Elmax fixed blade

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Gradyw

Joined
Jan 23, 2017
Messages
450
if I could I would choose a few different steels before this one as a fixed blade camp knife but right now I'm limited to stainless because I'm impatient and don't want to wait forever for another knife.. is elmax a good steel for a fixed blade? Will the edge chip out if used to baton things? I'm not worried about breaking the knife just worried about chipping the edge really. How would you compare elmax to an esee knife in toughness?
 
I'm looking at the elmax gunny.. if I were patient I'd wait for another run of the 3v but I'm not.
 
For stainless, Elmax is about as tough as it gets. It makes for a great fixed blade. Toughness means resistance to chipping and breaking.
 
Steer clear of bark river, do a quick search on them here for more info. If the knife you get is actually the advertised steel I'd still be skeptical of the quality of heat treat it got. Not to mention, Mike stewart should be a pariah in the knife community.

Elmax done properly is fantastic and should hold up to hard use.
 
elmax has pretty good toughness, but heat treat, geometry and thickness is what will make it work or fail for those tasks.....more than which steel.
 
yea I've read some bad things ab Mike Stewart and brk.. I'm sure every big production company has bad stories somewhere.. I guess the question I should be asking is how is bark rivers elmax steel in terms of toughness
 
If it is heat treated properly and has good blade geometry, you will have no problems. People, myself included, have fixed blades in M390 and 20CV, that get batoned a lot.

Just curious, what is the blade length?
I don't know much about Bark river knives, never owned one myself. But there are some great makers here that use Elmax for fixed blades up to 6 inches. Probably want to go with a different steel past that length.
 
Take a look at the toughness chart posted by Shqxk (Post No. 16)

http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/cts-xhp-vs-elmax.1483958/

It shows some popular powder stainless steels (S30V, S35VN, CPM 154, Elmax and ingot (non-powder) steels 154 cm and 440C at various hardnesses. Alpha Knife Supply verified the research.

Elmax really shines for toughness. AEB-L will be a very tough non-powder stainless, too.

In the chart:

PM 14-2-4 CrMoV is S30V

PM 14-2-3 CrMoVN is S35VN

PM 14-4 CrMo is CPM 154

14-4 CrMo is 154 CM
 
The blade is like 4 and a quarter.. overall I know it's 8 1/4 so maybe the blade is a little smaller... .156 think.. I'm set on another gunny actually.. love the desert ironwood handles
 
Just make sure to sharpen the knife a few times if you have any chipping problems. The very edge may be "burnt" by power grinding.
 
Shiney I've seen some bad things about bark river and in particular Mike Stewart.. bark river just like any company has there flaws but I've also read a lot of good things about their customer service and the way they handle things.. can't really go wrong with a no questions asked lifetime warranty can u?
 
Gradyw said:
I'm looking at the elmax gunny.. if I were patient I'd wait for another run of the 3v but I'm not.
Click to expand...
Theres a bunch of 3v gunny's around. But I would take the cruwear over the elmax.

2WFUBts.png
 
A warranty is only as good as the man behind it. Knowing what kind of man mike stewart is, I don't have much faith in his warranty. That said, as long as you stay on his good side you should be fine. Personally I'd rather give my money to people who don't steal and lie to people like he did to Brian Evans here on the forums.
 
Gradyw said:
if I could I would choose a few different steels before this one as a fixed blade camp knife but right now I'm limited to stainless because I'm impatient and don't want to wait forever for another knife.. is elmax a good steel for a fixed blade? Will the edge chip out if used to baton things? I'm not worried about breaking the knife just worried about chipping the edge really. How would you compare elmax to an esee knife in toughness?
Click to expand...
the 1095 esee uses is not the toughest in my experience. I have chipped it and its decently soft in comparison to elmax. I would say aside from it being easy to sharpen elmax wins out in ever regard compared to an esee 1095. For a Bark River try to score a cruwear. It is some awesome stuff and out cuts 3v which rules. I would go 3v over the elmax. 3v isnt a true stainless but, I use mine in wet weather camping and cooking with zero rust or spotting issues. Edge retentions excellent and its very tough stuff.
 
Yea there are a lot of Ginny's but not with the handle scales I'm looking for.. really want the desert ironwood! And if the elmax is tougher then the 1095 esee steel then elmax would be plenty tough
 
I thought they made gunnys in cruwear but I might've been wrong. I think it's only the bravos
 
Damn shiney I hate seeing stuff like that.. I seen one the other day that is almost the same situation as this one but the man paid him 16k and finally got tires of waiting and never got a refund (long story very short) i still will never understand why a man with an established business who sells hundreds of knives every week would want to shit on people like that and just make his reputation worse.. you would think there would be a time for him to try to fix all the bad publicity he has created for himself
 
Hey Grady, if you are interested in some good fixed blades on the forum here, check our Gollik knives. They are well made, and made by a good guy. He often uses Elmax and Sleipner steels. Worth checking out. His prices are very reasonable!!! There are also a bunch of other makers here.

I would check out the knife maker for sale area, find a style you like, and if the knife for sale is not exactly what you are looking for, talk with the maker get the knife you are looking for.
I would 2nd AEB-L, that is a fantastic tough stainless! There are makers here that use it. Really good stuff!
As is 3V, PD1, Cru- Wear, Z-Wear. They are not stainless, but have very good corrosion resistance for a non-stainless steel.
 
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