Oddball blade steels

[WilliamMunny]

So is Shawn's folder design dead? This is crazy. I knew there was a reason I bought two 15V PM2s...

Hi Synov,

Actually Eric purchased enough of the 15V for Shawn's folder to be made in Golden.

sal

That is some of the best news I have heard in a while. Spyderco never fails to take care of its customers even in the face of some challenges.

Keep up the great work in Golden, it is appreciated by a lot of people.

[Manixguy@1994]

I certainly hope S90V does not go away in the future , always has been a favorite for me . MG2

[Evil D]

Seems my hopes of a 15V Bodacious may have just died on the vine. Such a bummer.

I’d take a Bodacious in Zapp Z-Wear PM. It was good enough for that weird two-phase Shaman sprint-run. The current tariffing insanity can’t go on forever.

Oh there are a lot of other steels I'd like to have, but it does/will suck if 15V is off the list.

[Mrj]

Will the other 15v knives that were already announced be made? Like the Native 5, Yo Jimbo, an Manix 2 LW,etc…?

[Synov]

How about Proto-X? I'm betting you don't have that stockpiled and it will take some wrangling to get Erasteel to produce a completely new steel if they won't even do established ones that have other uses besides knives.

[WilliamMunny]

How about Proto-X? I'm betting you don't have that stockpiled and it will take some wrangling to get Erasteel to produce a completely new steel if they won't even do established ones that have other uses besides knives.

I would love to know if the Mule will be stamped CPM, I think Sal said he already had enough steel for the Mule.

[Jeb]

We are definitely in some changing times and I hope we do see things continue to get better without our knives getting the worse part of this lol.

There is so much technology out there now, things are really looking great. I am not one of the buyers of the masses, I like the bigger knives so I fear my selection may very well take one square on the chin, I sure hope I am wrong about this though...

[p_atrick]

While not a Crucible steel, ZDP certainly falls under the oddball category. I believe that Hitachi has committed to this steel, but only in cladded form.i hope some Seki models get another run of it.

[Doc Dan]

Crucible's closure was a shock, but usually where there is a vacuum something will fill it and take the place of the original.

[Deadboxhero]

How about Proto-X? I'm betting you don't have that stockpiled and it will take some wrangling to get Erasteel to produce a completely new steel if they won't even do established ones that have other uses besides knives.

Don't worry about that one. Wait for the announcement.

Erasteel is working closely with Niagara Specialty Metals and Dr Larrin.

[WilliamMunny]

How about Proto-X? I'm betting you don't have that stockpiled and it will take some wrangling to get Erasteel to produce a completely new steel if they won't even do established ones that have other uses besides knives.

Don't worry about that one. Wait for the announcement.

Erasteel is working closely with Niagara Specialty Metals and Dr Larrin.

Thanks for the information! Excited for the Mule.

Will you be working on an alternative (just in name) to 15v from another manufacturer or will that whole type of steel die off regardless of manufacturer?

[Red Leader]

Sal, thanks for this thread.

I am new to this world of high-performance, exotic steels. It has only been since last year that I really delved deeper into this knife/steel afi world, and I'm appreciative that high performance steel choice has been central to the ethos of Spyderco.

In short, there is a lot of uncertainty for what will shake out in the future, but however Spyderco needs to adjust, we'll be there to support the changes. While the Crucible situation is lamentable, I'm also excited for how the industry will adapt, and I think some great things, including brand new steel developments, will come out of it.

It's great that we are getting a last hoorah w/ 15V and other steels. If Cruwear goes away, PD #1 can be used as a substitute, as well as PMA-11 and K294 for 10V. Maybe it will allow some new trials as well, pending availability? I'm thinking of steels such as Vanadis 8 and Vanadis 4E. Niolox?

One of the biggest travesties of the whole thing with Crucible that I haven't heard anyone talking about is the demise of 3V. It hasn't been talked about here because Spyderco doesn't use it, but it is a magnificent steel, and is something criminally underused in the folder world. My hope is that when the dust settles, maybe someone can work with Erasteel about that whole '3Vmod' thing (an optimized 3V) that Crucible had a patent on, as there is so much untapped potential there.

