your thoughts on ats-34 for a large knife

kalama

kalama

Joined
Feb 27, 2008
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i did my research but just wanted some members advice on ats-34 for a large blade..i am looking to trade or buy a knife with a 7 inch ats-34 blade.i really like the knife design,but wonder how it would perform in the field,batoning,chopping,ect.nothing crazy..i personally have no experience handling a knife with this steel.any info would be greatly appreciated.
 
Sir ; l will tell you what master knife maker Robert Parish said on this subject. He used to build Hollow handle survivor knives out of 440c. Back in the '80s-'90s. I own one BTW. Love it.
Any way he used 3 steels in his entire knife making career.
1) 440c
2) CPM154
3) ATS34
He said that 440c was the best for field work. Which is why virtually all his knives are 440c. He said CPM154 was brittle. And he said that ATS34 was the WORST of the 3. I think that explains it well. Remember ; this is guy who's hollow handle survival knives rivalled those of Jimmy Lile himself in terms of quality
 
It's hard to beat 10xx carbon steel for heavy field use. It's cheap, tough, and easy to sharpen. If you wanna go fancy 3V is great. It strikes me that ATS-34 makes for a great folder steel, it was used extensively by many custom makers and production companies including Benchmade and Spyderco for years successfully, not sure what it would do on a fixed blade you plan on beating the crap out of.
 
ats 34 and 154cm are exact. I will always agree with Bigmark408 because he knows what I think I know, ats34 , sol. german, and seki city all great steels. Ats 34 and 154cm can be sharpened in the field and get razor and hold. D2 s30v nice but very hard to field sharpen and hit a bone with it and it's done.

If you want the best, imo period, for field work , find a maker that will forge you a Cable blade. I wll not link , because he does not support this site, basically 3-4 pcs guide wire twisted and forged, make great demascus and is tough and unreal sharp. As RD said high Carbon, old saw blades, files, old truck bumpers make great blanks.
 
He said that 440c was the best for field work. Which is why virtually all his knives are 440c. He said CPM154 was brittle. And he said that ATS34 was the WORST of the 3. I think that explains it well. Remember ; this is guy who's hollow handle survival knives rivalled those of Jimmy Lile himself in terms of quality
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Any steel can be made brittle. The high carbon, high chrome ingot steels are some of the least tough steels used in cutlery. Of the three 440C should not be close to being the toughest if things are done correctly. I also think you probably mean 154cm, not the premium powder version CPM 154. If his 440C blades were tougher than CPM 154 blades he was making I'll go so far as to say he was doing something wrong.

There again maybe I'm just biased. 440C has been one of my least favorite steels since trying to reprofile a thick edged 440C knife with a cheap , lousy quality natural "arkansas" style stone back in the 70's when I was not able to afford things like Norton Synthetics.

I have great sharpening stuff now and find much more wear resistant steels than 440C easy to sharpen I still can find no place in my heart or EDC routine for knives for 440C. It just doesn't do it for me. All it really does well is corrosion resistance. I'd take 154cm/ATS 34 any day of the week over 440C. It does everything I like to do better than 440C.

Maybe I'll try a powder steel version some day but until then ingot 440C is one step above Pakistan pot steel with no heat treat of note. :)
 
The Mastiff said:
Any steel can be made brittle. The high carbon, high chrome ingot steels are some of the least tough steels used in cutlery. Of the three 440C should not be close to being the toughest if things are done correctly. I also think you probably mean 154cm, not the premium powder version CPM 154. If his 440C blades were tougher than CPM 154 blades he was making I'll go so far as to say he was doing something wrong.

There again maybe I'm just biased. 440C has been one of my least favorite steels since trying to reprofile a thick edged 440C knife with a cheap , lousy quality natural "arkansas" style stone back in the 70's when I was not able to afford things like Norton Synthetics.

I have great sharpening stuff now and find much more wear resistant steels than 440C easy to sharpen I still can find no place in my heart or EDC routine for knives for 440C. It just doesn't do it for me. All it really does well is corrosion resistance. I'd take 154cm/ATS 34 any day of the week over 440C. It does everything I like to do better than 440C.

Maybe I'll try a powder steel version some day but until then ingot 440C is one step above Pakistan pot steel with no heat treat of note. :)
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Mr. Mastiff sir ; You seem to be the best person to Answer this question l had for a long time. Why is 440c steel so un popular these days ? These days people will not even go near 440c even though it was considered a first class steel back in the '80s. Jimmy Lile made most of his top quality knives in 440c. And he was a well known knife maker.
Speaking for myself ; the only 440c knife l own is the Robert Parrish 8" survivor. And l seems to hold an edge fairly easily. I even took it with me to a 3 week trip to the mountains of Tibet . Worked fine . But 1 friend of mine who owns a similar knife had 2.5 inches of the tip broken off.
 
A lot has changed in the last 35 years in the terms of cutlery steel. There have been a lot developments since the 80's. Better steel than 440C can be obtained for the same if not slightly more money when buying in bulk especially. Ignoring these developments for the most parts means marginalizing the potential for companies to generate income, which is what I imagine most knife makers want to do. Very few highly talented knife makers these days make knives simply as a hobby, considering the amount of time, energy, skill, and attention to detail the high end stuff requires and ultimately goes for. It's not outrageous for 99% of companies and makers alike to want to see a return on their time investment.
 
The original Busse Steel Heart was of ATS34. I have been interested in Busse since 1994 and have never heard of trouble due to the steel in an original Steel Heart. It was a knife intended for heavy use, guaranteed unconditionally forever. As a disclaimer, I didn't own one until it became too expensive a collector's item to abuse.
 
MikeH said:
The original Busse Steel Heart was of ATS34. I have been interested in Busse since 1994 and have never heard of trouble due to the steel in an original Steel Heart. It was a knife intended for heavy use, guaranteed unconditionally forever. As a disclaimer, I didn't own one until it became too expensive a collector's item to abuse.
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That is good to know, thanks.
 
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