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Recommendation? Stainless for big mean bowie knives

Have you ever actually dealt with cpm154 or is this just speculation based on reading?

Its reputation among people who use it doesn't line up with what you're saying.
 
You were the one who brought up it not being a good choice when toughness is concerned.
Is it the toughest steel out there? No
Is it the best option of the realm of steels he suggested? Most likely.
The various tougher options since listed accomplish it at the expense of edge holding.
Is he trying to make a knife or a pry bar? Cpm154 is tough enough that you won't be tearing it up without really trying to, and it isn't a compromise elsewhere.

Some of the CPM steels can be chippy or lacking in toughness, cpm154 isn't one of them.
 
As I read the Initial Post there was NO mention of "CPM154CM" he did however list 154cm....Those are very different and although there were other Really Good Suggestion very few were on the OP's List. Just wondering if this has wandered off the Rails on his question???
 
kuraki said:
Depends. How long is the stick?
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Also does this stick come with feathers on the end and another bent stick with a string?

If you want thought stainless then use 17-4 :), not sure on edge holding but it's crazy tough lol
 
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Geoff Flato said:
You were the one who brought up it not being a good choice when toughness is concerned.
Is it the toughest steel out there? No
Is it the best option of the realm of steels he suggested? Most likely.
The various tougher options since listed accomplish it at the expense of edge holding.
Is he trying to make a knife or a pry bar? Cpm154 is tough enough that you won't be tearing it up without really trying to, and it isn't a compromise elsewhere.

Some of the CPM steels can be chippy or lacking in toughness, cpm154 isn't one of them.
Click to expand...
You can read a thorough discussion of PM stainless steel toughness here: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/no-your-pm-stainless-steel-isnt-tough.1535555/

In that thread I made this statement: “Of course, these steels offer sufficient toughness for many knives and applications, which is not what I am arguing about. However, if looking for a maximum toughness steel for whatever reason, I would look outside of the PM grades.”
 
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BearPawBlacksmithing said:
True However I don't think you would bring a stick to a knife fight:(
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I for one don't plan on ever getting into a knife fight :D

The OP wasn't asking which stainless is the toughest out there guys. I don't think anyone will argue that CPM154 holds that title. It does fit the criteria for this build though, and it's readily available in any size a knife maker would want.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I will definitely give cpm 154 a try if my knife maker has it avalible, sounds like a great steel and has been suggested several times in this thread. However I would like to hear you thoughts on the steels I listed because those were the options I was given, I live in Mexico so the steel avalability is not always the best. Initially I though Elmax was going to be suggested the most haha but Im not an expert on steels just a knife user. By the way dont bring a stick to a knife fight even if it is 20” been there done that..... pretty bad outcome haha ;)
 
One question I have relative to the above discussion resolves around AEB-L warping so much. How do the other steels compare and resist the warp while being prepared?
I've only used AEB-L in my glorious 2 month carrier and would like a stainless that does not warp so much but is similarly user friendly when ground thin.
 
golfer1 said:
One question I have relative to the above discussion resolves around AEB-L warping so much. How do the other steels compare and resist the warp while being prepared?
I've only used AEB-L in my glorious 2 month carrier and would like a stainless that does not warp so much but is similarly user friendly when ground thin.
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What Thickness are you using and what type knives are you making....I grind AEB-L post heat treat on Kitchen knives and Slipjoint Knives. Out of plate quench they are pretty straight and also out of Cryo still straight. I have had a couple that tweaked just a bit out of first Temper treatment before grinding and those were clamped to aluminum and back into temper which pulled them back straight.
 
I stopped having problems with aeb-L after I also clamped it between plates (actually two pieces of angle iron) for cryo and tempering.
 
since your talking abut modern bowie its going to have a heavy spine and you can shape it however bowie shape you want and then grind it mostly lik e a camp knife. just about any of those steels will hold up just fine i think it will more likly come down to finding theh thickness of barstock you want to start with. then all you need to do is HT for strength
 
You say Carbon Steels aren’t a option. Is that from past experience, or do you live in a extremely humid climate?
 
My AEB-L knives were kitchen knives ground thin. Almost all [10 out of 12] warped during grinding. These blades were thin to begin with but I did not expect this kind of warping. I also had one hunting knife out of 9 warp. I was able to straighten the kitchen knives before temper and cooled between plates. Only a few has slight warps after temper.
What I would like is a stainless that does not have the same tendency to warp during initial grinding.
 
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