Ideal Steel for CS Kukri

Drdan

Drdan

Joined
Dec 24, 2003
Messages
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Without price being a consideration, what would be the "ne plus ultra" steel for Cold Steel's "Gurkha Kukri". Extreme edge retention after heavy chopping with no blade damage, ease of sharpening, blade toughness in general, and acceptable corrosion resistance would all be obvious attributes. The resons for your choices would be most appreciated!

Thank you! :)
 
I'm no steel expert, just a woods lover but my SK5 version does all those things. It was and still is worked hard and the edge rarely needs attention and has sustained no damage. It has been used in all conditions including bitter cold chopping frozen downed trees, wet and dry conditions and has been left outside on various equipment in all seasons and it can be easily cleaned up to almost new condition.

Not sure why they changed it?!?
 
Man that's a lot of contradicting properties. Blade steels are all about compromises..

Extreme edge retention contradicts with ease of sharpening & blade toughness as it usually means higher hardness/carbide ratio.

Example:
1055/S7/L6 can be very tough but are not known for edge retention
O1/1095 can be somewhat tough and hold a good edge but in the middle of the spectrum in terms of both property
S30V/Elmax/S90V/M390 are on the far end of edge retention and corrosion resistance but not gonna be as tough as a chopper
3V/M4 come pretty close to your requirement but they are not too corrosion resistant...

Again, the performance of the steel is relative. There was a time when AUS8 was considered super steel in terms of edge retention and toughness, now there are a lot of other steels that beat in every way.

Who knows in 10 years some new steel will have even better performance and then becomes crap again in 20 years. All i know is 1000 years ago there were probably more people working/fighting/hunting with far "inferior" steel than today...
 
I too was wondering why SK5 was replaced with V3.

I agree that choosing a steel entails making compromises. Lots of "inferior" steels do a super job, but have to be maintained due to corrosion issues. If one really uses any knife a lot, then maintenance must be part of the ownership plan.
 
I maintain that Carbon V was a classic steel for a reason, and that Cold Steel would probably still be using it if Camillus didn't go under.

I feel very lucky to have gotten an American-made Cold Steel Gurkha Kukri in Carbon V. Wouldn't sell it for less than four figures, and only because at that point I could get one in O-1 along with a San Mai Trailmaster and a 4-Max. :)
 
Well Kwon, I'm glad we've got something else in common, love my CarbonV GK, I find your responses well thought out and you make a great "argument". I also think Carbon 5 was the best balance. If we can keep the crud off the 3v, it might make a great GK, but it'll SUCK coughing up the coin!!!
 
I too love my Carbon V GK. I also have one in San Mai III, but the one I use is the Carbon V. Because of the shape, size, and weight distribution, I think any of the different blade steels used for the GK make it a truly awesome chopper. It's really more about the design than the steel used.
 
Ok, I know everybody has wondered about this, so here goes....a PROOF VIDEO SHOWDOWN between the CS GURKA KUKURI in 01, or the given strongest CS version at the time, and the HIMALAYAN IMPORTS CAK 18 inch Khukuri, made in Nepal. I'm not sure anyone would be willing to "sacrifice" a older HIMIMP, I certainly wouldn't to see it, but it would be a show stopper. Almost as the mythical "wrestling" match involving Sting and the Undertaker....LOL.

As much as I dearly love CS, I'd wager that the HIMIMP CAK WOULD WIN, hands down. I have never in my life of 50 years seen ANY knife take the kind of absolute catastrophic abuse as the CAK did at the hands of KnifeTestsNoss a number of years ago.

The argument can surely be made that a tough steel produced under modern constraint could be the superior steel, those smiths from the hell torn mud pits in Nepal can make a terribly effective weapon, or at least they could 25 years ago, long before the earthquakes.
 
I don't think Kool aide was exactly what I was. Refering to, rather something akin to rare meat juices, well in my case most of the time medium rare....lol...it's just a comparison I've wanted to see for a long time. I think ADVANCES in tne carbon steels may produce a more homogeneous Khuk, capable of through hardness characteristics without being too brittle to be effective, and TOUGH enough with a convex edge to rival a small axe, but maybe the stainless varieties have hit a crossroads. Vg1 San Mai is good stuff but in the GK, IMHO the outside needs to be a notch or two harder to resist scratching and damage and the center section a bit less brittle

I own both knives, an 18in Ang Kola, and a Carbon V and San Mai GK as well. Don't have SK5 or 01 versions yet. And putting aside all the jargon and "boat paddle/KLO" rhetoric, I say let the best blade win, set an example---no lawsuits etc.---walk away friends and better knifemakers
 
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The old Carbon V (50100B) is 1095 with vanadium (similar, not exact, to O1). Becker uses it, if that means anything to you. I love that stuff. My GK and GK XL are in that steel. I do think, but am not authoritative, that 3V or 4V would be even better. They have good edge retention and really take a pounding.
 
Sr101 is just 52100 to my knowledge, which is virtually indistinguishable from 50100b, or carbon V. So yeah, probably decent ;)
 
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