Are S35vn and Elmax tough enough for some batoning and bone contact within reason?
Sure! 60hrc by anyone with good temperture control and sound protocols will do it just fine. Most production knives come with extra meat on them too to compensate for misuse as well, however durability is an inverse relationship with actual cutting performance. No free lunch.
as a user you have two choices
1. Don't make contact with bone (be mindful of your edge)
2. Increase edge angle to 20dps and go up if needed.
CoS vs 3V?
CoS and 3v aren't very comparable, it's like comparing a sports car to a pick up truck.
They have strengths in different areas.
I LOVE the Takefu Cobalt Special (CoS) it runs harder and you buy it for all the reasons you would buy a sports car.
3V is more malleable, little more time to sharpen. The burr is more stubborn to remove. The edge feels a little smoother as well. CoS takes a crisper edge faster but 3v is no slouch. 3v is a more durable steel and is packed with more wear resistant vanadium carbides.
You would choose 3v for all the reasons you would choose a truck.
I was new once too, so I'll go more in depth.
Carbides?
The carbides are like little marbles inside of softer structure.
All steels have carbides. Different types, sizes and hardness
This is important for understanding why some steels have PM and some don't.
3v is PM, CoS is not.
The PM process keeps carbide forming alloying elements (when at high volume) very fine when the melted steel is cooling by atomizing it so you don't have a clumpy carbide mess that would reduce the toughness.
CoS is not a PM steel but it doesn't need to be. There are less of the carbide forming elements that cause the problems that requires PM to circumvent when the steel is.being made.
The harder and higher volume vandium carbides (MC type) in 3v hit 81-83hrc while the matrix that holds them can be anywhere from 57-62ish depending on the protocol chosen
In my opinion, I feel the carbides really only show with an aggressive toothy edge (300-600grit) but people fail to understand how to create such an edge without leaving a burr or a wire edge so they miss out. Also such an edge works best by drawing the edge with light pressure across what's being cut. People that push the edge straight in to what's being cut will not like a toothy edge. The teeth will create more resistance and wedge. Hence why a 800-1500grit medium range is needed if you want more polish, push cut ability
This is why cutting wood needs polished edges yet why processing fish and game, a toothy edge is best.
Is reality we have to find the best blend based off our use and preferences and some steel definitely have better synergy with one finish over another.
I feel toothy edges and a high volume of harder carbides work great together because the deeper scratches expose more surface area and allow the carbides be more exposed and express themselves at the teeth for more for aggressive draw cuts and bite, great for fish and game.
3v can also be polished so don't feel stuck with trying to take advantage of the vanadium carbides.
Geekiod stuff aside just buy the design you like the most.
Don't get too fixated on the steel.
There are so many variables to all this stuff that honestly most of us are probably not seeing what we think is the steel but more to do with geometry, how it was used and most importantly, how well it was Sharpened.
Yet there are endless threads about The steel or the some exotic heat treatment being the magical end all be all.
Really it's the geometry, the user, and how well it's been sharpened, if the steel is decent and the heat treatment has good temperture control and protocol then it's good to go. So dont get tunnel vision.
I'm guilty of this but not blind to it, I do genuinely enjoy finding the small nuisances between the different steels in my hopeless quest for the ultimate synergy but it's an endless endeavor which is why I love it.
Regardless, asking what steel is best should be reserved for buying a full custom knife.
Buying production, you are at the mercy of what's available in a design you like, so you don't get to be picky. You don't have that luxury.
What's your favorite stainless steel for bushcrafting or other rough uses? I've heard that S35VN and Elmax can be chippy (and don't roll) and difficult to strop up in the field. I'm looking for a relatively tough steel that isn't too chippy because I plan to baton with it and it will come into contact with bone regularly.
What are your opinions with Fallkniven's laminated CoS and how does it compare with CPM 3V in terms of toughness and edge retention? Are the stainless properties in lam CoS worth the difference? The reason why I ask this is because I've been really fixated on finding a new 3V knife, but also heard that Fallkniven is coming out with new models with the lam. CoS steel in the future.