Something else that I haven't heard really anyone talking about much, is the opportunity for Spyderco to work w/ Sandvik and start playing around with 14c28N. In a recent interview (I think at a past Blade Show), Dr Larrin Thomas was asked about the most under-hyped and over-hyped steels in his opinion, and he brought up 14c28N as being quite underrated. Because so many budget knife companies are using it, it has sort of become a 'gold standard' of the budget folder world. But I have been incredibly impressed with it...and if it is this good in the hands of the Chinese factories, the idea of a 'Spyderco-optimized 14c28N' is incredibly tantalyzing.

Thanks for involving us in this journey w/ Spyderco.

[jwbnyc]

Good to hear something may be happening with Proto-X. Thanks Shawn.

[Steeltoez83]

I had high hopes s60v would get a redemption run.

[Manixguy@1994]

Sal, thanks for this thread.

I am new to this world of high-performance, exotic steels. It has only been since last year that I really delved deeper into this knife/steel afi world, and I'm appreciative that high performance steel choice has been central to the ethos of Spyderco.

In short, there is a lot of uncertainty for what will shake out in the future, but however Spyderco needs to adjust, we'll be there to support the changes. While the Crucible situation is lamentable, I'm also excited for how the industry will adapt, and I think some great things, including brand new steel developments, will come out of it.

It's great that we are getting a last hoorah w/ 15V and other steels. If Cruwear goes away, PD #1 can be used as a substitute, as well as PMA-11 and K294 for 10V. Maybe it will allow some new trials as well, pending availability? I'm thinking of steels such as Vanadis 8 and Vanadis 4E. Niolox?

One of the biggest travesties of the whole thing with Crucible that I haven't heard anyone talking about is the demise of 3V. It hasn't been talked about here because Spyderco doesn't use it, but it is a magnificent steel, and is something criminally underused in the folder world. My hope is that when the dust settles, maybe someone can work with Erasteel about that whole '3Vmod' thing (an optimized 3V) that Crucible had a patent on, as there is so much untapped potential there.

Something else that I haven't heard really anyone talking about much, is the opportunity for Spyderco to work w/ Sandvik and start playing around with 14c28N. In a recent interview (I think at a past Blade Show), Dr Larrin Thomas was asked about the most under-hyped and over-hyped steels in his opinion, and he brought up 14c28N as being quite underrated. Because so many budget knife companies are using it, it has sort of become a 'gold standard' of the budget folder world. But I have been incredibly impressed with it...and if it is this good in the hands of the Chinese factories, the idea of a 'Spyderco-optimized 14c28N' is incredibly tantalyzing.

Thanks for involving us in this journey w/ Spyderco.

The Tuff had 3V steel blade . I’m not sure if any other knife had the steel . Big regret not buying one . MG2

[Deadboxhero]

Thanks for the information! Excited for the Mule.

Will you be working on an alternative (just in name) to 15v from another manufacturer or will that whole type of steel die off regardless of manufacturer?

Spyderco has enough material to complete the projects they are working on (golden line, collab folder)

After those projects, it will not be available.

Again, there are also still knives that are going to be released from Spyderco that have BBB CPM 15V.

It's just moving forward past that we are not going to see anymore of it.

Eric made larger batches of the lightweight para 3, para 3 and Millie 2. So, there was great effort put into making sure there would be plenty of availability to people.

There are still some knives available currently, so plan accordingly.

Unfortunately, in the knife community some people may feel that if something doesn't sell out immediately, it's not an exceptional knife. However, that would not be correct, This is a rather rare and unique sprint that we couldn't have asked for better timing on the whole project given the circumstances of Crucible, etc.


I think folks certainly need to show some gratitude to Sal, Gal and Eric for signing off on doing such a large project with this material, I'm just happy we got to do it before Crucible Industries LLC shut down.



It may be disappointing that CPM 15V could not last forever. However, when you have something so extreme I think we should just appreciate that it even existed for us to play with at all.

I feel these Spyderco BBB CPM 15V knives will certainly be a knives worthy of passing to your grandchildren.


In the meantime, I think folks should sit tight and wait for the coming announcement from NSM before speculating too much about a beak future. NSM and Erasteel have big plans for things and they have been working very hard to help things move into the future.

Standby and plan accordingly.

[Deadboxhero]

Good to hear something may be happening with Proto-X. Thanks Shawn.

Keep in mind that name is not the official name, it's just a placeholder.

