Which stainlessteel can withstand batoning ?

Spikediesel said:
They are very similar. The heat treat is key here because different attributes are going to be better at a certain HRC. I believe T Twindog can add some Elmax knowledge here as I have seen him post some charts explaining this better than I. Personally I would buy a knife that was built for the specific task that you want to use it for. A reputable knife maker is going to make sure the proper steel and heat treat are used to achieve optimal results. There are many makers on Bladeforums that can produce that for you as well.
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Thank you much but i can not afford to buy a custom knife from someone here ))) I also live in Belgium so it would be like more 20$ to ship here. Are there any factory made knifes from Elmax ?
 
Bradford's M390 is GTG and ideal for it's edge retention (no field sharpening) and corrosion resistance. I'm confident it would take the abuse. I had a TRC K1 in Elmax that was tough as nails, but why beat on a $300 fixed blade...

Buy an inexpensive chopper to beat on. Invest in a primary field knife your kids can hand down to their kids.

Pair.jpg
 
Tamernator said:
Thank you much but i can not afford to buy a custom knife from someone here ))) I also live in Belgium so it would be like more 20$ to ship here. Are there any factory made knifes from Elmax ?
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TRC(Lithuania), Enzo(Brisa,Finland), Bark River (USA). Adam Kornalski is a maker on Bladeforums from Poland I believe who works with Elmax. @Charlie Mike is a maker from Bladeforums here in the US who works with Elmax.
 
Eagle Scout i found a chopper from Kershaw from the picture that you post , but its from 65Mn steel, whats thats steel ? I know nothing about it.
 
I haven't done any testing and the blades I baton with aren't stainless ... but the D3V I've used hasn't ever shown any signs of wanting to rust ...

as far as batoning ... I think it has alot to do with getting familiar with the wood in your area and learning to find decent wood to baton rather than grabbing just any piece and beating on it ...

I'm sure many stainless blades wluld baton well ... more about the wood choice and blade geometry ...
 
Tamernator said:
Eagle Scout i found a chopper from Kershaw from the picture that you post , but its from 65Mn steel, whats thats steel ? I know nothing about it.
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The Camp 10 is in 65Mn, a common spring steel with manganese. It's cheap but it's tough - an amazing compact chopper.
 
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440c cast like Stuart Ackerman (Spyderco Serrata) does should be a nice tough stainless choice too imho.
 
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https://www.boker.de/en/fixed-blade-knives/boker-plus/hunting-knives-outdoor-knives/bushcraft-xl-02bo297?_dbl=/en/search?sSearch=B%C3%B6ker+Plus+Bushcraft+Kormoran+;__csrf_token=wNHqjXloj2sz0Mc7FvQWEGq6kK398s

Im thinking of getting this knife, its from 440c but cheap and they say its for bushcraft ))) At least if it brakes not a big deal, cost only about 60 - 70$

Eagle Scout said:
The Camp 10 is in 65Mn, a common spring steel with manganese. It's cheap but it's tough - an amazing compact chopper.
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Thank you , i will research about this steel more, maybe i gonna buy a cheap knife and cheap chopper like that Kershaw, it may be better than buying 1 expensive knife.
 
Eagle Scout said:
The Camp 10 is in 65Mn, a common spring steel with manganese. It's cheap but it's tough - an amazing compact chopper.
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I have the Camp 10 and the Camp 18. They are great for the $$$. Solid machetes.

I forgot what I paid for the 10, but the 18” blade was about $35USD with a nice sheath. I have used the 18 a ton over the last year and it is performing great.
 
And what about Bohler n690 steel ? I did research and people say its not that great and not that far from 440c
 
Chopping is inherently hard on thin edges. Even if you get a tough steel (resistant to chipping) you can get serious rolls. Wood grain can change directions, especially around knots, but also if the grain swirls. Those grain changes can put lateral pressure on part of the blade while the rest of the blade is moving in a different direction, leading to large blade rolls (not just edge rolls). Wood can also hide old, hard branches that will seriously damage thin edges.

What you need is a steel with a good balance of toughness and strength (resistance to rolling), proper technique and a little luck. I've chipped pack axe edges by hitting knots.

For insurance against damage, geometry is your best friend. How much geometry you need depends on how hard you're using the blade.

