Question on powdered steel produced knives! This relates to fixed blades!

B

byteblock

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Jul 13, 2012
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I still haven't decided on a first knife besides the BK2 I gave away because I just don't think I need a knife that thinks it's an axe but isn't. Still struggling with indecisiveness! I almost pulled the trigger on a Bark River but I backed out.

I've been reading a lot of the past posts on here. I just wanna know if I'm understanding all this correctly.

If money is not a concern, is there no logical reason not to buy a knife made from one of the many types of CPM steel? From what I researched about the process, I can't think of any reason unless you're looking for a budget knife.

Given the science backing the technology, and I'm a big fan of science, I'm having a hard time not gravitating toward CPM knives.

Are CPM knives tough or do you have to handle them like they're made from glass?
 
The CPM process does not make a steel weaker in any sense. For at least some of them, it adds to toughness.

It doesn't make sense to say they only belong in budget knives. I'm not sure where that idea comes from, so I don't know how to address that one.
 
I never said CPM produced steels are used in budget knives. I said exactly the opposite. Sorry if I made my post confusing by how I worded it.
 
byteblock said:
If money is not a concern, is there no logical reason not to buy a knife made from one of the many types of CPM steel?
Click to expand...

If you're interested in tool/stainless steels that have a significant amount of alloying elements, the CPM/"powder" version will be cleaner, tougher and take a finer edge and polish. Go for it.

If you're interested in simpler alloys like 1095, O1, etc; there's simply no need for a CPM/"powder" version. They're already as good as they're going to get.

I gladly work with "plain" carbon steels, tool steels and stainless alloys, depending on what attributes my clients prefer. In my own personal knives, I insist on "powder" steels like CPM-3V and Elmax.
 
The CPM steels do indeed make great knives. I suggest picking one up and giving it a shot yourself. Can't know for sure until you try it out. ;)

Dan
 
The CPM type steels are inherently tougher .Fractures on steel with large carbides tend to go carbide to carbide while fractures with smaller carbide steel usually don't ! Toughness improvement is best seen as an increase intransverse toughness .The you have the ease of sharpening ,sharper edge .It's been around for 40 years give it a try !
 
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