Why 154CM?

jeffbird said:
D2 is quick and straight forward on diamond plates.
Click to expand...
It's probably nowhere near as difficult as some of the newer super steels... I was saying it was hard, compared to my other "super steel" VG-10, which is much like 440C was back in my day.... 440C was "the" steel to use for knives.... these days, it's considered a "trash" steel, almost. VG-10 was "the" steel for a while, and in my usage, is about as "super" as I will ever need. So, in the VG-10 realm, D2 is "hard" to sharpen....

did I muddy up my waters sufficiently? 😂
 
hornetguy said:
did I muddy up my waters sufficiently? 😂
Click to expand...
:)

Discussing designs, steels, and sharpening is always enjoyable.

I was given my first pocket knife more than 50 years ago. I still have it and need to dig it out and use it again.

I am always interested in learning and still always improving my skills.

Funny thing is a 12 year old nephew recently was looking through some of my knives and an old Kabar folding hunter, which belonged to my wife's grandfather long ago, caught his eye.

He asked for it, but she would not agree.

So, I started looking around and found one for him.

That search has me going back to my beginnings with "traditional" knives. I'll put up some in another thread.

But, I still use "simple" carbon steel knives on occasion, while mostly carrying a Hinderer in M390 every day.

It's nice to see some of the old styles holding on and GEC doing good things and sparking interest.
 
Last edited:
Glad you found him a knife..... I remember my dad buying my first one for me.... I was probably about 9-10 yrs old.... pretty sure it was some version of a small Queen knife....
M390 is a good steel.... I have a couple of them... I like all kinds, but have given up on chasing the "latest/greatest".... I'm glad there are those that DO like to push the envelope, though.... some great innovations come from that.
 
I do not have any traditional knives in 154CM, but I bought entirely too many Benchmades in 154CM before I realized that it was no better than 440C for edge retention. But Benchmade seems to have switched to S30V and D2 for most of their knives. S30V holds an edge about 3 times as long as 154CM in my experience.

I just got a Tappedout in CPM-154 but I have not used it yet.
 
In my opinion it’s a wash in the real world. Most guys who want slipjoints also want to sharpen their knives on a rock or a regular whetstone, not be locked into specialty gear or sending their knife back to the factory. I think familiarity is a big part too. Makers have experience with 154cm and so are happy to use it. I wish we saw more slipjoints made with 14c28n but I suspect the same force of habit applies.
 
Will Power said:
Another Shepherd Another Shepherd Problem is, we ARE discussing Traditional knives here and not Moderns.
Click to expand...

Of course. That does include fixed blades though, where there is more steel choice. I was just thinking this morning, my prettiest fixed blades are _all_ in CPM 154 - by C. Colson, J. Flemming, and Chris / OK&T.

I confess to be a steel snob. Still, once I see CPM 154 or - say - AEB-L or NitroV, I stop worrying about the steel.

i-s6PMhnM-X3.jpg
 
The newer stuff is better Magnacut, 4V, M390, etc.. There is a pretty steep law of diminishing returns. Most of it is hype. I've handled a fair amount of the super steels and they do hold and edge for a long long time. I do a fair amount of woodworking with hand tools. I find myself thinking, man if all these plane irons, chisels, drawknives were made of M4 would I have to sharpen less? Probably, but when I did sharpen it would take a longer time to get the same edge I can get on Diamond stones with A2, O1, 1095, etc... I think in the end it depends. Do you know how to sharpen/do you like to sharpen. If you are good and sharpen often then it doesn't really matter as long as the steel you have has a good heat treatment. If you don't know how to sharpen/don't like to sharpen then you probably want a super steel to delay that process as long as possible. 154 CM is a good middle ground between edge retention and ease of sharpening. I think that is why its a solid choice for a traditional.
 
Sherbert4537 said:
The newer stuff is better Magnacut, 4V, M390, etc.. There is a pretty steep law of diminishing returns. Most of it is hype. I've handled a fair amount of the super steels and they do hold and edge for a long long time. I do a fair amount of woodworking with hand tools. I find myself thinking, man if all these plane irons, chisels, drawknives were made of M4 would I have to sharpen less? Probably, but when I did sharpen it would take a longer time to get the same edge I can get on Diamond stones with A2, O1, 1095, etc... I think in the end it depends. Do you know how to sharpen/do you like to sharpen. If you are good and sharpen often then it doesn't really matter as long as the steel you have has a good heat treatment. If you don't know how to sharpen/don't like to sharpen then you probably want a super steel to delay that process as long as possible. 154 CM is a good middle ground between edge retention and ease of sharpening. I think that is why its a solid choice for a traditional.
Click to expand...
I think you are onto it right there.Older folks,those with experience,know how to make plain steels work.440 c an 154 cm are great and they were a challenge to sharpen ,before we knew how fwiw
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top