Tell me about Stellite

S

SteelSnob

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Sep 7, 2009
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I getting a custom knife made and I have the option of a Stellite blade. I don't know much about the material and I would appreciate some info from people that know about it. Some of my questions are-

How does is stack up against steels line CPM154,S30V and other popular steels?

I know it's run softer so is breakage or bending a issue?

Would it do ok against cardboard?

What kind of materials could it not be or should not be used to cut?

Thanks.
 
custom maker mike franklin was one of the 1st i was aware of to start using stellite way back in the 70s. the alloy according to franklin was'nt very hard & would take a slight roll if you hit bone when cleaning large game. this was easiely straightened on a steel or crock stick. although the rockwell was'nt high the stellite had increadible abrasion resistance. the alloy is very expensive but basically corossion free. my guess it would cut cardboard a very long time. i have'nt seen any cutting tests with this product on the forum. my brother has a franklin but since it's a collector item , i doubt he would allow myself to slice cardboard with a mint blade
 
From what I know its not a steel. Its a cobalt alloy, similar to Talonite. Its not magnetic and will not rust. There should be a lot of info if you could do a search.
 
The matrix is actually fairly soft with hard wear resistant particles in it. That's why the edge bends when hitting something hard. Expensive and not the easiest to sharpen. Talonite was popular a couple of years ago but interest died out because people could do better [price ,sharpening ] with a good steel.
 
IMO Stellite, and later Talonite, were somewhat overhyped. I once owned a Camillus Talonite knife and there was nothing so special about the performance of the steel to make it worth 3X the cost of a conventional steel blade.

It might be worth the extra cost if you need a blade to use in extremely corrosive environments---but now that we have H-1 I'm not even sure of that.

The one thing that always appealed to me about Talonite was as a material for an amateur knife maker. Because it was an age-hardening alloy, you didn't have to worry about heat treating it. Once you ground it to shape you were done.
 
Stellite was developed to make cutting tools that would resist elevated temperatures. It is also used to make Sodium cooled valves for racing engines. The cheap Stellite (6-BH) is also called Talonite. It sells for around $100.00/lb. The good Stellite (6-K) sells for around $265.00/lb. The 6-K has a hardness in the midforties on the Rockwell C scale, but you can't scratch it with a file at 60HRC. The stuff is about half Cobalt and half Chrome. It is loaded with carbides, is non-magnetic, and doesn't rust. The edge retention is very good but doesn't stand up to chopping hard materials. Don't make an axe out of Stellite. I have several Stellite knives and like them a lot.
 
As a youth I worked in a shop that produced valves for engines. They used to machine a radius cut on the seat of a valve and drip heated stellite onto the seat. It was extremely hard to machine after the application. I have only ever seen a few knives that had stellite applied to the blade. I never heard of a blade made completely of stellite.
 
Stellite is also used for thin bandsaw blades used on silica-bearing woods and abrasive composites. The combination of flexibility, wear resistance, and heat tolerance are good for that application.
 
Depends what you are going to do with the knife. I have a Blackwood hybrid hunter in Stellite that I've used constantly for the past 5-6 years for fresh and saltwater fishing. Zero corrosion and it stays hair popping sharp with only the occasional touch up on a ceramic rod. I've never tried prying or chopping with it. It cuts flesh like there's not tomorrow, tho.
 
The now defunct Camillus group of New York did, in fact, make a cool little neck knife in Talonite. I had one and used it off an on, later selling it to a hunting guide. According to him, it is the best little blade he's ever owned, using it mainly for skinning purposes. I was told that Talonite would never rust and edge holding was top notch. Now, in retrospect, I wish I had bought the somewhat larger drop point version and kept it! These knives are a true collector's item as they are no longer in production.

If you could find such a knife these days, wonder what it would cost?
 
I was kind of kidding when I called Talonite the cheap Stellite. It still costs 3X as much as the best steels. Talonite has a lower HRC than 6-K Stellite, and you can scratch it with a file. All of my Stellite knives are solid Stellite. The folders made by David Boye are cast in ceramic molds. He calls the blades dendritic Cobalt and the micro edges are loaded with macro crystals. In practice I don't find a lot of difference between the two. They both work great.
 
My Stellite 6k kitchen knive was made by George Young. Nice knife for the kitchen, but I had a hard time getting & keeping a good edge on it.
 
i have a kleinguenther k-15 bolt action rifle i bought in the mid 80's.one of its biggest features was that the action was claimed to be the strongest.the bolt locked into a sleeve of stellite,making it withstand the highest pressures. it was listed at the time as a space age alloy.i had some of the camillus talonite knives,but like said on this thread;it rolls very easily if the edge hits a hard object, which is why i eventually sold them off.i think it works better for me in the chamber of my k-15....
 
goldie that kliengunter is easiley one of the finest bolt actions ever made. years back i saw one group & tryed to buy it but the guy was'nt letting go. i think they came out of sequien tex. & probably are'nt made any longer. hang on to that baby.
 
Mine was made for me by robert kleinguenther himself,before kdf was formed. i waited 6 months for it,has a real incredible piece of wood,wby mkv style,i think he worked for wby before going off on his own,getting actions from voere,barrels from del-cor of belgium,& custom making the stocks,bedding,& finishing himself.i should post a pic,even though its slightly off topic.7mm rem mag,26" bbl....
 
I was looking through the forums for input on 6k, user viewpoints and possible value of Stellite cutlery. My father was the comptroller of the Stellite plant in Bellville, ON. While I do not currently have any access to the proprietary process in the manufacture of the alloy, and cannot really add any technical information, I do have a limited edition Gerber model 535 in 6k with what looks like a rosewood handle and nickel silver accents, #53 of 200, mint. It was a gift to the executive staff of Stellite, and handed down to me. If anyone can tell me what the relationship was between Gerber and Stellite that caused these 200 limited editions to be made, I would greatly appreciate it.
 
There's two Stellite 6K and Stellite 6B, made by Deloro Stellite. Used by few makers
Both cobalt based alloys, I've never used either one, but I had talonite knife for a while. Very specific thing if you ask me. RC doesn't go high enough to sustain thin edges, so you are limited to thick ones, and that can keep mediocre sharpness for a very long time.
 
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