It is a steel designed by Dr Larrin Thomas and backed by Niagara Specialty Metals which is now being made in the by Erasteel and Carpenter.

The official name has not been publicly released yet

I know it is a rather quirky way to release a steel but just stand by and be patient, all will be explained as to the "why" and "what" behind it all.

Dr Larrin will be the better one to explain everything when the time comes.

[apollo]

Sal, thanks for this thread.

I am new to this world of high-performance, exotic steels. It has only been since last year that I really delved deeper into this knife/steel afi world, and I'm appreciative that high performance steel choice has been central to the ethos of Spyderco.

In short, there is a lot of uncertainty for what will shake out in the future, but however Spyderco needs to adjust, we'll be there to support the changes. While the Crucible situation is lamentable, I'm also excited for how the industry will adapt, and I think some great things, including brand new steel developments, will come out of it.

It's great that we are getting a last hoorah w/ 15V and other steels. If Cruwear goes away, PD #1 can be used as a substitute, as well as PMA-11 and K294 for 10V. Maybe it will allow some new trials as well, pending availability? I'm thinking of steels such as Vanadis 8 and Vanadis 4E. Niolox?

One of the biggest travesties of the whole thing with Crucible that I haven't heard anyone talking about is the demise of 3V. It hasn't been talked about here because Spyderco doesn't use it, but it is a magnificent steel, and is something criminally underused in the folder world. My hope is that when the dust settles, maybe someone can work with Erasteel about that whole '3Vmod' thing (an optimized 3V) that Crucible had a patent on, as there is so much untapped potential there.

Something else that I haven't heard really anyone talking about much, is the opportunity for Spyderco to work w/ Sandvik and start playing around with 14c28N. In a recent interview (I think at a past Blade Show), Dr Larrin Thomas was asked about the most under-hyped and over-hyped steels in his opinion, and he brought up 14c28N as being quite underrated. Because so many budget knife companies are using it, it has sort of become a 'gold standard' of the budget folder world. But I have been incredibly impressed with it...and if it is this good in the hands of the Chinese factories, the idea of a 'Spyderco-optimized 14c28N' is incredibly tantalyzing.

Thanks for involving us in this journey w/ Spyderco.

The Tuff had 3V steel blade . I’m not sure if any other knife had the steel . Big regret not buying one . MG2

The Tuff was indeed the only regular production Spydie to be made in 3V but not sure if they where any exclusives made with it.

[Red Leader]

The Tuff had 3V steel blade . I’m not sure if any other knife had the steel . Big regret not buying one . MG2

I had no idea! Thank you for the correction.

Reading up on this article by Larrin ---->

https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/02/27/ ... ble-steel/

...got me really interested to see if anything would/could ever come from it. I had a good chat w/ Jason at the SFO about this one, as he is a big fan of 3V as well. By itself, 3V is a great steel, and a modified version is incredibly intriguing to me. It seems as though, from the article, that 3V mod didn't fit into any specific need (I don't think knifemaking was considered) and it was shelved. Since it was Crucible's intellectual property, and now that property resides with Erasteel (I think?), maybe this is something that could one day see the light of day as a knife steel-specific application.

I know that 3V isn't as wear resistant as a 10V/Maxamet/15V, etc., but is one of those steels that marries beautifully with certain applications within the knife industry. It can also be optimized for great edge strength as well.

Here is a custom Groniger that I had comissioned recently:



This knife was made in 3V. I also have a Carothers in 3V. Would be curious to see Spyderco's optimization of this steel.

Perhaps this steel falls slightly out of the bell curve of what Spyderco usually does, as most of their higher toughness/lower edge retention steels are extremely corrosion resistant, and their tool steels (where 3V tends to live) prioritizes maximum edge retention, which 3V doesn't have, but it is still something special, and either for fixed blades or for a light of tougher, hard use 'duty folders', it could be just the thing. As a tradesman, I appreciate the toughness, because I need it. Also why I like 14c28N. I carry both Spydercos and other knives that I beat on a little more, and save the Spydies for the finer cutting tasks, but you know us...always looking for a good reason to carry more Spydercos!

[DansGearAddiction]

Since the IP is owned by Erasteel, I wonder if licensing from Erasteel remains a possible option in the future for some of these steels that may not make sense to do small runs of utilizing other foundries? Just spit-balling here.