Maxamet and Cru-Wear steels

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  • Dean C.

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    I like Cru-Wear takes a flat out stupid edge on the Manix-2, the edge in the picture is 16DPS for reference. I cannot comment on Maxamelt however but since Duane Dwyer (Of Strider Knives) has used it in several of his custom knives.

    bNSXocuh.jpg
     

    Woobie

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    https://www.alphaknifesupply.com/zdata-bladesteelC-SpecWear.htm

    https://www.alphaknifesupply.com/zdata-bladesteelS-CPMS90V.htm

    S90V has a lot more vanadium and chromium, which will make it more wear resistant. It has almost twice the amount of chromium as the Cruwear, making it more resistant to corrosion.

    The Cruwear is still going to be highly wear resistant, and way tougher, with its molybdenum and silicon. It still has 7.5% chromium, so it won't rust by looking at it funny, like 1095 or O-1.
     

    Woobie

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    I will add that the big wild card in all this is heat treat. It makes comparing steels a bit tricky, especially if you are comparing two steels used by two different makers. One might have a better process than another. I'll illustrate it in the extreme:

    If I tried to heat treat a piece of 3V in my garage with an oxy/acetylene torch, an infrared heat gun and a fan, it probably wouldn't perform as well as a piece of O-1 heat treated by someone who has spent years developing their process and who is using tightly controlled and specialized equipment.
     

    rhino

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    I will add that the big wild card in all this is heat treat. It makes comparing steels a bit tricky, especially if you are comparing two steels used by two different makers. One might have a better process than another. I'll illustrate it in the extreme:

    If I tried to heat treat a piece of 3V in my garage with an oxy/acetylene torch, an infrared heat gun and a fan, it probably wouldn't perform as well as a piece of O-1 heat treated by someone who has spent years developing their process and who is using tightly controlled and specialized equipment.

    Amen!

    A properly heat treated blade made from 420HC will outperform a super steel blade with a bad heat treatment.

    Seems like the more exotic the steel is, the more variety you'll find with heat treatment quality. I see more consistency in heat treatments with CPM S30V than I do with S35VN. More makers have more experience with S30V and it shows.
     

    m_deaner

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    I have a spyderco mule team in Maximet. To me, it's like a super hard version of M4, but it doesn't take quite as aggressive of an edge. Edge holding is very good... but seems a little below s110v and 10v to me. Then again I haven't had the knife long... those are just my first impressions.

    Sharpening is is pretty easy for a 67-68 RC steel, definitely easier than 110v.

    Corrosion resistance is low. I keep it coated with tuf glide and still have a couple of spots on the blade.
     

    m_deaner

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    Here is a reground Para 2 that I have in Cruwear.
    2016-12-14 22.14.25.jpg

    My only experience with cruwear is with this knife which has a much thinner edge than the manix (0.009 behind the edge vs 0.025 for the manix). I like the steel. Edge holding is way below Maximet but it sharpens up very easy, takes an aggressive edge, and is fairly corrosion resistant for a carbon steel.
     

    cbickel

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    Here is a reground Para 2 that I have in Cruwear.

    My only experience with cruwear is with this knife which has a much thinner edge than the manix (0.009 behind the edge vs 0.025 for the manix). I like the steel. Edge holding is way below Maximet but it sharpens up very easy, takes an aggressive edge, and is fairly corrosion resistant for a carbon steel.

    Good info. Thanks! From your experience, do you like s110v over these two steels?
     

    m_deaner

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    Honestly, I like pretty much all modern powder steels. But there are differences that make certain steels better or worse for certain purposes.

    For example, in an EDC knife, I like to have a very sharp blade with decent corrosion resistance. I like a steel that is relatively easy to sharpen so that I can keep the edge razor sharp with minimal effort. In this role, I have been happy with VG-10, S30V, S35VN, and Cruwear. M390/CPM-20CV is also a nice EDC steel but it's a little more time consuming to sharpen.

    For more extreme needs like an extended camping trip, backpacking, or for cleaning massive batches of fish, I like high edge retention so I don't need to bring sharpening supplies. Corrosion resistance isn't as critical, particularly in a fixed blade. Steels that have worked well for me in this role are M390/CPM 20CV, S90v, S110V, Maxamet and most of all CPM 10V.

    S110v is a great steel, but I don't know of a steel that is harder to sharpen. You'll need diamond stones or you'll come to hate it.

    CruWear is a very well balanced steel. Easy to sharpen, holds a nice edge, good corrosion resistance, and is relatively tough (not that this really matters on smaller knives). I like it very much.

    Maxamet just hasn't wowed me as much as I thought it would. I am still experimenting with the type of edge it likes best so my impressions may change. But between maxamet and S110V, I would pick s110V at this point, no question.
     

    rhino

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    Are you still carrying your Manix 2 Lightweight? I got mine after you showed me yours at a USPSA match!

    I only have a few knives made from the Carpenter BD-1, but it's easy to get a nice grabby edge on that knife.
     

    m_deaner

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    Are you still carrying your Manix 2 Lightweight? I got mine after you showed me yours at a USPSA match!

    I only have a few knives made from the Carpenter BD-1, but it's easy to get a nice grabby edge on that knife.

    I gave that to my son after he split a bunch of wood for me. Honestly I miss that knife.
     

    cbickel

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    Honestly, I like pretty much all modern powder steels. But there are differences that make certain steels better or worse for certain purposes.

    For example, in an EDC knife, I like to have a very sharp blade with decent corrosion resistance. I like a steel that is relatively easy to sharpen so that I can keep the edge razor sharp with minimal effort. In this role, I have been happy with VG-10, S30V, S35VN, and Cruwear. M390/CPM-20CV is also a nice EDC steel but it's a little more time consuming to sharpen.

    For more extreme needs like an extended camping trip, backpacking, or for cleaning massive batches of fish, I like high edge retention so I don't need to bring sharpening supplies. Corrosion resistance isn't as critical, particularly in a fixed blade. Steels that have worked well for me in this role are M390/CPM 20CV, S90v, S110V, Maxamet and most of all CPM 10V.

    S110v is a great steel, but I don't know of a steel that is harder to sharpen. You'll need diamond stones or you'll come to hate it.

    CruWear is a very well balanced steel. Easy to sharpen, holds a nice edge, good corrosion resistance, and is relatively tough (not that this really matters on smaller knives). I like it very much.

    Maxamet just hasn't wowed me as much as I thought it would. I am still experimenting with the type of edge it likes best so my impressions may change. But between maxamet and S110V, I would pick s110V at this point, no question.
    Excellent info. Thanks.
     

    rhino

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    Along with what m_deaner had to say, there is so much more to like about all of the powdered metal steels and similar alloys than to dislike because of the nature of their manufacture. The process of making the billets by applying heat and pressure to the powdered metal is revolutionary in terms of the consistency of the composition and grain structure of the final product. For example, 154CM is a very good steel for knives, but CPM 154 makes a much better blade.
     
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