POLL: SURVIVE! EDC-4 Preorder Promotion. Would you participate?

Would you participate in a EDC-4 Preorder promotion?

  • No thanks, not for me.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Yes, I would buy one!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Yes, I would buy two!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Yes, I would buy three!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I need Christmas gifts. Sign me up for four!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
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As long as it is still just as good in the stainless dept, sure, go for it! Are these knives going to be convex ground like the original prototypes were? I LOVE my GSO 5 convex proto. In any case, I'm in for am edc 4 in stainless, whatever steel you pick..
 
I am not a metallurgist or knife maker and cannot speak from experience using this steel. However, from what I have read on the Bohler-Uddeholm website I think your right and give the substitution thumbs up!

Mark
 
FTR,I voted "No thanks, not for me." ,but I'd definitely be interested AFTER the holidays.:)
 
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I was in for an Elmax blade, then changed my mind to a 3V blade, and now I don't know anymore. I just might have to go with both.
 
I don't have any first hand knowledge, but from what I see elsewhere, the opinion seems to be that M390 has the edge in wear-resistance and ELMAX in toughness, especially at lower HRC. The following is from Bohler-Uddenholm FAQs:
As a custom knifemaker should I use M390 in every knife?
Yes, if edge holding is your top priority and you want every knife to be at least 60 Rc hard. If toughness in a stainless is your number one priority then use Uddeholm ELMAX tempered to 58-59 Rc. If corrosion resistance is most important, Uddeholm VANAX is the choice.

For a general use outdoors knife like the EDC 4, my preference would be for toughness over edge-holding, especially as neither steel is a slouch for edge-holding. I was interested in ELMAX for this because I was imagining it would be pretty much the ultimate in toughness for a high-performing stainless steel. But perhaps others with more real world experience can tell me if shifting to M390 would really involve any loss of toughness.
 
Brummie said:
I don't have any first hand knowledge, but from what I see elsewhere, the opinion seems to be that M390 has the edge in wear-resistance and ELMAX in toughness, especially at lower HRC. The following is from Bohler-Uddenholm FAQs:
As a custom knifemaker should I use M390 in every knife?
Yes, if edge holding is your top priority and you want every knife to be at least 60 Rc hard. If toughness in a stainless is your number one priority then use Uddeholm ELMAX tempered to 58-59 Rc. If corrosion resistance is most important, Uddeholm VANAX is the choice.

For a general use outdoors knife like the EDC 4, my preference would be for toughness over edge-holding, especially as neither steel is a slouch for edge-holding. I was interested in ELMAX for this because I was imagining it would be pretty much the ultimate in toughness for a high-performing stainless steel. But perhaps others with more real world experience can tell me if shifting to M390 would really involve any loss of toughness.
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Wow. Good job Brummie on securing this information.

Mark
 
I'd actually prefer m390 to Elmax I think, I have 5 folders in m390 and really like it. I'd probably get Elmax version down the road too though
 
In order for that link to work make sure you have the latest verison of Adobe reader installed. Just tryed it again and it worked its acutally a pdf file not a website.

Basicly though it states M390 is more rust resitant and holds and edge a bit longer, however ELMAX is the winner in the toughness catigory. I think for a folder M390 would win out because you dont really need toughness in a folder, but I think in an outdoors fixed blade such as the EDC-4 the edge would go to ELMAX.
 
MR.GRIMM said:
M-390 sounds great.What hardness would you shooting for?
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My gut instinct is 60Rc BUT that is why I'm having a follow up conversation with the guys at Peter's heat treat tomorrow. I want to talk a good amount of shop before making a final decision on this.

Brummie said:
For a general use outdoors knife like the EDC 4, my preference would be for toughness over edge-holding, especially as neither steel is a slouch for edge-holding. I was interested in ELMAX for this because I was imagining it would be pretty much the ultimate in toughness for a high-performing stainless steel. But perhaps others with more real world experience can tell me if shifting to M390 would really involve any loss of toughness.
Click to expand...

Try not to get too hung up on marketing talking points. Most of this is going to come down to heat treat protocols and not exclusively the rockwell number. When you read the word "toughness" in their literature, read that as impact toughness. They measure how hard they can hit it in a controlled way, before the metal deforms or fractures. That's kind of a non issue with a blade this small. I'll take everything you guys are talking about into account before making a final decision. If I believe it won't be suitable for this application, trust me, I won't use it. I will say I do have a conservative optimism though, regarding this steel.
 
m390 is supposed to be the definition of a "super-steel". While I was looking forward to trying out an ELMAX knife, I'd be happy to go buy one in m390, but only if it was heat-treated to Rc 60-61. Otherwise, ELMAX would be preferable.
 
I'd give this a try. I'm assuming the price won't jump too much?
 
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