Blades

crimsonfalcon07 · February 16, 2015

There are a lot of good steels. ATS-34 is Hitachi's version of 154CM, which is a perfectly nice steel, but what I'd consider a "good" steel, not a great/super steel. I also didn't include CTS-XHP, which is reportedly fantastic, but I have no personal experience with it yet. M390 beats heck out of all of the SXXV steels IMO though, and those are generally considered better steels than ATS-34/154CM or the better CPM 154 version.

beachmaster · February 16, 2015

Wow! I am all over a giveaway! Lol

Kabar lists the history of 1095 crovan steel. I love talk to uncle Ethan though! Lol

I love looking into basic metallurgy stuff too! I am not educated enough to really appreciate the complexities of it, but it makes for good reading.

I like 5160 as well! That is what the "Khukuri House" advertises their Khukuri as being made of. I know 5169 is a leaf spring steel...

Anyways, I like it. :-)

Man... I am getting all excited! Talking about custom knives!

crimsonfalcon07 · February 16, 2015

I certainly could be remembering it wrong. It's certainly a great steel. Too brittle for swords, IMO, but awesome for general cutting tasks. 5160 is indeed a leaf spring steel. Many of the best Nepalese khuks are made from leaf springs from Mercedes vehicles.

beachmaster · February 16, 2015

Crimson, I would appreciate your advice.

I am ordering a custom tracker style knife, and I was given the option of 1095, 1075, or 5160.

For a tracker sized knife meant for some chopping etc, I thought that 5160 might be the way to go, bit I had no idea about 1075.

I ignorantly assumed that for most all applications, 1095 was the best 10## series steel, and everything else was simply cheaper.

But then I read that 1075 is tougher and easier to sharpen, but edge retention isn't as good, and it wont get as hard.

It is a lot to ask, and i dont know if my question is out of place, but what do you think the strengths and weaknesses of these three steels would be in a tracker with a blade of about... 5.5"

Edited February 16, 2015 by beachmaster

crimsonfalcon07 · February 17, 2015

Honestly, the steel I would pick is the one that the maker can heat treat the best. Any of those steels can do a great job. I'd probably pick 1095 or 5160 out of those three, although of course I'd prefer other steels if I had the option. If the maker can't tell you what kind of performance you can get from each type of steel with the heat treat, you may want to look elsewhere. 1075 is a pretty forgiving steel to heat treat. 1095 is harder to do well, but does a great job when you get it. 5160 is one of my favorite options for a beater, or something that needs to be tough.

What thickness are we talking about? Can the maker work in other steels, or just simple carbon steels?

beachmaster · February 17, 2015

I'm not sure about the width... I'm assuming 3/16th or 1/4".

Those were the options of steels that they gave me. I was speaking to the makers wife. I asked which steel he was most comfortable with, has the most experience with, and what he likes working with. She asked, and he said 5160. I said ill take it :-)

I read that 5160 is a great steal for a mediocre knife. What they meant is that it is hard to really screw it up, but equally hard to do it perfectly. So a person with little skill will get decent results.

Thanks for the advice!

AngelDeVille · March 19, 2015

Here's a few...

beachmaster · March 19, 2015

Crimson, I love that last Khukuri that you posted. What is the width on that thing?

blue109 · March 19, 2015

angel.....very nice!! why don't I have a balisong??

Edited March 19, 2015 by blue109

crimsonfalcon07 · March 19, 2015

Crimson, I love that last Khukuri that you posted. What is the width on that thing?

What do you mean by width? It was 1/4" thick, IIRC, and around 2.25" at the widest point, I believe. Something like that, anyways. Fairly similar measurements to a 16" Ang Khola.

blue109 · March 20, 2015

operation PIMP MY ESEE almost complete.

beachmaster · March 20, 2015

I meant the 1/4" width, thanks! So many Khukuris made now are 3/16". Lol very awesome.

crimsonfalcon07 · April 2, 2015

A few in-progress pics of my current project:

Looks pretty long if you're staring down the blade.

Rsquared · April 3, 2015

Katana? Nice.

beachmaster · May 22, 2015

Hey guys, I haven't been around much.

But I FINALLY got my shipment of knives in, so I am ready to get rolling on some blades.

Here is my box opening on my the shipment!

https://youtu.be/_5TBm0bJnAs

98Z5V · May 22, 2015

DAMN! That looks so much like the one I have! I need to get some pics and compare, brother, seriously.

blue109 · May 23, 2015

That's a poopload of cool knives!

blue109 · June 13, 2015

I had been wanting a big chopper for a long time a scored big on a used ESEE junglas. $75 out the door with sheath and molle panel. You knife nerds will realize how awesome that is. It is an amazing knife. Eats tree limbs like it has an engine on it. Decided to try some budget customization.

Acid etched the logos into the steel. ($15) rit dye on scales and shaped up with dremel power ($2) was going to rust blue the blade but didn't have a pot big enough to boil the mixture, so I had it polished at a friend's shop ($10). Edge got a little beat up so I let a pro sharpen it back up ($6) and here's my $100 custom ESEE

Edited June 13, 2015 by blue109

MikedaddyH · June 13, 2015

I had been wanting a big chopper for a long time a scored big on a used ESEE junglas. $75 out the door with sheath and molle panel. You knife nerds will realize how awesome that is. It is an amazing knife. Eats tree limbs like it has an engine on it. Decided to try some budget customization.
Acid etched the logos into the steel. ($15) rit dye on scales and shaped up with dremel power ($2) was going to rust blue the blade but didn't have a pot big enough to boil the mixture, so I had it polished at a friend's shop ($10). Edge got a little beat up so I let a pro sharpen it back up ($6) and here's my $100 custom ESEE

That is actually cool.