonsen's Vanadis 4E utility knife. Those two are very close in chemical makeup - CPM 4V vs. Vanadis 4E composition comparison. I suppose 4V is Crucible's version of Vanadis 4E, it appeared later.
My knife is 66HRC, and originally it was intended for even higher hardness, but Fred had some issues with HT equipment availability, so we settled for 66HRC.
Performance is very high and for light/medium cutting it's an excellent choice, in more than 2 years I've never had a single chip on it. That included various types of plastic, wood, wiring etc. and a ton of cardboard of course.
62-64HRC would be quite conservative, and more suited for large blades. More details here - Fred Haakonsen Vanadis 4E Utility Custom Knife Review.
 
Gator97 said:
Mastiff, I don't have CPM 4V, however I do have Fred Haakonsen's Vanadis 4E utility knife. Those two are very close in chemical makeup - CPM 4V vs. Vanadis 4E composition comparison. I suppose 4V is Crucible's version of Vanadis 4E, it appeared later.
My knife is 66HRC, and originally it was intended for even higher hardness, but Fred had some issues with HT equipment availability, so we settled for 66HRC.
Performance is very high and for light/medium cutting it's an excellent choice, in more than 2 years I've never had a single chip on it. That included various types of plastic, wood, wiring etc. and a ton of cardboard of course.
62-64HRC would be quite conservative, and more suited for large blades. More details here - Fred Haakonsen Vanadis 4E Utility Custom Knife Review.
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The member who ordered the 4V did a lot of comparing to 4E. I did not do much research on 4E since that was not what he wanted, but I did find that the heat treat recipes are extremely similar.
I do not have a hardness tester in my shop so I could not test right out of quench or cryo.Since reading your post I am wondering if I had tempered at a lower temp and achieved a higher hardness if I would see similar results as to what you found with 4E. Sounds like some more testing on the horizon.
 
Gator, thanks for the info on both steels. I have no experience with 4e yet either. It looks like a good steel for knives requiring a balance of good toughness and wear when corrosion isn't an issue, or coatings are used.

Big Chris, does it heat treat kind of like a high speed steel?

Joe
 
The heat treat is almost identical to 3V with a slightly higher austenizing temp.
I guess the answer is yes, it heat treats like a high speed steel.
 
my favorite steel by far is either 1075 or cpm m4.
or possibly any of the steels that fall somewhere between these two... hmm
 
I don't have a favorite per say..... I suppose depending on the application is how I'd choose a favorite.

That said, M4, 5160, 01, 1095, M390, D2 and S35vn are all pretty gnarly.
 
Can people truly tell steel apart in a blindfold test?

I can sure tell stainless apart from carbon as I use carbon steel as a chef. Simply MUCH smoother cuts where stainless I can almost feel the grain of the steel.
 
HwangJino said:
Can people truly tell steel apart in a blindfold test?

I can sure tell stainless apart from carbon as I use carbon steel as a chef. Simply MUCH smoother cuts where stainless I can almost feel the grain of the steel.
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I guess the risk of cutting yourself would be greater...:p
 
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