Steels: Elmax, m390, CPM 3V, CPM 154, CPM M4: For Demko AD-10

first off this is a folding knife we are talking about i would never get a none stainless steel in a folder because the pivot will rust really fast so for me out of the stainless steels

i have heard that elmax is tougher and holds a better edge the s35vn bye a good margine.

m390 is held in the same respect as elmax is. some people say elmax is tougher slightly

i would get elmax or cpm 154cm
 
CPM M4 gets my vote, I love love love this steel. I love everything about it. More wear resistance than you can shake a stick at, VERY tough for it's level of wear resistance, and it's ability to age nicely with a light patina, while still being pretty good at resisting staining. M390 would be my second vote. never used it, but heard good things. Should have more wear resistance but less toughness, while being very stain resistant....
 
I would love to hear knifenut1013 tell us a bit more about his preference for Elmax. I respect his knowledge and have no personal experience with either M390 or Elmax.
 
I'll second the high opinion of Knifenut & his knowledge of knives & steels. If you're new here, he's one of the ones to pay attention to. I Haven't used Elmax, but it's a 3rd generation powdered steel made by Bohler, the makers of my beloved M390. It's said to be very tough for a stainless & very stain resistant while taking a very fine edge & holding that edge about as well as ZDP-189 or CPM-M4. That's what I soaked up on this forum. Sounds like a steel with nothing but strengths. I've used ZDP-189 & was impressed with the edge holding. A much tougher, more stain resistant ZDP sounds unbeatable. Factor in a custom heat treat & it'll be on another level.
 
I meant no disrespect to anyone on here, and mr knifenut this goes to you in particular... apologies to those who took offense. The reason I stated that was as such... put more eloquently above in that, if someone has a particualr reason for loving one above another and has the evidence to back this, others (myself included) would love more backing to the arguement than what was given.
 
Those are all great steals, and to choose one of those is a hard choice. I like M390 for stainless, and CPM 3V for non-stainless.
 
morrowj_98 said:
Why not get non-stainless if that is what you prefer? I've got a few custom folders (slip joints) made from A-2, 1095 etc. I use them all without any trouble.
Click to expand...

he asked for an opinion and i gave it. if he wants something non stainless more power to him!
 
Definitely prefer stainless.. think I am leaning towards Elmax at this point.

But I still have some time to make up my mind...

Thanks everyone for all the responses! I appreciate it :D

:cool::thumbup:
 
The_Guide said:
Definitely prefer stainless.. think I am leaning towards Elmax at this point.

But I still have some time to make up my mind...

Thanks everyone for all the responses! I appreciate it :D

:cool::thumbup:
Click to expand...

good choice if you did not care about stainless or not i would say cpm m4 but elmax is right up there with it elmax is a great choice.
 
rustyrazor said:
k knife nut... "elmax, nuff said" really??? how about not Nuff said! that's probably the worst commercial for anything I have ever heard. if you like a particular product, please explain why to the rest of us as obviously that question was asked for a reason and maybe the asker (and a lot of other people) are reading this to gain information about the benefits of one over the other.
Click to expand...


I am not offended by your question but presentation of a question in a GLOBAL Community is something you might want to work on.

Elmax is what the user wants in a steel, easy to maintain, excellent edge retention, and for a stainless has a impressive degree of toughness.

The problem with trying to explain what a steel is like is you need experience with many types or steels to understand why things like being a 3rd generation super clean and pure metal with excellent corrosion resistance and high ductility is like a gift from the steel gods.

Elmax is just a really good knife steel, if you didn't like it you would probably be a first.
 
I think Elmax even suprised some of us with decent steel experience and exposure when we used it for the first time - even after reading the specs.

I wasn't all that gung ho to even try it for the first time and actually ended up using it first on my ZT 0551 and honestly, I was very pleasantly surprised. I became a believer after the 0551. But I was really buying the 0551 for the knife and the steel was secondary. That all changed after I got to carry and use Elmax for a while

Next up for me will be the LionSpy with Elmax and I can't wait.

Unless Andrew Demko offers up S90V (my favorite stainless folder steel at 61 RC) if and when my name gets called, I'm likely to go Elmax for sure, even over M390.
 
