About C3 Knives
Thank you for taking the time to check out C3 knives. My name is Chris Cody, and I am the owner/operator of Chris Cody Custom Knives-C3. Knife making was a passion long before it became my business. As a maker, I continually study to improve in skill as well as provide an exceptional product for a very fair market price. I cut, shape, and grind each knife by hand. My blades are hand made, hand loved, and hand finished. It's the way to go! Get off the mass produced blades and fall in love with your -ONE OF A KIND- Every edge is 100% guaranteed, as is the HT, and with every C3 blade you recieve free lifetime sharpening and adjustments on your blade, just pay the shipping. Below are the long winded technical explanations about the steel I use and why...
CPM–Crucible Particle Metallurgy
The proprietary Crucible Particle Metallurgy (CPM®) process has been used for the commercial production of high speed steels and other high alloy tool steels since 1970. The process lends itself not only to the production of superior quality tool steels, but to the production of higher alloyed grades which cannot be produced by conventional steelmaking. For most applications the CPM process offers many benefits over conventionally ingot-cast tool steels.
Conventional Steelmaking vs.Particle Metallurgy Processing
Conventional steelmaking begins by melting the steel in a large electric arc furnace. It is usually followed by a secondary refining process such as Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD). After refining, the molten metal is poured from the furnace into a ladle, and then teemed into ingot molds.
Although the steel is very homogeneous in the molten state, as it slowly solidifies in the molds, the alloying elements segregate resulting in a non-uniform as-cast microstructure. In high speed steels and high carbon tool steels, carbides precipitate from the melt and grow to form a coarse intergranular network. Subsequent mill processing is required to break up and refine the microstructure, but the segregation effects are never fully eliminated. The higher the alloy content and the higher the carbon content, the more detrimental are the effects of the segregation on the resultant mechanical properties of the finished steel product.
The CPM process also begins with a homogeneous molten bath similar to conventional melting. Instead of being teemed into ingot molds, the molten metal is poured through a small nozzle where high pressure gas bursts the liquid stream into a spray of tiny spherical droplets. These rapidly solidify and collect as powder particles in the bottom of the atomization tower. The powder is relatively spherical in shape and uniform in composition as each particle is essentially a micro-ingot which has solidified so rapidly that segregation has been suppressed. The carbides which precipitate during solidification are extremely fine due to the rapid cooling and the small size of the powder particles. The fine carbide size of CPM steel endures throughout mill processing and remains fine in the finished bar.
The powder is screened and loaded into steel containers which are then evacuated and sealed. The sealed containers are hot isostatically pressed (HIP) at temperatures approximately the same as those used for forging. The extremely high pressure used in HIP consolidates the powder by bonding the individual particles into a fully dense compact. The resultant microstructure is homogeneous and fine grained and, in the high carbon grades, exhibits a uniform distribution of tiny carbides. Although CPM steels can be used in the as-HIP condition, the compacts normally undergo the same standard mill processing used for conventionally melted ingots, resulting in improved toughness.
CPM Eliminates Segregation
Conventionally produced high alloy steels are prone to alloy segregation during solidification. Regardless of the amount of subsequent mill processing, non-uniform clusters of carbides persist as remnants of the as-cast microstructure. This alloy segregation can detrimentally affect tool fabrication and performance.
CPM steels are HIP consolidated from tiny powder particles, each having uniform composition and a uniform distribution of fine carbides. Because there is no alloy segregation in the powder particles themselves, there is no alloy segregation in the resultant compact. The uniform distribution of fine carbides also prevents grain growth, so that the resultant microstructure is fine grained.
STEEL
I am currently offering 3 steel types. CPM 3V, CPM S35VN, and Elmax from Bohler.
I am using CPM 3V as my stain resistant carbon blade steel. 3V is a powdered super steel made by Crucible Powder Metallurgy. I believe its edge holding abilities combined with its nearly unmatched toughness makes it the perfect steel for many of my applications. 3V is a very stain resistant metal, but is not considered stainless. Here is a comparagraph of the steel from Crucible.
While 3V is a little more expensive than many steels on the market today, its improved performance easily covers the gap. Its performance is so far above O-1, 1095, and the other simple carbon steels, that it's hard to even compare them. 9V, 10V, and 15V, have greater wear resistance, but are not currently available for use. 3V is an extremely tough steel and is my personal favorite. It's toughness combined with it's amazing edge holding makes it perfect for abusive outdoor tools use, as well as in the kitchen.
CPM–Crucible Particle Metallurgy
The proprietary Crucible Particle Metallurgy (CPM®) process has been used for the commercial production of high speed steels and other high alloy tool steels since 1970. The process lends itself not only to the production of superior quality tool steels, but to the production of higher alloyed grades which cannot be produced by conventional steelmaking. For most applications the CPM process offers many benefits over conventionally ingot-cast tool steels.
Conventional Steelmaking vs.Particle Metallurgy Processing
Conventional steelmaking begins by melting the steel in a large electric arc furnace. It is usually followed by a secondary refining process such as Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD). After refining, the molten metal is poured from the furnace into a ladle, and then teemed into ingot molds.
Although the steel is very homogeneous in the molten state, as it slowly solidifies in the molds, the alloying elements segregate resulting in a non-uniform as-cast microstructure. In high speed steels and high carbon tool steels, carbides precipitate from the melt and grow to form a coarse intergranular network. Subsequent mill processing is required to break up and refine the microstructure, but the segregation effects are never fully eliminated. The higher the alloy content and the higher the carbon content, the more detrimental are the effects of the segregation on the resultant mechanical properties of the finished steel product.
