Materials I use: Steel
Only the highest quality materials make the best knives
I pride myself in the quality of my work, not only in the fit and finish, but also in the durability and longevity one can expect from my knives. To ensure my knives are top notch, I use only the finest materials.
When I first decided to begin making custom knives, I turned to two of the best custom knife-makers I know of: the infamous pioneer of custom knife-making and all around legend, Bob Loveless, and my late great uncle, Jeff Hollett. Both men used the same steel: ATS-34.
ATS-34 is a Japanese-made high carbon stainless steel produced by the Hitachi corporation, chemically identical to the American-made steel 154cm produced by Crucible Metals. For decades, these were known as “super steels”, and were highly sought after by knife-makers and consumers alike for their incredible balance of Hardness, Toughness, Edge Retention, Ease of Sharpening, and Corrosion Resistance. As such, I decided that if ATS-34/154cm were good enough for Bob Loveless and my Uncle Jeff, they were good enough for me.
In addition to ATS-34/154cm, I have recently begun branching out and using a higher quality version of the same steel produced by Crucible Metals, called CPM154. This is a powdered metal steel (thus the “P” in the name), and as such, it has an almost perfectly uniform grain structure. This allows the steel to have improved Hardness, Toughness, Edge Retention, and Corrosion Resistance over the original non-powdered versions. In my opinion, it is one of the finest steels on the market today.
Update: As of 2023 I have transitioned to using CPM154 for the majority of my knives, it just creates a superior product. I will still offer blades in ATS-34/154cm upon request however. I’m also now offering blades in CPM Magnacut as well. It’s a new powdered metal steel produced by Crucible Metals and developed by Dr. Larrin Thomas of KnifeSteelNerds.com, boasting toughness and wear resistance on-par with that of the best high carbon non-stainless steels, while still maintaining the hardness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance of the best high carbon stainless steels. By all accounts it appears to be the best knife steel available today, and likely will remain so for years to come.