stainless steel options and send out for HT

theWeatherman

theWeatherman

Well-Known Member
So I have decided that I would like to try a stainless blade. Till now I have been using O1. I was hoping someone could suggest a stainless that would hold up well and be easier to sharpen?I am talking if the world ended tomorrow that the knife could be in good shape for heavy use and can be sharpened and hold an edge.

I have heard some of the super stainless steels like S30V are hard to sharpen in the field.

As well as suggest a place that I can send the suggested steel blade out for HT? I am not set up to ht stainless.
 
Get some 440C Great Stainless that has been around since the late 1950's and will be around even longer!
If 440C can out today? It would be the talk of the Knife mags & Makers!
Low cost, Fairly easy to work & sharpen with very good Flex & edge retention..

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Elmax. Super tough and holds a great edge. Have Lee Oates do a differential HT on it for you and you will not be disappointed.
 
If you are concerned about ease of sharpening in the field, I would be careful about the newer highly wear resistant steels. Lawrence makes a good suggestion with the 440C. When you read up on some of these new steels you will see claims like it is tougher and grinds more easily but they don't always say easier than what. That what is often another high tech particle stainless steel and not one of the older steels. That's not to say that they are bad steels, it's just that they may not be the best choice when it comes to things like ease of sharpening and toughness if those things are of higher importance. Another steel that you might look at is 154CM. Another advantage that these older steels have is that they cost less. Sometimes much less.

Doug
 
Doug makes a good point with the newer high-test steels sometimes being more difficult to sharpen. I should add that I don't have much trouble sharpening the Elmax, or even D2 for that matter which I also use quite a bit, but I do use diamond stones and I think that makes a difference.
Also, I don't expect to do one or two swipes on a river rock and come away with a razor edge on any properly heat treated steel. Proper sharpening does take a little effort and care but pays off with a better cutting edge, which should also help it last longer.
Knives always involve compromises.
I also find sharpening quite therapeutic. Ok, maybe that's just creepy, but I guess I just look at it as another part of knifecraft.
 
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firecog said:
Elmax. Super tough and holds a great edge. Have Lee Oates do a differential HT on it for you and you will not be disappointed.
Click to expand...

I'm interested in how Mr. Oates does a differential H/T on air hardening steels. As for the original question, AEB-L is an excellent SS and very easy to sharpen. It can be hard to find but Aldo just got a new shipment in.
 
I shold note as well that when I asked Mr. Oates about his recommendation for a good stainless, he also suggested 440C.
Obviously, I ignored his advice, but just wanted to second the Laurence's thought that it gets pushed to the corner a lot despite the fact that it's a fantastic steel.
 
Darrin Sanders said:
I'm interested in how Mr. Oates does a differential H/T on air hardening steels. As for the original question, AEB-L is an excellent SS and very easy to sharpen. It can be hard to find but Aldo just got a new shipment in.
Click to expand...

I believe he just packed it with clay, and he did confirm with rockwell testing files and in my destruction testing it was also quite apparent. He also does a beautiful diffferential on D2 that I have had him do a number of times.
Apparently no one told him that it couldn't be done.
 
suggestions on where to get say 440C and D2? And what type of hardness to shoot for with it?
 
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I think bossDog right here has 440C ?
Jantz supply and most knife supply houses carry it. I buy full sheets at a time and have my patterns water jet cut. So I purchase it from the mill at www.nsm-ny.com The folks at Niagara Specialty Metals have no minimum so you can buy a bar from them if you like.

58-60 Rc is the range most use. I get 59-61 on some of my Japanese style culinary knives but you want to stay at 58-60 for most hunters and one or two points less on Heavy chopper Camp knives.

I would suggest you start with the 58-60 Rc and then adjust as you make a few if you wish?

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
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