2015 Bladeforums Knife - First Poll! Steel!! Ends on Father's day - this Sunday!!

Which steel for the 2015 BF knife

  • 440C Stainless

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 1095 Carbon

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
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tdkfm said:
Fair enough and thanks for the answers. I guess for me I like stainless because I don't really like spots and patina on a new knife. I have some old knives that it looks good on, but the whole stabbing it in a potato to make a pretty new knife look old doesn't appeal to me. I understand how people like it though. I guess I just dont like a new knife to look old just because it's traditional.
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Good answer.
 
I'm sure that there are great stainless steels out there, and that they'd perform as well or better than carbon steels. I just have no interest in them. The draw to carbon for me is purely the patina. I like watching my knives mature as I use them. I like that my knives "remember" me. I have a couple of stainless knives, but when I use them I almost feel like it was a wasted opportunity. I get thoughts like "Oh man, that would have left an awesome purple hue on the blade if I had used one of my good knives."

That being said, I have no strong opinion on the steel used on the forum knife. If I end up buying one it'll be as a tribute to this forum, not as a regular user. So, it could be made out of aluminum and it wouldn't really matter to me. I'd prefer carbon, of course, but I can understand the sentiment that there's a percentage of members that strongly prefer stainless and they should have their turn. Either way, you're going to end up with a very cool knife as well as participate in some way in the camaraderie of this great corner of the 'net. Can't lose. :thumbup:
 
tdkfm said:
Fair enough and thanks for the answers. I guess for me I like stainless because I don't really like spots and patina on a new knife. I have some old knives that it looks good on, but the whole stabbing it in a potato to make a pretty new knife look old doesn't appeal to me. I understand how people like it though. I guess I just dont like a new knife to look old just because it's traditional.
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My sentiments as well. It feels artificial to me if it isn't through use and carry.

I do, however, definitely understand the appeal of ease of sharpening. I have twangs towards "steel snobbery" but I always come back to 1095, vg-10, aus-8, and at the top s30v, s35vn, and elmax.

All of this is extremely interesting to me, even if it is difficult to understand sometimes.
 
I just want a steel that performs well and is fairly easy to sharpen. If either carbon or stainless fit the bill, then great.

I do like that with stainless, you don't have to be as careful regarding keeping things dry and away from moisture. Even with a good patina on carbon, the right conditions can lead to rust.
 
What ever steel wins is fine. I would definitely like to own Eric's shadow pattern with the shield and the nice wood.
 
As the guy who keeps wandering in and out of this place over the years I went with 440C this time. (I can't believe it's this late in the year already!)

I have my share of carbon steel blades and like them just fine. However, well heat treated 440C makes for a darn good carrying and working knife. Even though I now work in a retail environment our environment (the building) sucks. For the majority of the year here on the border it's hot to so hot ol' scratch won't even visit. Inside the building with our crappy A/C that translates to me spending the day generally lightly damp from sweat. Not dripping or coming through my shirt, but damp and miserable.

Looking at the pattern in the other thread it looks like a knife meant to be carried and used daily and will ride deep in pocket. I'm not a safe queen guy. Sounds like an excellent choice for a knife that can be carried and really used in a variety of environments.
 
Whatever steel, whatever pattern, the pride in ownership of a knife with "bladeforums" is priceless! I'm certainly in - whichever it happens to be. :-)
 
I voted stainless this time around, just because we've only done one other that was close in all these years. It was the 2009 Queen/Schatt Morgan Barlow in D-2.
 
My old Grateful Dead friend, what's it been 8-9 years?...you make a good point. I truly wish this were a D2 option but I'll switch to 440C on my PC tomorrow. Let's mix it up. Variety, spice, life and all that.
 
First off, thanks for putting this together.

I am in either way, and I can see benefits to either choice. So my opinion is not strong.

In the end I voted for 1095 just because to me it is closer to a high performing carbon steel than 440C is to a high performing stainless.
 
Stainless? that seems weird, who'd want a stainless knife? lol.....ME of course, good idea on the poll.

G2
 
Stainless has a decent lead... but I wonder who will come in and vote at the last minute!
 
I'm happy to have this going the way of stainless. It's a healthy change!
 
Voted for 1095, but either would be great. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had a knife in 440C.
 
jhany said:
What is the relation of sharpness of 440c to VG10
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I only have one knife in VG10, and many in 440C, but I can get a sharper edge on all of my 440C knives.

When the heat treat and geometry are done properly, 440C is one Damn Fine Blade Steel. Make no mistake!

Eric
 
Doing a bit of research about 440C on the net I came across this paragraph on it.
440C was the first generally accepted knife makers' stainless and remains quite popular, particularly since the sub-zero process was developed to add toughness. On the grinder, it's gummy and gets hot fast, but it cuts a lot faster and easier than any of the carbon steels. Your belts will cut about 2 to 3 times as much 440-C than 0-1. Using hand hacksaws on it will wear out a lot of blades in a hurry. But with the proper care, good heat treating and finishing, 440C produces an excellent, serviceable and durable knife, even for the new knife maker. Anneals at very low temperature. Please note that 440A and 440B are similar alloys, often confused with 440C, but not worth a damn for knife making use. Commercial knife companies often mark blades 440 when they're one of the less desirable versions, giving the real stuff a bad name. 440C is also available in more sizes and in more places than just about any stainless alloy suitable for knives. It is also essential to remember that collectors hate to see one of their prizes turn brown in the sheath, and 440C handles corrosion resistance very well. While the variation, 440-V doesn't seem to get quite as hard, but holds an edge for much longer and is much more difficult to grind.
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And a link to where I referenced this from.
http://sharpeningmadeeasy.com/steels.htm
Things like the misinformation about 440c vs other 440 steels may explain why I was less than enthused by it.
I will concede that I may have been wrong about properly done 440C. :rolleyes: ;)
 
snippy said:
I only have one knife in VG10, and many in 440C, but I can get a sharper edge on all of my 440C knives.

When the heat treat and geometry are done properly, 440C is one Damn Fine Blade Steel. Make no mistake!

Eric
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I don't have any VG10, but I also have been able to get better edges out of my 440C than my fancier stainless steel knives. I think a lot of that is still just a relative lack of practice with the modern supersteels and my relatively low tech sharpening equipment. My favorite thing about 440C is that it seems to take a very keen edge relatively easily. It can take some time to get the edge, but I don't need diamond stones or fancy compounds. Just my old whetstone and a steel.
 
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