Which is best? 52100 high carbon, Nitro V stainless, CPM-3V tool steel, Z Wear tool steel, Cru Wear tool steel

J

Jordan1010

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Oct 24, 2020
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Hello knife makers I was going to purchase a custom knife and my options for blade steel were
52100 high carbon
Nitro V stainless
CPM-3V tool steel
Z Wear tool steel
Cru Wear tool steel
I’m looking for a self Defence/edc knife that holds a good edge and is fairly tough out of those bunch. I don’t really care for corrosion resistance or ease of sharpening, since I’m gonna request a cerakote. Could any of you knife makers help me?
 
z-Wear/CruWear is where some of the best balanced steels start. It will have the best edge holding of any of those and it still takes a nice fine edge and I find it easy to sharpen but then I use diamond stones. Unless you plan on doing really abusive task I would make sure that you have a thin grind and you will have a fantastic cutter. Willie71 Willie71 uses it a lot and I have a small knife from him and it's hard to beat. It will hold up to a thin hard edge.
 
To basically ditto what Storm said, Z Wear (the same as CPM CruWear) is going to have the best wear resistance out of all of those steels on your list. It has higher wear resistance than D2 and 3V, but is basically the same toughness as 3V at a given hardness. It really excels with thin edges at high hardness, but is still tough for larger knife applications. I've made a handful of knives with it, am currently working on a large kitchen petty. It is one of the best well rounded steels out there.
 
Willie71 said:
Just a minor clarification. There is cru-wear, and cpm cru-wear. One is cast, one is PM. Z-wear and cpm cru-wear are the same. Z-wear/cpm cru-wear is my favorite steel.
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I don’t think it’s cpm cru wear, on the site it just says cru wear tool steel does that mean I should choose z wear?
 
Because of that very question, I go with Zapp Z Wear unless it specifically states CPM CruWear. You might contact the seller of this CruWear you are looking at and ask them if it's CPM.
 
Jordan1010 said:
I don’t think it’s cpm cru wear, on the site it just says cru wear tool steel does that mean I should choose z wear?
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Most reseller sites don't say that it's CPM Cruwear, even though it most often is; annoying, I know. Check out what's written on the blade (if the manuf. does that - most, for example Spyderco or BRK - do).

BTW, CPM Cruwear and Z-wear are mostly, but not completely identical. In behavior, CPM 3V is very similar to those two steels as well. You ordered your list in reverse order of my preference, if it matters. :)
 
ferider said:
Most reseller sites don't say that it's CPM Cruwear, even though it most often is; annoying, I know. Check out what's written on the blade (if the manuf. does that - most, for example Spyderco or BRK - do).

BTW, CPM Cruwear and Z-wear are mostly, but not completely identical. In behavior, CPM 3V is very similar to those two steels as well. You ordered your list in reverse order of my preference, if it matters. :)
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CruWear and Z-wear are both made by Crucible and rolled by NSM.

Hoss
 
DevinT said:
CruWear and Z-wear are both made by Crucible and rolled by NSM.

Hoss
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i-CtQfs6b-XL.jpg
 
Mobius1 said:
All I know, is in a recent thread of mine, someone from NSM told me that they are literally the exact same steel made at the same place but sold under different names.
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That is my understanding as well. There will be slight variation from one batch to the next, but both are interchangeable.
 
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