Interest in Cruwear

[The Mastiff]

Recently I decided to make a few Cruwear knives and learn more about the steel. About 2 weeks ago I finished my first Cruwear knife that I heat treated to 63-64. OMG! The high hardness combined with the high Vanadium content makes a steel that is incredibly hard to grind and finish, post H/T. Lately, I've been making knives from 20CV more than anything else (usually HRC 62). This Cruwear blade ate ceramic belts so fast it made me think 20CV is "easy" to grind and finish. So fast in fact, I'll be hesitant to make make more Cruwear blades in the future. I love the result and the knife is awesome..but what a p.i.t.a.! If anything, I now have an even greater appreciation for my :spyder: Spyderco-made :spyder: Cruwear knives!

This doesn't surprise me to be honest. Back in the Vascowear days the difficulty in working the steel was it's biggest fault that kept many knife makers from using this steel. There are still "way back machine" archives of knifemakers complaining about it on forums if one looks around. :)

Sal and Spyderco changed a lot of this though. There are people now who complain about everything from 3V, S30V, Cruwear on up to S110V as being not wear resistant enough.

I know better though. One can't do everything pre heat treat so all that can be done is use the best belts one can find/afford and change them when needed.

joe

[Tucson Tom]

Not interested in Cruwear or, for that matter, in any other non-stainless blade steel.

That kind of surprises me. Do you live in a particularly humid/wet environment or are there other reasons that you prefer stainless? Thanks. Just kind of wondering.

Believe me, he is in the majority.
Unfortunately, most would prefer stainless butter knife steel to M4, K390, Maxamet, etc.

I used to be one of the "only stainless for me" guys, but I have very much flipped that around these days. I have found that steels like M4, 10V, Cruwear, and others (52100) offer great qualities, and have yet to have any kind of rust problems. But then I live in southern Arizona. If I lived in the deep south or near the ocean, maybe I would have a different outlook. My only experience with Cruwear is actually with PD1 thanks to the recent mule, and I am charmed with it so far.

Now I find myself becoming a "tool steel" snob.

[The Mastiff]

I don't know that I'd call myself a snob anything but I for sure like many of the tool steels for knife use. Cruwear does happen to be one of my favorites but I like to think I give any new steel I try a fair shake.

Joe

[jpm2]

Not interested in Cruwear or, for that matter, in any other non-stainless blade steel.

That kind of surprises me. Do you live in a particularly humid/wet environment or are there other reasons that you prefer stainless? Thanks. Just kind of wondering.

Believe me, he is in the majority.
Unfortunately, most would prefer stainless butter knife steel to M4, K390, Maxamet, etc.

I used to be one of the "only stainless for me" guys, but I have very much flipped that around these days. I have found that steels like M4, 10V, Cruwear, and others (52100) offer great qualities, and have yet to have any kind of rust problems. But then I live in southern Arizona. If I lived in the deep south or near the ocean, maybe I would have a different outlook. My only experience with Cruwear is actually with PD1 thanks to the recent mule, and I am charmed with it so far.

Now I find myself becoming a "tool steel" snob.

I'm an admitted tool steel snob, especially of the HS variety, born from a quest in early '80s to find a blade that held up better than what was commercially available.
I do buy stainless blades occasionally, if I really like the knife, to see how the steel performs. So far most of those that have survived, have been given away.

I wonder how many makers/manufacturers offer cruwear?

[mb1]

I’ve seen at 2 other manufactures offer Cruwear models.

I’ve pretty much flipped to carbon or tool steels also. I used to avoid them since I live in a humid climate. But corrosion fears are over-hyped in my experience. And the sharpening response and performance is worth any minimal maintenance or extra care that might be required. Love em.

[max42]

Would absolutely love to see more Cruwear -- in for several, esp. if they're Dragonflies :)

[VA.koi guy]

Hopefully a dealer exclusive in Cruwear will satisfy our need for more of this great steel. Seems to check many boxes for steel junkie's. I want more to EDC!

