Elmax?

gull wing

gull wing

Joined
May 4, 2002
Messages
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Have a ZT0770 in Elmax that I haven't used much.:
How does it compare to say VG10, 154CM, D2?
 
Better edge retention than any of those, in my experience anyway. A bit tough to sharpen, but diamonds are your best friend.
 
I've never liked Elmax all that much but it is a good steel. Highly corrosion resistant. In my experience, it sharpens between S35VN and M390 as said above. It's more or less tough depending on how it's heat treated but that's any steel I suppose.
 
Elmax is a powdered stainless steel. It's a great steel. I find it easy to sharpen. Reprofiling will be more time consuming than 154cm though.

Edge retention depends on what your cutting, the heat treatment and geometry. But it's in the s35vn range.

I would suggest sharpening it a few times to get past the burnt edges and use the heck out of it. I like it better than Vg10 and d2.
 
I have folding knives in s30v, Bohler N690, and Elmax, and prefer the Elmax. All are excellent though.
 
Deadbox’s response pretty much said it all, succinctly.

Chemically, it’s basically M390 with a redux in C and Cr, meaning reduced carbide volume -> trading a little wear resistance for (relative) toughness.

So... yeah. It’s between S35VN and M390, skewing slightly toward the M390 end of that range.
 
Just one man's opinion ... but the only stainless I like better is AEB-L ...

I like M390 and even S35VN ... but I'd put Elmax and AEB-L a step ahead ...

And I know there are steels with better edge retention S110V and the like ... but for a great balance of performance and ease of sharpening etc ... AEB-L and Elmax stand out for me.
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
Just one man's opinion ... but the only stainless I like better is AEB-L ...

I like M390 and even S35VN ... but I'd put Elmax and AEB-L a step ahead ...

And I know there are steels with better edge retention S110V and the like ... but for a great balance of performance and ease of sharpening etc ... AEB-L and Elmax stand out for me.
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I completely agree, although I don’t have any experience with aeb-l. S35vn is the bottom bitch of steels for me, one of my favs. but the Elmax knives I own are awesome, if I could get more production knives with elmax it’s what I would choose over anything else. I have many knives m390 but haven’t found it to be that much better than s35 or even xhp(which I like too). The elmax has performed like a “super” steel should. I have skinned a lot of heavily jacketed conductor of various metal types, pried open wooden crates hitting nails and thick staples, cut filthy debris impregnated ropes of various types, cut heavy banding on material pallets, etc; I don’t get chips or rolls with elmax and it holds a GOOD edge much longer than expected. I can’t say that for any other steel imo, although cold steels xhp definitely surprised me.
 
Thanks, it's a better steel than I expected. Think I'll put it to the diamonds.
Who makes it?
 
gull wing said:
Thanks, it's a better steel than I expected. Think I'll put it to the diamonds.
Who makes it?
Click to expand...

Therein lies the rub.

At least in the context of folders, there isn’t a lot of it currently in use. In that context, best representation of capability is likely to be on Shirogorov knives.
 
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