stainless steel for heavy duty edc fixed blade?

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noob93

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Feb 6, 2016
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can a stainless like cpm-154cm remain tough at around 60? Im having a fixed blade made and was looking for some opinions on that steel particularly as it is easy to sharpen for a stainless as iv been told but if there are better options please feel free to comment. Il get my popcorn now haha but really would like to hear some opinions.
 
CPM154 is not 'particularly easy to sharpen', but if you have a diamond stone they're all about the same for maintenance. It's good stuff.
 
ya I dont use diamond stones as im just getting my free handing down right now as its been years. I just have a few arkansas stones ranging from about 200 up to around 12 give or take. I was told the ease of sharpening had much to do with ht.
 
noob93 said:
ya I dont use diamond stones as im just getting my free handing down right now as its been years. I just have a few arkansas stones ranging from about 200 up to around 12 give or take. I was told the ease of sharpening had much to do with ht.
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Ease of sharpening has much to do with wear resistance. You will have a very hard time sharpening CPM154 with an arkansas stone. It will polish the edge nicely, but won't remove material when needed. I recommend you buy a medium/fine combination diamond 'stone'. You'll save the dollars to pay for it in hours saved and frustration avoided. The arkansas can be used for an edge polish (and will be very good for that).
 
Diamonds are a guy's best friend ! Makes it easy to sharpen.
For stainless blades that don't need diamonds you might look at VG-10 or N690Co , about the best without going to powder metal types.
 
yes I am aware of the whole wear resistance equation thats why im steering clear of s30 or 35vn. Would it be harder to sharpen then say something like a pd-1? Also thank you for the recommendation and what "stone" would you recommend?
 
your answer popped up just as i finished typing. I notice your no slouch when it comes to knowledge of alloys around here. So how would ease of sharpening compare to something like pd-1 thats semi stainless. Also does an alloy like pd-1 offer a performance upgrade to cpm 154cm overall? I appreciate the recommendation for the diamond as well.
 
You probably know this already but as a general rule stainless steels aren't as tough as carbon steels if both have the correct H/T. If the corrosion resistance of a stainless is important to you then by all means go that way. If not, then you probably will get better toughness with a simple high carbon steel.
Either way, the type of steel isn't nearly as important as the maker's ability to H/T for maximum performance.

Gary
 
S30V and S25VN are not difficult to sharpen with a diamond hone. No more so than CPM154.

Buying a diamond hone is like finally upgrading to fuel injection - you'll wonder why you didn't do it 20 years ago and then it will be the new normal.

DMT make passable products, and lots of neat pocket options. EZ-Lap too, for larger affordable ones. Get an 8" if you can. Get a pocket one. You can find Smiths brand in hardware stores, sometimes in tri-stone format with two diamond and 1 natural medium stone. They last a looooooong time. It's unlikely you'll ever put as much sharpening wear on your stone as I have putting first edges (nevermind sharpening) on 100+ new knives in the last 5 years, and mine are still flat and going strong.
 
That was my thought too Joe. Although I am not sure how well it does on chopping or heavy cutting. I am just starting to learn more about stainless steel options and applications.

Chris
 
I believe cpm-154 would have the edge in toughness over the aforementioned steels or so Iv been told. I considered 3v but I think with the vanadium the ease of sharpening would be lost to some degree. Though I would be interested in finding out more about pd-1.
 
jdm61 said:
Aeb-l?
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I second aeb-l.

I second diamond stones. I use a 350 and 1200. I have water stones up to 30,000 that are good once the initial edge is on.

Wear resistance/edge holding is largely related to carbide volume and hardness. You can run the steel softer than optimum to make it easier to sharpen, but that is a waste in my opinion.
 
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well if the suggestion is aeb-l and diamond stone i guess my question would be 1)What performance advantages would i gain and 2) looking at that composition it doesnt seem like it would even need diamond stones as it is basically in the same class as 440c from what I can gather although im no metallurgist.
 
It doesn't need diamond stones, but life is much easier with them.
 
No offence but it sounds like if im needing diamond stones there would be better steels then aebl with cpm-154 being one of them? Like I said if it offers anything cpm-154 doesnt id love to hear it?
 
Aeb-l is easier to sharpen, is tougher, and takes the finest edge you can possibly imagine. You trade a small amount of edge holding compared to steels with more carbides.
 
oh okay so would you say that its about the same as 440c but just takes a finer edge? Have you worked with other stainless steels for comparison by any chance?
 
AEB-L, ZFiNit, 13C26 and most low carbide stainless should work fine as far as you had proper HT.

Elmax is the toughest PM stainless ever. In toughness testing at 61rc it is still tougher than S30V @57rc and 154CM @54rc.
 
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