preferred steel type?

interesting video that blade made short work of the cardboard. I might have to check that out also. with most blades edge geometry and heat treat are the most important things so I will definitely be sending mine out to be done by professionals with more experience than me.
 
I use mostly 154CM, either in regular or CPM versions. I've also played with AEBL a bit, and like it enough to do some more. I've used a bunch of 1084 in the past, and a little bit of W2, and will continue to use those as well. I finished my Knifemakers Guild entry process last September, and am working toward my JS stamp next fall, so necessarily I'll be shifting over to carbon steels for a while.
 
DevinT said:
Correct heat treating is more important than steel choice.

Hoss
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If I thought one in ten customers would understand this, I'd put it on a big banner over my booth. As it is, it's going on the wall of my shop...perhaps I can get my neighbor to needlepoint it....
Thanks, DT
 
get your neighbour to needlepoint me one too... I can pay USD, lol. but that's sooo exactly it. id doesn't matter if you make a 3V chopper if it's got a poor heat treat and a well done 440c will outperform it.
 
I've used AEB-L exclusively for over a year and like it. I aim for 62Rc with the heat treat, it holds an edge well and is easy to resharpen.
 
lo/rez I've heard between 61-62 RC is the sweet spot for it. I'll be ordering some next week after the move.
 
I've lived on both coasts of Fl. If it's taken care of, as Don said, wipe dry and kept clean, rust shouldn't be a huge issue. The one caveat is if it's being used in the surf or on a boat on saltwater. In that case even most stainless steels will rust. Birchwood-Casey Sheath was the only thing that kept my stuff from rusting in salt spray.

I primarily use 3V. I'm fine with that in Fl. I'm working on my first batch of stainless. It is Elmax. I'm looking forward to testing it. I still wouldn't expect it to not rust in salt spray without maintenance.
 
It's hard to keep everyone happy that's for sure, but I get a lot more requests for stainless due to the nature of who will be using them. yes... IF you take care of them carbon steel knives will be relatively rust free, as TLR said, salt water can be brutal. I even had one knife made of 440c that went to the jungle for 3 months that came back spotted in orange, so I can't imagine one of my carbon one's condition after that, and I have been offering coatings on the carbon to help with this. it's a hard nut to crack keeping everyone happy but if anyone had "the answer" I guess we'd all be using whatever the answer is ...besides INFI of course. can't wait for stainless INFI, it's gonna be awesome!
 
rustyrazor said:
It's hard to keep everyone happy that's for sure, but I get a lot more requests for stainless due to the nature of who will be using them. yes... IF you take care of them carbon steel knives will be relatively rust free, as TLR said, salt water can be brutal. I even had one knife made of 440c that went to the jungle for 3 months that came back spotted in orange, so I can't imagine one of my carbon one's condition after that, and I have been offering coatings on the carbon to help with this. it's a hard nut to crack keeping everyone happy but if anyone had "the answer" I guess we'd all be using whatever the answer is ...besides INFI of course. can't wait for stainless INFI, it's gonna be awesome!
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that makes sense. what coating are you using if you don't mind me asking. I saw a destructive test on youtube about the different oils used to help clean knives. after 30 days left outside the best looking ones were 3 in 1 oil and blued with 3 in one oil. pretty interesting.
 
valknut said:
that makes sense. what coating are you using if you don't mind me asking. I saw a destructive test on youtube about the different oils used to help clean knives. after 30 days left outside the best looking ones were 3 in 1 oil and blued with 3 in one oil. pretty interesting.
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ceracote and a newer generation powdercoat that can bend over 90 deg without chipping off. so far I have had not complaints but I haven't been able to do any real hard use testing of them myself so who knows?
 
I did cerakote on a few guns and have had some that are professionally done. Just remember, it's still paint. It's nowhere near as tough as the substrate it's applied to.

And what was said about HT being more important than steel is so true. That and edge geometry. I have amazed so many people by just stropping or lightly resharpening their high end production knives and making them actually sharp. At this point, I actually don't want my customers sharpening my/their knives if at all possible. They'll just screw them up! LOL

I get a lot of collectors that buy a production brand with a particular type of steel and think its the end all be all. Right up till we do comparison edge retention tests. ;) I'm really starting to get down on production blades...

I started playing with other steels, but then decided to just focus on one, insure that my HT regimen is good, test a bunch of blades in various ways and also put as much energy into centering the cutting edge and keeping the angles as close as possible.
 
Very interesting topic. I have always been in the mindset of stainless steel only, probably because my dad always used stainless on his knives so that's what I grew up on. However since reading this thread and other information more recently, I can see where carbon steel has its advantages.
In fact recently we went together to buy steel from a local supplier, and I picked up a bunch of s30v and cpm154.
The shop owner said he thought we were nuts for using it because no regular users can sharpen the knives if they need it!
(Im sure they can be, and are sharpened; just taking a lot of work by hand - hopefully the knives wont need to be sharpened often!)

I'm curious to look into some carbon steels now though since reading about it on this site.
 
Those steels are fairly easily sharpened with the right sharpening mediums.

jaredboy said:
Very interesting topic. I have always been in the mindset of stainless steel only, probably because my dad always used stainless on his knives so that's what I grew up on. However since reading this thread and other information more recently, I can see where carbon steel has its advantages.
In fact recently we went together to buy steel from a local supplier, and I picked up a bunch of s30v and cpm154.
The shop owner said he thought we were nuts for using it because no regular users can sharpen the knives if they need it!
(Im sure they can be, and are sharpened; just taking a lot of work by hand - hopefully the knives wont need to be sharpened often!)

I'm curious to look into some carbon steels now though since reading about it on this site.
Click to expand...
 
jaredboy said:
Very interesting topic. I have always been in the mindset of stainless steel only, probably because my dad always used stainless on his knives so that's what I grew up on. However since reading this thread and other information more recently, I can see where carbon steel has its advantages.
In fact recently we went together to buy steel from a local supplier, and I picked up a bunch of s30v and cpm154.
The shop owner said he thought we were nuts for using it because no regular users can sharpen the knives if they need it!
(Im sure they can be, and are sharpened; just taking a lot of work by hand - hopefully the knives wont need to be sharpened often!)

I'm curious to look into some carbon steels now though since reading about it on this site.
Click to expand...

Take a look at AEB-L. It sharpens similar to a carbon steel.
 
Valknut, I made a friction folder and coated with gunkote. I left that knife in the cabinet of my saltwater aquarium for over a year and only the edge rusted. No rust was on the coated area.
 
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