How does laminated steel compare with single-material steel in toughness?

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Naphtali

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May 20, 2002
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I am aware that Harry Morseth used A-2 before making special order Brusletto laminated carbon steel his trademarked blade material. A-2's HRC range in knife blades appears to be 2-5 points lower than Morseth-Brusletto's 62-65. I have no idea how A-2's lower number range affected Mr. Morseth's decision to change blade steels.

Chemically, ZDP-189 is nearly identical with the Cowry X damascus blade's center lamination, Cowry X having Vanadium included. And their usual HRC range for use in knife blades is nearly identical, Cowry X being delivered, perhaps, with slightly higher (and meaningless) HRC.
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Excluding all else, how "forgiving" does the machine forge welding of outer soft steel layers surrounding an extremely hard center layer render the blade in terms of toughness for comparable blade configurations?

Comparing a ZDP-189 blade with comparably configured one of Cowry X damascus should yield a fair and reasonable result.

A-2 and Morseth-Brusletto might be a different bag of cats. I suspect Mr. Morseth changed material for reasons other than marketing hyperbole.
 
What kind of toughness are you interested in.

On the one hand since the edge is still the harder material, it would still be subject to chipping. The laminations won't help there.

On the other hand if you are doing something with the knife that puts lateral forces on it, such as prying or even batoning, the laminated steel will be more forgiving. At the stress point where the monolithic steel would initiate a fracture, the laminated steel would just bend. You would end up with a knife that might be slightly bent vs. a knife that is in 2 pieces.
 
I believe you addressed both facets of my query. The chipping of center lamination is apparently something that must be accepted were its improved cutting ability to be important. The bending versus breaking I hadn't given much consideration. In retrospect I should have. I'm in "way the heck back there" Montana. As I get older and more ill/fragile, carrying more stuff to make field dressing and/or quartering an elk becomes less attractive. Breaking the sternum on whitetail, even the larger ones here, is not demanding for any of my knives. So I need not carry saws or chisels or the like. Elk sternums and pelvises are a different bag of cats. I have built-to-order Cowry X damascus knives that I use and lend to guests hunting with me. Hammering or levering one of my knives ("Randall Model 5-5s" done my way) is the reason for my query. One blade has a small chip along its edge. But how would such a laminated steel accept being used as a punch? Altering a one-piece knife into a two-piece would be difficult to accept gracefully.

A-2 and/or Morseth-Brusletto may be better suited for rough work . . . which kind've negates the purpose for investing such a large amount of money in the Cowry X's?? But I know very little about either blade material. What I think I know is that Morseth blades have an excellent reputation. But does that reputation include what I want to do?
 
Naphtali said:
is that Morseth blades have an excellent reputation. But does that reputation include what I want to do?
Click to expand...

Realize that Harry Morseth was making knives a long time ago, when there was a lot less competition in the high end knife world. But laminated steels are still produced and still have some advantages.

If your focus is on a "tough" knife, then IMO you should consider some of the better carbon steels, like 3V. Even some of the older knives like A2 and O1 can make a tough knife, such as the Randall 5. In knife steels there is always a tradeoff between hardness (edgeholding) and toughness- pick the quality that you want the most. Higher end esoteric steels will move the tradeoff point up the scale a little bit. Alloying a steel to make it corrosion resistant moves the tradeoff point back down the scale. There is more to it than that, such as blade shape and heat treat, but people these days are rediscovering the good qualities of the more mundane carbon steels after a period of time when every expensive knife had to be made from ATS34 to be of interest to buyers.
 
If your focus is on a "tough" knife, then IMO you should consider some of the better carbon steels, like 3V.This quote, by bdmicarta, is something to consider.
Here is a YouTube video which convinced me, and this CPM-3v should do your job just fine. These knives are available in various blade-lengths, as Guy's company has really taken off big-time. I have several, in various blade-steels, and they are impressive. The strength of this blade-steel is next to incredible. You'll never break one, elk or no elk. IMO :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo6vRFgOAAA
 
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