CPM M4 for a kitchen knife

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What is the name on Barmoley and mb’s Knives it’s too blurry in the pictures?
 
Devin, that is a nice looking stainless damascus pattern! Curious...what are the 2 (or more) stainless steels you used to clad the CPM M4 with? AEBL and 303?

(Glad you guys are enjoying those knives! Makes me want to do more in CPM M4, it is such a great steel).

Dough....the maker's mark is mine. "S Davenport".
 
Me too, me too based on many spydercos and petty from Stuart. Thinning would be a huge PITA I suspect, so would have to be very lasery to not ever have to thin, which sucks from the food release stand point, or has to be a san mai construction.
 
You would absolutely love a gyuto in M4 (CPM). It would be pricey, as working the stuff isn't easy. The edge retention is excellent, as expected. M4 is also fairly tough. Well, tough for a steel that has a fairly high carbide %, and at 64HRC. The petty I have gets babied. Wooden cutting board, and my cutting technique is such that I try to not let the edge even contact the cutting board. The knife never sees any real abuse at all, usually just protein cutting chores. What I like about M4 is that it seems to retain a bit of "bite" at the edge right off the stones, and keeps it for a LONG time. After a year or so of weekly use, I decided to sharpen it again the other day. It certainly didn't need it by any stretch, but I wanted to! (along with a Miyabi Santoku in MC66...ZDP-189). Both knives were honed on DMT plates, Fine, Extra Fine, and Extra Extra Fine (3 micron). 15° per side. I keep saying it, but it's worth repeating, M4 is extremely wear resistant. It is by far the most wear resistant steel I have worked with (never have used the S series vanadium bombs like 90V or 110V, etc). Thinning such a blade would be a very labor intensive task, unless you have access to a belt grinder or diamond plates. Hand rubbed finishes are just pure torture. It simply laughs at sandpaper. 80 and 120 grit is like having a root canal. Anything above 120 grit (like 220, 400) is like having a knee cap blown off. 800 grit? Fuggit about it. I take M4 to 400 grit, and that's enough. Food release has never been a real issue for me, by that I mean I don't pay too much attention to it. Super thin knives will have a tendency to hold on to food, but there are ways around it. "S" grind is one way, but not easy on a thin blade. Also having a slight convex in the grind helps as well, with the convex just above the cutting edge. I do all grinds as "full flat", and keep them flat when doing the hand rubbed finish in the coarser grits. As I get to 400 grit and up, I use a softer backing and try to establish a convexity above the edge, but in all reality, the grind is pretty flat.
 
I don't baby your CPM-M4 petty, I don't abuse it, but no babying at all. It had plenty of board and even bone contact in more than 1.5 years I've had it, nothing stupid, but just normal use without concern for the edge. It is fine no chipping or rolling or anything, so I'd say that CPM-M4 the way you make it is plenty tough and edge stable for a kitchen knife. Would love it in a gyuto, even though I don't generally like flat grinds in gyutos, but if it doesn't stick to food too much then it could work. Gyutos also experiences more force on it than a petty, but I suspect it would be fine with appropriate geometry.
 
I make a bunch of gyutos in M4. Edge holding is as described above. It is much harder to work than most other steels. It’s got that fabulous Carbon “feel” when cutting. I do hand rubbed finishes up to 600 and sometimes 800 grit if I feel like it.

I made my eviscerating scalpel from M4 and was able to 7 complete eviscerations before needing to sharpen it. Impressive edge holding.
 
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