Need some help in choosen steel for Bowie

C

Chibbi

Joined
May 24, 2007
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I have been given a choice between following steels by a british knifemaker who is making me a kinda replica of the Bart Moore Bowie knife,,,

RWL34
EN45
O1
Silver Steel
75cr1 (1084 with 4% chromium)
80crv2
Damasteel
Or he could forge one out from a bearing race or forge weld some steels together as the original

Which of these would you recommend me ?

Knife is mainly meant to be a fighter, but has to have some degree of (emergency) chopping/battoning/camp chores capability,,,

Thanks for any and all feedback,,, I'm a total steel-noob :o
 
O1 is a good choice. It has served Randall Knives for decades
 
Forgot to mention,,, knife will have differential heat-treat,,, don't know if that makes a difference,,,
 
Not going to Iraq any time soon,,, we have a moderately wet climate overhere,,, never really cold or really hot,,, a lot of rain,,,
 
If you know how to keep your firearm oiled then you will know how to keep your knife oiled. If rust is a big factor then ask your bladesmith what he recommends and what he has to work.
 
Well,,, Did some research and asked around,,, as I understand it,,,

RWL 34 = CPM-154CM, powder steel variation of ATS-34: a very good stainless steel, well suited for smaller knives, less suited for really large blades...

O1: very good steel, but rusts very easily,,,

EN45: good, tough steel, but rather on the soft side, maybe problematic for edge holding ? Well suited for swords,,,

80crv2 : similar to L-2 steel, someone said it was as 5160 on steroids ?

75cr1: couldn't find much on it, chinese steel ?

As it stands, I'm leaning towards the 80crv2 steel,,,

Still open to recommendations though,,,
 
Differential heat treat will exclude all of the stainless and D2. That leaves you with only the carbon steels the maker has offered to choose from. Learn to look after your blade and there should not be a problem.
 
01 does not rust any faster than any other carbon steel. My shop is about 30' from the bank of the St Johns river in FL, and I have no more rust problems with 01 than any other steel in the shop. Just keep it oiled if rust is a concern. Just a side note. The last I heard on the Moore Bowie, is that it has been proven to be a fake. May be hearsay, but you might want to check if you have an historical interest in it.
 
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Ask the maker which steel he uses the most. This should be the one that he is best at H/T'ing and should give you the best service. Most knife makers develope favorites over the years. Don't be shy about asking which one & why. More times than not you will get a better knife if you let the maker use his favorite steel rather than dictating one for him to use that he may not be as familiar with.;)

Gary
 
^some great advise y'all,,, thanks a bunch,,, I think I'll go with the 80crv2,,, he's made several knives with it allready aswell,,,
 
Silver steel can take a great Hamon.
Damasteel is a stainless damascus.
If it was to be mainly a chopper I'd go with EN45.
O1 is a great steel and very forgiving on the HT (so quite hard to find a poorly HT'd knife in O1)
but it patinates very quickly. Mirror finishes in O1 are a nightmare on a user. Forced patina is the way to go.
 
Chibbi, you should probably be asking the Belgian or Dutch guys as they can advise you on what steel is readily available in your area. A lot of them use 01 or the Euro variant of O2. You can also get some fairly unique./obscure stuff over there like 115W8 from guys like Achim Wirz. Depending on your primairy language. I would try Neoczen.fr (French) Messenforum.nl (Dutch) or even Europeanblades.com (mostly english spoken, but Belgiam, French, Dutch, German, etc. people)
 
I can tell you Chibbi is on quite a few fora :D
Achim as well and he can even speak dutch, Chibbi's primairy language :D

The knife is already ordered by a British knifemaker, so he must choose between the steels the maker offers
 
I like ATS-34 for my bowies , you can get a really nice finnish on it. IMO i would choose RWL34
 
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