M4 vs Elmax?

Comeuppance

Comeuppance

Fixed Blade EDC Emisssary
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
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I bought an 0561 about 3 months ago because of a promotion. With the promotion came about a pound of keys, and then I got a new (much larger) phone. Suddenly, pocket space and knife weight have become concerns, and, ironically, the knife I bought because of my promotion is now too damned big and heavy to carry at work.

This means I'm carrying my Southard and Speedform a lot these days. I'm getting the new knife itch, and I have one that's basically dead weight sitting on my desk. Where and when am I going to carry the 0561 and need a blade like that outside of work? Sigh. Go it must.

So, now I'm looking at the Gayle Bradley. I know it doesn't weigh much less than an 0561 (surprisingly, just 0.3oz lighter), but it's much smaller in profile and could fit in my pocket. How would you say M4 compares to Elmax and 204P? Am I looking at a step down or step up in wear resistance? After a little looking around, it seems like where M4 really shines is toughness.

Just looking for some input, opinions, and, most desired: Experience.
Numbers, theories, and data analysis are good, but I'd also really like to hear accounts of performance.

Thank you! :)
 
I haven't put my M4 Contego through any hard use like i have my 560 in elmax, but i would guess that both are so tough that you won't even be able to tell a difference.
I've had no trouble sharpening either steel as well.
I think Spyderco makes some great gents folders that pack a punch.
For example: GB Air (no clip) in M4, or Caly 3.5 in CF and zdp189 laminate.
I've always considered the Gayle Bradley to be a hefty knife...which is a good thing.
 
I've had the GB, the Southard and many ZT's including 0350's (many), the 0550, 0560, 0561.
I think the GB will do you nicely, although the Southard will carry much lighter.
Remember, the M4 is NOT quite a stainless; wipe it down occasionally and you should do fine.
If I were to go into the woods for a long time, I'd pick the 204P or Elmax.
But, as already been posted; you'll likely never see any real difference between the three..except for the weight aspect.
Sonny
 
I've had the GB, the Southard and many ZT's including 0350's (many), the 0550, 0560, 0561.
I think the GB will do you nicely, although the Southard will carry much lighter.
Remember, the M4 is NOT quite a stainless; wipe it down occasionally and you should do fine.
If I were to go into the woods for a long time, I'd pick the 204P or Elmax.
But, as already been posted; you'll likely never see any real difference between the three..except for the weight aspect.
Of course, it could be argued, and correctly, that the ZT 0561 is NOT heavy, but is bulky. The 3D conformation of the grip is quite illuminating.
Sonny
 
M4 beat Elmax in almost every categories, better toughness, more wear resistance and higher attainable hardness. Elmax has better at corrosion resistance thought.
 
M4 is neat its like 3V and M390 got together had a baby and M4 was born, I really like it on small fixed blades but on a folder I would take ELMAX over it any day of the week. For me toughness on a folder is pretty dumb as more than likely the lock or the pivot would break before the steel would so the only thing M4 has over ELMAX is slightly more edge retention and I do mean slightly more. Keep in mind the two folders you are talking about are production so the HRC of these two steels will be close and I would take stain resistance over a hair more edge retention. Also ELMAX will be easier to sharpen than M4 will be.
 
m4 is amazing, you won't be disappointed.

and where that toughness comes into play is more for edge stability than things like pounding it sideways through car doors.... so you can have a high hardness, wear resistant super steel, with an edge that can handle more acute angles and tough cutting jobs where other super steels may start to show their weaknesses.

and, while not stainless, it is extremely stain resistant, you pretty much have to try to get a patina. However, with any non stainless you need to be comfortable if it gets a few stain spots from time to time. I know there are a lot of guys on here who want the toughest, most abusable knives on the planet, but freak out if they get a spot of staining...
 
My personal choice was/is M4, since I've owned a few CPM-M4 knives and none in Elmax. And it is a little ironic to be down on M4 in this comparison by saying all it has is toughness. It has better toughness for the higher hardness along with better wear resistance. But that isn't the funny part, the funny part is that you'd pretty much only choose Elmax over M390 because of toughness, while M390 is also stainless and has better wear resistance.

Now like I said, I haven't bothered to get anything in Elmax because I am fine with M4 (and CPM154, M390, 3V, etc) but I don't see it as being a top tier choice for a folder due to the alternatives out there. There's certainly nothing wrong with the knives made from it, I just don't think there are many comparisons where it comes out on top. Of course, the comparisons are almost purely academic or shown through rigorous and controlled testing; in normal use the steels are going to be close enough that you shouldn't complain about the steel selection in a production knife of relative affordability.
 
I like M4 because of how aggressive it is. It just seems to chew through whatever you cut.
 
M4 in my experience is extremely easy to sharpen and the edge retention is crazy.
It's a little less corrosion resistant but with wiping it off with a cloth or even my shirt after use has proved to work in preventing that.
It's an extremely tough steel and extremely wear resistant.

To me, marks(patina) will add character.
 
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