How tough is ELMAX steel?

me2 said:
I cannot read the text, but that chart seems to be a compilation of data from various sources, or is it all from actual testing performed for the paper? If it's from different sources, are you sure the impact testing is all comparable?
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I also cannot read the page, can't seem to find a translator for it either, but the parts that I do understand present values which either correspond to or are quite similar to the best source I know of for such values on the web, namely Crucible's Charpy c-notch values. I am skeptical that the all the data presented on the page all comes from a single independent testing source... Some of the values may come from tests performed by the makers of Nexus Knives, including Michele Molletta who is a registered BF user (now collaborating with or running kniferesearch.com ?) and also lists C-notch values. Does Phil Wilson do any Charpy tests? Bohler tends to use un-notched values, but in comparisons of both Bohler and CPM steels where the testing method is not mentioned (e.g. the previously attached paper), the CPM values closely match Crucible's own c-notch values, making them comparable to other c-notch values. Many other sources of steel information list only Izod values, but I don't see those presented on this chart.

In summary, I cannot verify with certainty that the values are all accurate and comparable, but those which I have been able to verify certainly are accurate per manufacturer data, which lends credence to the accuracy of the chart as a whole and makes me comfortable about citing it on an enthusiast internet forum. Also, I can find little to no information contradicting any of the data presented in the chart.

I also have no information on how all the data for the page was collected - if it was simply taken from manufacturers or other independent testers. Can anyone fluent in the language search through it and tell us more? Why hasn't an American presented this sort of combined data on a site yet? I predict an upgrade to zknives.com in the future.... ;)
 
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james terrio said:
I don't find CPM-3V to be noticeably any more difficult to sharpen than other high-end steels like Elmax, CPM-154, CTS-XHP*, etc. Certainly not enough of a difference that I would decide against it based solely on ease of sharpening.
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I agree fully with this statement. I've recently reprofiled a Benchmade with 154CM (I know it's not exactly CPM 154, but close) and a Koster flatground Bushcrafter in 3V on my Lansky with diamond hones and they were very similar in ability to shape and resharpen. It took a while to bring the angles down, but the actual sharpening to get to a very fine edge wasn't all that hard or time consuming. For the record I started with their extra coarse hone and worked up from there. 3V gets a bad rap when it comes to sharpening. It's not all that challenging to work if you have a bit more patience. It's worth it to me in the long run.
 
I'm just making a cautionary note that comparing impact values from different sources must be done with care. V notch, c notch, and unnotched samples can all be used and knowing which is used is essential for comparisons. For steels as brittle as we discuss here, doing the same test in a different lab can result in significant differences and scatter in the values. Most impact values I see tossed around the various forums do not say which version is used. For what its worth, there are different types of wear as well, and many charts compare adhesive wear, which isnt really the kind we are interested in unless we do a lot of metal cutting with our knives. We just need to be sure what we thing we are reading is really what we are reading.
 
Depending on HT and tempering methods, CYRO treatment or not and final hardness ELMAX can be very tough for a stainless, that's based on my own testing of various ELMAX blades ranging from 58 HRC to 62 HRC and thickness behind the edge from .009" to .030".
 
Ankerson said:
Depending on HT and tempering methods, CYRO treatment or not and final hardness ELMAX can be very tough for a stainless, that's based on my own testing of various ELMAX blades ranging from 58 HRC to 62 HRC and thickness behind the edge from .009" to .030".
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Well the blade in question will have a CRYO treatment done to it and have a hrc of 59-60. It is also a 5/32 inch thick fixed blade with a saber grind. Guess this info would have been a lot more useful had I put in it in the original post.
 
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PatrickKnight said:
Well the blade in question will have a CRYO treatment done to it and have a hrc of 59-60. It is also a 5/32 inch thick fixed blade with a saber grind. Guess this info would have been a lot more useless had I put in it in the original post.
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I don't think you will have any issues with toughness with that blade. :)
 
PatrickKnight said:
Awesome. I was acutally hoping you would chime in on this as I value your thoughts on different steels as you seem have to tryed just about all of them. :)
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I was waiting to see how the thread was going before posting anything. :D
 
i own an edc-4 in elmax and love it. retired my f1 and esee4 because of it. ive beat the shit out of it for over a month now and still returns to hair popping sharp after a strop
 
Thank you for all the input guys and most of all for that data that was posted. This has been a very useful thread and I look foward to trying out ELMAX.
 
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