Reeek said:
I think Elmax even suprised some of us with decent steel experience and exposure when we used it for the first time - even after reading the specs.

I wasn't all that gung ho to even try it for the first time and actually ended up using it first on my ZT 0551 and honestly, I was very pleasantly surprised. I became a believer after the 0551. But I was really buying the 0551 for the knife and the steel was secondary. That all changed after I got to carry and use Elmax for a while

Next up for me will be the LionSpy with Elmax and I can't wait.

Unless Andrew Demko offers up S90V (my favorite stainless folder steel at 61 RC) if and when my name gets called, I'm likely to go Elmax for sure, even over M390.
Click to expand...


ELMAX is what S30V was supposed to be but never really was. ;)
 
Well, Jim, I'm happy to take Elmax over S30V any day and wouldn't cry a tear (not that I dislike S30V!). Fortunately, we still have both, albeit Elmax is probably in much shorter supply.

Ankerson said:
ELMAX is what S30V was supposed to be but never really was. ;)
Click to expand...
 
this elmax has peaked my interest... i had asked a question a while back in regards to trying to find the best stainless steel for a hard use knife, and elmax never came up. Would I be safe in assuming it would be tough enough for a field knife or am I wrong there?
 
rustyrazor said:
this elmax has peaked my interest... i had asked a question a while back in regards to trying to find the best stainless steel for a hard use knife, and elmax never came up. Would I be safe in assuming it would be tough enough for a field knife or am I wrong there?
Click to expand...

feild knife not so much because when i think of field knife i think of chopping, hacking, prying, and bending. elmax is not the easiest steel to sharpen if you want a perfect field knife steel cpm 154cm is your steel much easier to sharpen

but if you do not mind sharpening then YES!!!!!!!! elmax is your steel

the reason i say no is because any fields knife is going to get chips and dings in the blade because of hard use.
 
Last edited:
I think Fallkniven has it right using vG10 on there big blades... easy to sharpen, stainless, and it can get a killer edge without too much effort.
 
rustyrazor said:
this elmax has peaked my interest... i had asked a question a while back in regards to trying to find the best stainless steel for a hard use knife, and elmax never came up. Would I be safe in assuming it would be tough enough for a field knife or am I wrong there?
Click to expand...
For a large, hard use fixed blade, the best bet is still going to be a high-toughness non-stainless steel like 3V, PD-1, or INFI, perhaps with a coating if exposure to moisture is a major concern (not all coatings will do this job, however, since some are purely for purposes of reducing glare). Elmax has very good toughness given how good it is in terms of wear and corrosion resistance, but it's not going to be in the same league as various non-stainless steels in terms of toughness. As one of our members here (Jim Ankerson) who has tested a ton of different steels likes to say, there's no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to steels. :)
 
chad2 said:
feild knife not so much because when i think of field knife i think of chopping, hacking, prying, and bending. elmax is not the easiest steel to sharpen if you want a perfect field knife steel cpm 154cm is your steel much easier to sharpen

but if you do not mind sharpening then YES!!!!!!!! elmax is your steel

the reason i say no is because any fields knife is going to get chips and dings in the blade because of hard use.
Click to expand...

So what your saying is you have never used elmax?

Elmax if memory serves correctly is one of few steels that have Zero reports of chipping and in my experience over the last almost year I have seen not much more than small deformations. Elmax is not at all hard to sharpen and can even be sharpened on stones as simple as the classic Arkansas. It's also pretty tough for a stainless so if you must abuse your blade you would have little worry. If you are talking chopper blade >6in then we shouldn't even be talking about stainless IMO.
 
I have yet to use ELMAX, as my order from ZT hasn't been filled yet.

However, I have a Spyderco Mule Team in M390, that is simply marvelous. So much so that I pre ordered another Military in M390. In my experience, CPM M-4 is another superb steel. I have five blades in M-4, and I have no regrets for purchasing any of them. :thumbup:
 
Fallkniven has the VG-10 but also has their SGPS in laminated. That's a very fine powder steel hard, tough etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top