Howdy, maybe a year or so ago John Steedman, a Bohler Uddeholm rep, and the wonderful folks at Alpha Knife Supply arranged a colossal hunk of a steel called Vanadis 4E for me. The AKS crew ran it through their surface grinder and shipped it to me on their dime. Before I get into show and tell on the knife, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to John and my friends at AKS. It's great to work with great people, I can't say enough good things about AKS or John.
Ok, what is Vanadis 4E?
Carbon: 1.4%
Chromium: 4.7%
Manganese: .4%
Silicon: .4%
Molybdenum: 3.5%
Vanadium: 3.7%
For a lack of a better description, V4E is somewhere in between 3V and M4 both in toughness and wear resistance. I've used this steel a few times before this project, but this was a real challenge and I learned a lot about the material. The wear resistance is very close to M4 in my estimation, and the toughness, while less than 3V on paper, is quite adequate for heavy impact laden use....and this is at 62 rc. After HT I did the finish grinding and put a quick edge on. This steel takes a crazy edge and will hold it after all kinds of use. I chopped 2x4s, oak, brass rods, nails with zero chipping and just a little rolling from the nails. The 3rd generation PM is really astounding what a difference it makes. If you're looking for a high performance knife meant for real use, this material may be the tip top. If I had a steady supply, I may not use anything else except K390 for very small thin knives.
I won't lie, V4E is not easy to work with. Hand sanding takes determination, on this project it took several orders of determination.
The reward, in my opinion, is totally worth it.
About this knife:
Length 15.5"
Width at widest point: 2.8"
Thickness at ricasso: .350", tapering from both ends
Scales are LSCF with red and black liners
So, hopefully I covered it all. If not, please ask! The bad news is that V4E is very tough to find and pretty costly if you do. It is fantastic stuff, and I hope to see more of it in the future. Thanks!!
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Ok, what is Vanadis 4E?
Carbon: 1.4%
Chromium: 4.7%
Manganese: .4%
Silicon: .4%
Molybdenum: 3.5%
Vanadium: 3.7%
For a lack of a better description, V4E is somewhere in between 3V and M4 both in toughness and wear resistance. I've used this steel a few times before this project, but this was a real challenge and I learned a lot about the material. The wear resistance is very close to M4 in my estimation, and the toughness, while less than 3V on paper, is quite adequate for heavy impact laden use....and this is at 62 rc. After HT I did the finish grinding and put a quick edge on. This steel takes a crazy edge and will hold it after all kinds of use. I chopped 2x4s, oak, brass rods, nails with zero chipping and just a little rolling from the nails. The 3rd generation PM is really astounding what a difference it makes. If you're looking for a high performance knife meant for real use, this material may be the tip top. If I had a steady supply, I may not use anything else except K390 for very small thin knives.
I won't lie, V4E is not easy to work with. Hand sanding takes determination, on this project it took several orders of determination.
The reward, in my opinion, is totally worth it.About this knife:
Length 15.5"
Width at widest point: 2.8"
Thickness at ricasso: .350", tapering from both ends
Scales are LSCF with red and black liners
So, hopefully I covered it all. If not, please ask! The bad news is that V4E is very tough to find and pretty costly if you do. It is fantastic stuff, and I hope to see more of it in the future. Thanks!!
