New Member, seeking advice...

K

KLOW

Joined
Nov 17, 2005
Messages
35
Greetings everyone! I am new to Blade Forums and new to the custom side of the knife hobby, and am seeking some advice... I wish to have a custom Bowie knife made, one which will be quite large (15" long, 3 1/4" wide, 5mm thick) and am having trouble deciding which type of steel. I have already contacted a maker, and he suggested either ATS-34 or 440 C. I have decided to go with a stainless steel over Carbon, and I would like to know what some people have to say about using such steels as CPMS-30V or BG-42, any info would be greatly appreciated, as well as any alternate suggestions. I am thinking in terms of sharpness and edge retention, without the possibility of potential brittleness in the blade... Thank You.
 
ABowieout of stainless????????????


Sacreligious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) :) :)
 
Will use it for sure... not sure on what exactly... But I will be spending a great deal of money on it... So, I want to go all out. Any ideas?
 
klow, in my opinion dont overlook what the Hammer boys around here can do with a piece of tool steel......they can more than meet your needs....I make bowies combat style in 440c...thinly ground twin bladed beasts...not much good for hacking tree limbs....but they love-em in Iraq......look around.....blade geometry is key as well as steel.

BJ
 
First, I am going to recommend you go for a non-stainless carbon steel such as 5160, 52100, 1075/84/95, W-1, W-2, L6, O-1 or A2. These steels are tougher (some much tougher) than stainless are. If you are going to use the knife for chopping then non-stainless is the way to go, in my opinion.

If you are determined to use stainless, the two that have been recommended to you will work fine. You should also look at CPM-154CM, as this is a very clean Powder Metallurgy steel. Similar in its chemical makeup to ATS-34. CPM-S30V should also work fairly well, but make sure the maker hardens it near the bottom of the recommended range. S30V will chip when made too hard. I would not recommend BG-42 for a big user; it is far too brittle.
 
I've really got to throw my hat in the ring with the heat-it-and-beat-it set and recommend a forged carbon steel blade for a big using bowie. Your choices of who to make it would be many, with price and delivery time pobably narrowing things down for you.

Best of luck with your choice, whatever your decision and make sure to come in here and show it off when it's done!

Roger
 
I have done a little research into Carbon Steel blades, what would you guys think of O-6 tool steel for the blade (assuming I can get the knife maker I have spoken with to use Carbon Steel)
 
06 is not a common knife steel and if I remember correctly is not a good choice for forged knife blades. I may be wrong here but do remember reading this sometime back. L6 5160 or 1060 would be a great choice though.
 
KLOW said:
I have done a little research into Carbon Steel blades, what would you guys think of O-6 tool steel for the blade (assuming I can get the knife maker I have spoken with to use Carbon Steel)
Click to expand...

I try and be patient, so I am not going to pop, too much!:rolleyes:

If the maker you have spoken to recommended any stainless steel for a 12" bladed bowie, my confidence level in that maker would not be extremely high, unless we were talking about someone on the level of Bob Loveless, Jim Siska or George Herron. This is for a using knife, not an art piece. If you simply want to eye f**k your newest acquisition, you could make it out of aluminum.

If the maker that you have spoken to is not on that level, and does not forge, find another maker to work with.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
O-6 is very high in carbon, about 1.5%. The more carbon, the more likely a blade is to be brittle. If a maker has a lot of experience heat treating this steel, maybe they have found the perfect heat treat for making big user blades from it. Since O-6 is not a popular knife steel, I doubt you are going to find someone that has a great deal of experience with it. If you are going to use an O series steel, I recommend O-1. It is tried and true and a darn fine performer.

On a user, my personal choice would be L6 if forged, and CPM-3V if made by stock removal. There are some makers that will forge you one out of 3V (Bailey Bradshaw for example), but they are few and far between.
 
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