Will CPM154CM ever die???

Status
Not open for further replies.
bld522

bld522

Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
7,119
I'm still seeing knifemakers, dealers, and users refer to a nonexistent alloy . . . CPM154CM. Not only does that alloy not exist, it isn't even POSSIBLE for it to exist by definition. Why, you ask? Because 154CM is NOT a particle steel and CPM stands for "Crucible PARTICLE Metallurgy". It can't be both a PARTICLE steel (CPM) and a NON-PARTICLE steel (154CM) at the same time.

We're dealing with TWO different alloys here . . . 154CM and CPM154. 154CM is the predecessor and CPM-154 is the particle version of 154CM. Many threads have been posted about this distinction. Rycen was nice enough to gather them all up, so I'll simply point to his post if you want more background:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1024147-CPM154-verses-154CM?p=11674862#post11674862

So what's the problem? First, if someone sells a knife and calls it CPM154CM, I don't know what the knife is actually made out of. And CPM-154 costs more than 154CM. I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay CPM-154 prices for a 154CM knife. Second, saying that a knife is made out of CPM154CM makes the seller look like they don't know or don't care about properly describing what they're selling. Neither one of those alternatives gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

So you tell me. Are you OK buying knives made out of "CPM154CM" without doing some investigating first? Or is it just not an issue for you?
 
oh but I paid 1200 for my cpm154cm knife......not, good to see someone making the Distinction.
 
I was going to buy a knife out of cpm154 but the seller described the steel as cpm154cm so i passed I agree, It shows the seller or dealer has no idea what they are talking about...
 
9blades said:
oh but I paid 1200 for my cpm154cm knife......not, good to see someone making the Distinction.
Click to expand...

Odds are it's CPM-154. But unless the knifemaker confirms it or you have the alloy analyzed, you'll never know that for a fact.
 
But I was gonna make an all Ti, under 4oz, with a LockBar that would never over extend knife out of CPM154CM
 
CPM154 is a great steel, actually my favorite stainless... 154CM makes me feel cheap and used...CPM154CM makes me feel confused...
 
I never paid too much attention to blade steel until recently but from what I read in the current issue of Blade is simply people not being current on what's in the metals end of the business. Really though, if you are selling or making knives you should know this sort of thing and now that I have a clue it matters more to me if the dealer knows the difference.
 
There is less than a 30% difference in price. Sounds like a lot, but it makes for just a few dollars per blade depending on size. Also, on the NJ Steel baron site the CPM version is labeled as "CPM 154CM" :p , probably why the makers use that name too. Even something like S30-V is only a few dollars more per blade. More about the extra time, abbrasives, and difficulty in production... but IIRC the CPM version is easier to work? so in reality it should cost the same or maybe less? I agree though, its a better steel, I would rather have it too :p I'm just being argumentative.
 
When I was shopping for a new CQB1, one website listed Meyerco's version as being made from CPM 154CM.
 
I don't doubt that it is also some sort of marketing strategy for some of the steel suppliers.
 
It just another example of bad habits that spread because people keep using them.
 
I thought I was the only one who was anal retentive enough to be annoyed by this! Glad to see I'm not alone, the CPM 154 vs 154CM confusion is alright when you are new, but the CPM154CM error needs to stop being perpetuated.
 
bld522 said:
So you tell me. Are you OK buying knives made out of "CPM154CM" without doing some investigating first? Or is it just not an issue for you?
Click to expand...

I read your post several days ago concerning a fixed blade. I understand where you're coming from. Ernie Emerson is a 154cm guy and will stay that way since he has been loyally using that stuff since the beginning to time. I guess if you have to sharpen on a river rock, it's okay. I would prefer to go with CPM154, however, by a wide margin.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top