The CPM process also begins with a homogeneous molten bath similar to conventional melting. Instead of being teemed into ingot molds, the molten metal is poured through a small nozzle where high pressure gas bursts the liquid stream into a spray of tiny spherical droplets. These rapidly solidify and collect as powder particles in the bottom of the atomization tower. The powder is relatively spherical in shape and uniform in composition as each particle is essentially a micro-ingot which has solidified so rapidly that segregation has been suppressed. The carbides which precipitate during solidification are extremely fine due to the rapid cooling and the small size of the powder particles. The fine carbide size of CPM steel endures throughout mill processing and remains fine in the finished bar.
The powder is screened and loaded into steel containers which are then evacuated and sealed. The sealed containers are hot isostatically pressed (HIP) at temperatures approximately the same as those used for forging. The extremely high pressure used in HIP consolidates the powder by bonding the individual particles into a fully dense compact. The resultant microstructure is homogeneous and fine grained and, in the high carbon grades, exhibits a uniform distribution of tiny carbides. Although CPM steels can be used in the as-HIP condition, the compacts normally undergo the same standard mill processing used for conventionally melted ingots, resulting in improved toughness.
CPM Eliminates Segregation
Conventionally produced high alloy steels are prone to alloy segregation during solidification. Regardless of the amount of subsequent mill processing, non-uniform clusters of carbides persist as remnants of the as-cast microstructure. This alloy segregation can detrimentally affect tool fabrication and performance.
CPM steels are HIP consolidated from tiny powder particles, each having uniform composition and a uniform distribution of fine carbides. Because there is no alloy segregation in the powder particles themselves, there is no alloy segregation in the resultant compact. The uniform distribution of fine carbides also prevents grain growth, so that the resultant microstructure is fine grained.
STEEL
I am currently offering 3 steel types. CPM 3V, CPM S35VN, and Elmax from Bohler.
I am using CPM 3V as my stain resistant carbon blade steel. 3V is a powdered super steel made by Crucible Powder Metallurgy. I believe its edge holding abilities combined with its nearly unmatched toughness makes it the perfect steel for many of my applications. 3V is a very stain resistant metal, but is not considered stainless. Here is a comparagraph of the steel from Crucible.
While 3V is a little more expensive than many steels on the market today, its improved performance easily covers the gap. Its performance is so far above O-1, 1095, and the other simple carbon steels, that it's hard to even compare them. 9V, 10V, and 15V, have greater wear resistance, but are not currently available for use. 3V is an extremely tough steel and is my personal favorite. It's toughness combined with it's amazing edge holding makes it perfect for abusive outdoor tools use, as well as in the kitchen.
CPM S35VN is a martensitic stainless steel designed to offer improved toughness over CPM S30V. It is also easier to machine and polish than CPM S30V. Its chemistry has been rebalanced so that it forms some niobium carbides along with vanadium and chromium carbides. Substituting niobium carbides for some of the vanadium carbides makes CPM S35VN about 15-20% tougher than CPM S30V without any loss of wear resistance. CPM S35VN’s improved toughness gives it better resistance to edge chipping. Because both vanadium and niobium carbides are harder and more effective than chromium carbides in providing wear resistance, the CPM stainless blade steels offer improved edge retention over conventional high chromium steels such as 440C and D2. The CPM process produces very homogeneous, high quality steel characterized by superior dimensional stability, grindability, and toughness compared to steels produced by conventional melting practices. Full Data sheet available here. http://www.crucible.com/PDFs/DataSheets2010/dsS35VNrev12010.pdf
Elmax Stainless Steel is produced by Bohler Uddeholm with the same powder process as the CPM steels. It is a Swedish steel that was developed for the cutlery industry. Elmax has very good wear resistance, dimensional stability, corrosion resistance, and high compressive strength. It makes a very good cutlery steel. Additional technical information can be found on there data sheet. http://www.bucorp.com/files/UDDEHOLM_ELMAX.pdf
GRIND
Now that we covered the steel, let's take a look at the grind. I use the convex method of knife grinding. You can order your C3 knife with a convex Scandi grind, or a Full Height convex grind. The Scandi grind is an amazing grind for Bushcraft and wood working, while the full height convex will slice with the best of them. Each edge is hand ground and honed to razor sharpness. If unsure, you can tell me what the knife will be used for and I will put the correct grind on it.
The handles on C3 blades are epoxied and bolted for maximum strength. I have found Pins and epoxy to be inadequate, so every handle is bolted.
Please take some time and look through the site. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. The contact page has all the info.
Elmax Stainless Steel is produced by Bohler Uddeholm with the same powder process as the CPM steels. It is a Swedish steel that was developed for the cutlery industry. Elmax has very good wear resistance, dimensional stability, corrosion resistance, and high compressive strength. It makes a very good cutlery steel. Additional technical information can be found on there data sheet. http://www.bucorp.com/files/UDDEHOLM_ELMAX.pdf
GRIND
Now that we covered the steel, let's take a look at the grind. I use the convex method of knife grinding. You can order your C3 knife with a convex Scandi grind, or a Full Height convex grind. The Scandi grind is an amazing grind for Bushcraft and wood working, while the full height convex will slice with the best of them. Each edge is hand ground and honed to razor sharpness. If unsure, you can tell me what the knife will be used for and I will put the correct grind on it.
The handles on C3 blades are epoxied and bolted for maximum strength. I have found Pins and epoxy to be inadequate, so every handle is bolted.
Please take some time and look through the site. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. The contact page has all the info.
