Where do you see the Trail Master San Mai III being in the near future?

PsychoSword said:
I always thought 420J can never retain an edge. and in my experience many years ago I found that to be true.
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You are correct, it's tough but doesn't wear very well. For a protective outer layer over the sandwiched VG-10 its a good choice though.
 
PsychoSword said:
I always thought 420J can never retain an edge. and in my experience many years ago I found that to be true.
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It doesn't have to. The vg1 or vg10 core is there for that. The 420j2 makes the oiter layer so it is tougher.
 
PsychoSword said:
I always thought 420J can never retain an edge. and in my experience many years ago I found that to be true.
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Certainly can't hold an edge for long. Very low carbon. And it doesn't need to hold an edge as it is the toughness part of sanmai. I think you keep on thinking it is used as the edge. It is not. Think of two slices of bread with a bologna slice un the middle. The bread is 420j2 and the bologna is the vg1 core. Now cut an angle froom each bread so they meet with only the bologna being the apex of that point. That is the edge.
 
Cobalt said:
Certainly can't hold an edge for long. Very low carbon. And it doesn't need to hold an edge as it is the toughness part of sanmai. I think you keep on thinking it is used as the edge. It is not. Think of two slices of bread with a bologna slice un the middle. The bread is 420j2 and the bologna is the vg1 core. Now cut an angle froom each bread so they meet with only the bologna being the apex of that point. That is the edge.
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is the bologna fried though?
 
PsychoSword said:
I think it's a really nice knife, but I don't think it's the right steel for it. Seems like a knife that should be in Carbon steel or CPM. I did like my San Mai Trailmaster, but I sold it for this reason.
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Others have already pointed this out, but Sanmai (three layers) is not a steel. It is a blade construction type with a core steel sandwiched between sofer steel (laminated).
Whether Sanmai construction is "right" is answered by the fact that Cold Steel introduced the San Mai Trailmaster back in 1998, and
upgraded it to a VG1 core in 2007. So it has a long proven history.

Sanmai is just one of several folding methods used in Japanese sword making. It is a design that has worked for the battlefied for centuries.
So it is unlikely to be "insufficient" for the tasks of a 9 inch bowie knife.

Ichiro Hattori of Seki makes all of Fallkniven fixed blades, as well as the Cold Steel Sanmai III Trailmaster. Having owned Carbon V and 0-1 Trailmasters,
I personally found the San Mai III TM to be a better chopper, likely because of the convex grind.

It is a reasonable argument to support the use of carbon steels on large knives because they tend to edge roll instead of chip. However, large bowies
with both VG1 and VG10 cores have been very succesful. So I think it all boils down to a personal preference.
 
Cobalt said:
Well, when you consider san mai was specifically designed for hard use and there is a whole host being used, I think it works. The falkniven A1 has one heck of a reputation, and it is basically an oversized SRK.
out of these 9 knives of mine 5 are sanmai, all the same basic design. All made in japan except the mtech and the old carbonV TM made in the usa.

g4MazBi.jpg
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Nice collection. But I see 4 Sanmai knives.
-Fallkniven Thor - VG10 SM Hattori-Convex
-Fallkniven A2 -VG SM Hattori-Convex
-Cold Steel SM Trailmaster - VG SM Hattori-Convex
Cold Steel Trailmaster Carbon V Monosteel - USA
Rigid RG-69 U2X (Aus8) Monosteel -G.Sakai
M-Tech MT-151 Monosteel 440A (presumed)- China
Hattori 180-1 Convex Monosteel Aus8
Hattori 180-2 Hollow Monosteel Aus8
-Fallkniven Modern Bowie SM Cobalt Steel -Hattori-Convex

I suppose you could add to your collection Blackjack Teton Bowie and the Boker bowie both made by G.Sakai.
I think the ultimate in this class/type might be the G.Sakai High Speed Edge Knife (HSEK) with the SRS15 powder steel
core Sanmai.
 
KenHash said:
Nice collection. But I see 4 Sanmai knives.
-Fallkniven Thor - VG10 SM Hattori-Convex
-Fallkniven A2 -VG SM Hattori-Convex
-Cold Steel SM Trailmaster - VG SM Hattori-Convex
Cold Steel Trailmaster Carbon V Monosteel - USA
Rigid RG-69 U2X (Aus8) Monosteel -G.Sakai
M-Tech MT-151 Monosteel 440A (presumed)- China
Hattori 180-1 Convex Monosteel Aus8
Hattori 180-2 Hollow Monosteel Aus8
-Fallkniven Modern Bowie SM Cobalt Steel -Hattori-Convex

I suppose you could add to your collection Blackjack Teton Bowie and the Boker bowie both made by G.Sakai.
I think the ultimate in this class/type might be the G.Sakai High Speed Edge Knife (HSEK) with the SRS15 powder steel
core Sanmai.
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You are correct, 4. I have more TM's as well. But I am missing the boker and blackjack. I also want to get the 3v TM, and if they actually come out with the A2 version as well.
 
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Cobalt said:
You are correct, 4. I have more TM's as well. But I am missing the boker and blackjack. I also want to get the 3v TM, and if they actually come out with the A2 version as well.
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The 3V would be interesting if CS resolved the overgrind issue. But I wouldn't hold my breath for an A2 version.
 
KenHash said:
The 3V would be interesting if CS resolved the overgrind issue. But I wouldn't hold my breath for an A2 version.
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I know. I was being optimistic about A2 TM, and there was a website that was selling them, so I purchased two only to find out after many months that they were never going to arrive. So I cancelled and got refunded.
 
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