Stainless steel can make excellent choppers. AEB-L is one of the toughest and will work well at 60 Rc. Elmax and Vanax SuperClean are also seriously tough and can concomitantly have good strength at 60 Rc.

3V and Vanadis 4 Extra are even tougher, but not stainless. I've accidentally left my 3V chopper out in the rain for several days. It was covered with light rust, but it cleaned off really easily. No pitting. So I wouldn't rule those steels out.

N690 is fine, but you have to pay more attention to getting the proper geometry. I prefer Elmax or Vanax or AEB-L -- or NitroV, which is AEB-L with a little vanadium for better edge wear. I think you can get all those steels in Europe.
 
Tamernator said:
https://www.boker.de/en/fixed-blade-knives/boker-plus/tactical-knives/biker-02bo370?_dbl=

What do you think, is geometry of this knife ok for batoning (it is convex btw) ? What i like about this knife is that its tip is not thin, i feel more secure about my knife when tip is thick.
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No one can tell you what the right geometry is for your knife because we don't know enough about how you will use your chopper. If the geometry is too heavy, you'll lose cutting efficiency. If it's too thin, you'll risk damage.

Check out @FortyTwoBlades post No. 81 in this thread. It's good. It takes awhile to find out what works for you.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/which-steel-has-the-best-edge-retention.1626269/page-5
 
Thank you, btw i do not need super cutting efficiency , i need it instead of axe , for cutting i will have other folding knife.
 
As far as inexpensive stainless steels go, I have a few fixed blades in Sandvick 14c28n that I've put through some abuse with no issues. It seems to be reasonably tough for a stainless.
 
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Ok i stopped my choices on "Böker Arbolito Bushcraft" "EnZo Trapper 95 - N690Co" as for more simple and cheap steels and "EnZo Trapper 95 - Elmax" as for more expensive Elmax steel .
Blade steel of Boker Arbolito is thicker than the one from EnZo . 4mm Boker and 3.5mm EnZo. If im going to by EnZo from Elmax then 3.5mm could be as strong as n690co 4mm since Elmax is stronger and has more endurance.

What would you choose as for N690co , Arbolito that has thciker spine but pointed tip (i do not like thin tips btw) or EnZo with more rounded tip but thinner spine ?

https://www.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/-boker-arbolito-bushcraft-micarta-02ba331-bushcraft-knife.htm
https://www.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/-enzo-trapper-95-n690co-scandi-green-canvas-micarta-2017.htm
https://www.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/-enzo-trapper-95-elmax-scandi-green-canvas-micarta-2091.htm

What is strange that on the shop site in the tittle of Enzo is written Elmax but in the specifications it says its N690co like the first one, maybe a mistake.
 
In my opinion...stainless steels that are high in silicon.Stuff like 420J2,420HC,440A,AUS-4 thru AUS-8.Lower end stainless steels regardless if they're American,Germanic,Japanese,and Chinese.

Silicon heavy alloyed steels produce a sense of softness.But softness also means you can bang the heck out of it and will yield high durability.
 
Twindog said:
Chopping is inherently hard on thin edges. Even if you get a tough steel (resistant to chipping) you can get serious rolls. Wood grain can change directions, especially around knots, but also if the grain swirls. Those grain changes can put lateral pressure on part of the blade while the rest of the blade is moving in a different direction, leading to large blade rolls (not just edge rolls). Wood can also hide old, hard branches that will seriously damage thin edges.

What you need is a steel with a good balance of toughness and strength (resistance to rolling), proper technique and a little luck. I've chipped pack axe edges by hitting knots.

For insurance against damage, geometry is your best friend. How much geometry you need depends on how hard you're using the blade.
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I agree with this. I have a beautiful Ontario Woodsman in 5160 that has developed a serious deformation. The thinner flat grind is great at slicing and some chopping, but after some harder work now has a waved non-repairable edge. Learned my lesson!
 
knoefz said:
440c cast like Stuart Ackerman (Spyderco Serrata) does should be a nice tough stainless choice too imho.
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Cast 440c is not as tough as regular rolled 440c. However, the casting process leaves the steel with a dendritic structure that reportedly creates a very aggressive, toothy cutting edge for slicing.

I believe the Spyderco Serrata uses such thick stock to offset the lower toughness somewhat. People do baton with those blades, but afaik they aren't really intended for prying or batoning.
 
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