[skybladefromthe]

I recently bought a KC Cruwear exclusive just before they sold out. I have been using it mostly for food prep. The first day I got it I cut up a store roasted chicken. It cut through like a champ. Of course any new PM2 probably would have done just as well. But I am following a course similar to gmhauy in an earlier post. It's been a few weeks and it still looks like new. I have only given it one or two touch ups on the ultra fine ceramic. Four or five swipes and it's a razor.
I do live near the ocean and I have had D2 corrode so the winter, should it be a wet rainy one, will be interesting to see what happens. I have high confidence.
I just wanted to add that for salty wet ocean excursions there is Caribbean. :)

[Jazz]

Would absolutely love to see more Cruwear -- in for several, esp. if they're Dragonflies :)

Dfly and Wharnie Delica, please?

[knivesandbooks]

I'll buy any model in cru wear. If every golden model had a standard issue cru wear variant like s110v (maybe brown or khaki g10), I'd 1. be broke 2. would no longer be stressed becuase my sprint and exclusive purchases would lawl for a couple months.

[MadmanR1]

Cruwear has managed to become my EDC. Great balance of properties and also tend to cut a lot of fruit with it.

[elena86]

Urban needs Cru wear and Cru wear needs Urban...they deserve each other

[xceptnl]

I have been a fan of Cruwear for a while now. It's toughness and corrosion resistance exceed CPM-D2 (Para 1) in my uses. I have carried a Mule for almost a solid year now and the Cruwear was my primary choice 9/10ths of those days. I carried it on my belt, close to my skin and in climates where humidity is a daily frustration. The close contact with my body was so frequent, the canvas micarta scales are experiencing some breakdown from exposure to my skin and sweat. The Cruwear though, has not shown flaw one. No pitting, staining or corrosion. I have carved wood with it, cut my steak at the lunch table, opened amazon packages and many other not so knife friendly tasks in-between. I love non-stainless and this steel rivals Superblue for my favorite.

[anycal]

I am ready for linerless G10 Native 5. Gray, green, red, any will do. Also, since I don't have one, another round of Military would be great. And, doing the Shaman in this steel would finally do me in.

[JacksonKnives]

I'd be interested in seeing more side-by-side results with M4. Crucible's own charts show M4 at the same toughness with better wear resistance, so other than ease of sharpening I'm having a hard time understanding the hype. (I've never had trouble sharpening M4, so I've stayed off the bandwagon.)

[Sjucaveman]

Cruwear has better corrosion resistance than m4. Big plus for me.

[ferider]

I'd be interested in seeing more side-by-side results with M4. Crucible's own charts show M4 at the same toughness with better wear resistance, so other than ease of sharpening I'm having a hard time understanding the hype. (I've never had trouble sharpening M4, so I've stayed off the bandwagon.)

Thats because that chart compares CPM M4 vs Cru-wear. CPM Cru-wear is tougher, closer to 3V actually.

[tvenuto]

Not interested in Cruwear or, for that matter, in any other non-stainless blade steel.

That kind of surprises me. Do you live in a particularly humid/wet environment or are there other reasons that you prefer stainless? Thanks. Just kind of wondering.

He’s the rain cloud at every non stainless steel parade. Some just really, really dislike non stainless steels.
I like Cru-wear myself, but I have given up hoping for more outside of very limited releases. I don’t know if it is a supply issue or a marketing issue, but other makers have even fewer models in Cru-wear.

Luckily, spyderco doesn't consult any one person on which steels to produce, so we're all entitled to our own preferences. And I don't think it's a matter of "really disliking" non-stainless steels.

Stainlessness as a feature, in a vacuum, is 100% a benefit. If you could get the exact properties of Cruwear in a 100% corrosion resistant steel, wouldn't everyone want that? Ok, maybe some people like the aesthetics of a patina, but other than that? Now, making a steel stainless has other tradeoffs, of course (the majority of which are actually borne by the manufacturer).

What Deacon, and I, and others in the "prefer stainless" camp have decided is that: in our use, we find our knives tough enough, wear resistant enough, and easy enough to sharpen, so there is no reason to give up stainlessness to acquire an increase in another property. The fact that some people might choose stainless without further thought does not me that everyone who prefers stainless is doing that.

[ABX2011]

I lean toward stainless these days but I still haven't tried Cruwear and I'd like to.

[tonijedi]

For folders I don't want non-stainless steels. Fixed blades is another history...