MY GO TO STEELS

AEB-L Stainless Steel- (This steel is marked by a "-" under the maker stamp) AEB-L is one of my absolute favorite steels and my go to for all of my knives. In my opinion it is the most balanced steel on the market today because of its performance to cost balance, as well as its ease of maintenance. Originally developed for razor blades it is an extremely fine grained, fine carbide stainless steel. What that gives you is a stainless steel that has edge retention like A2, toughness like 80CRV2, high edge stability and is as easy as O1 to sharpen in the field! I heat treat and cryo this steel in house to a 60-64HRC depending upon the intended use. Larger camp knives tend to be 60-61hrc to optimize shock resistance, while mid sized bushcraft knives are taken to 62-63hrc, and small EDC blade are 63-64hrc.

CPM 3V Tool Steel-  (this steel is marked be a small "v" under the makers mark) 3V is an high toughness tool steel with great edge retention and good rust resistance. If you are after a hard use bushcraft knife this is your steel. Having 3% vanadium means you need diamond stones to properly sharpen 3V, but that is the only true down side it has. In my opinion it is the most balanced powder steel for bushcraft knives on the market. Although it is semi stainless you will still not want to leave it wet for extended periods of time. I heat treat all my 3V in house using a cryogenic treatment and low temper to a 61-62HRC.

8760 High Carbon Steel- coming soon!

Additional steels I use

CPM 154 Stainless Steel- Currently not available for custom orders (This steel is marked by two "dots" under the maker stamp) Not to be confused with 154cm, CPM 154 is a modern high performance powder version of a long time tested steel composition. This is in a family of steels made popular by the venerable Bob Loveless and if you have ever had a well made knife in it you know why it is so loved!  With edge retention between 3V and 4V, toughness like A2, good stainless properties and easy to field sharpen its hard to beat the balance CPM 154 brings to the bush. I heat treat in house using a cryo and low temper. 60-63HRC depending upon intended use.

CPM Cruwear/Z-wear pm - Currently not available for custom order. (these steels are marked by a "+"under the makers mark)  Details coming

Grinds...........................................................................................

Convex Grind-  The Convex Grind is in my opinion the best all around grind that will perform a large number of tasks very well and is easy to sharpen and maintain.  While not quite as good at slicing as a flat grind, it is tougher and superior for battening and wood carving/feather slicks. The Convex Grind is a better bushcraft grind than a flat grind, a better slicer than the scandi and it is very easy to maintain your edge in the field.  In my opinion the Convex Grind is the best do it all grind for hunting, bushcraft and utility work.  I grind my convex grinds with a small secondary edge and a thin grind. What this means is that you can just sharpen the edge just like a normal flat grind on a stone and a hard back strop. At the same time, the secondary edge is well blended into the bevel so if you prefer to sharpen on a mouse pad, or a rolling motion on a stone it will work very good as well.  This grind preforms different depending on the thickness you choose. For a better slicer you should go with a 3/32", while for a robust bushcraft knife 5/32" gives you a lot of strength and 1/8" is a good balance of strength and slicing performance.

Show below is my standard convex saber grind referred to as a "sabervex"