A follow up POLL to: "Are you over Super Steels"

[JR88FAN]

I just want to put this 'poll' into some context....

I picked CRK and RHK because those two brands, whether individually or together, are respected by just about every member of this forum, and to a large extent are what many of us carry, or would like to carry at some point...

I am really enjoying the "Are you over Super Steel's" thread, and I personally would love to see more (more is a stretch, because there aren't many) production folders available in High Carbon Steels.
Why not?!

I picked my two favourites, 52100 and 1095.

Let's see if anyone would be interested in an XM-18 in 52100 or a large/small 21/25 in 1095, or vice versa....

I would buy one in a heartbeat.

 

[Fish Boy]

I'd be happy to see a CRK Nyala in 1095 or 52100.

 

[JR88FAN]

Comments are welcome guys, I didn't want to leave out a brand or a steel....

Just didn't want to make a crazy poll with 10 brands and 10 steels.

If there are more interesting High Carbon Folder options, please post them.

 

[HwangJino]

I love carbon steel for work, as they take very thin edges, i can dry my knives easily.

For folders, also at work but to open boxes packages and other random stuff, sometimes I'll quickly cut something and clip back without drying, i like that feature for pocket blades, no worrying about rust and wiping dry each time. It's a sebenza, I've never seen it rust, I'll put it in pocket dripping wet at times.

 

[Insipid Moniker]

I'd like to see more carbon steel folders, but not those steels and not those folders.

 

[fsatsil]

I live near salt water so I personally have no desire to see 1095 or 52100 folders but I wouldn't mind cpm-m4 or cpm-3v. What I'd really like to see is more reasonably priced folders besides Kershaws in steels like Aeb-l/13c26 or 14c28n which have most of the benefits of a carbon steel like 1095 while retaining good corrosion resistance.

 

[Tripton]

Wow, I can see absolutely no benefit to using either of those steels, in either of those folders.

So, no.

 

[bdmicarta]

I buy a little bit lower down the price scale- I have several Spyderco models with M4 steel, and a Benchmade with M4 steel.

 

[james terrio]

I don't know why there aren't more "carbon" steel folders, especially more traditional models... except maybe the manu's are worried about them corroding in storage/shipping. There are obviously ways around that problem, but apparently the powers-that-be just don't think they'd sell.

 

[@LeathermanGX]

I wouldn't buy either of those brands.

 

[Scott Neelan]

I can understand the appeal of a high carbon folder, but it just wouldn't be good for me. Humid weather and the fact that I break a sweat at work quite often means that there's no way anything non-stainless will survive in my pocket long-term.

 

[bt93]

when I first moved to my present address, my Buck 110 with 420 hc was kept in it's sheath and in a box for a month before I unpacked it.(yeah, i'm single). Anyway it had rust, it wasn't covered but small ugly bits of rust, even rust red, none of that patina stuff. I spent an hour first scraping carefully and then polishing to get the blade back to looking pre rust. The brass bolsters are a differint story, but then again they just look well used so I wimped out and left them alone.
Anyway my point is, no way would a high carbon knife work for me. The 110 is put to kitchen use so it gets maintained and sharpened regularly and never forgotten. Stainless Steel is way to easy to maintain and 1095 and other hc is a pain.

 

[Sunyata]

Neither of those options make very much sense to me

Both are solid Titanium (excepting the scales (rhk) or inlays (crk)). So they'll be pricey, but with a high maintenance blade you'll have to sharpen more and be on top of rusting. Unless it was coated which I'd imagine they'd opt for good coating like a DLC which isn't cheap and neither manufacturer seems into. So now you'd have an expensive folder you have to maintain much more often. It's not going to sell. There's not an advantage. I can make the existing steels scary sharp, they'll hold it longer and I don't have to worry about corrosion. I like not having to worry. I got sweaty as hell working in the garden today , used my 21 a lot then tossed it in my knife storage area. I like that. It's fine. No ugly surprises.

I like my 1095 blades, they have their place. I can beat them up, get them back into shape easily and start all over. I do have to work more to keep them up though. They don't get to have as much fun as my other knives because of it. Unless it's something stupid like beating my ESEE 6 through a piece of hardwood because I can and that has more to do with the warranty than the steel. If I had a similar sized chuck of M4 and the same warranty I'd do it with that. It would be more fun because I probably wouldn't have to refinish the edge after. M4 is a beast of a steel.

 

[BladeCommander]

I'd like to see more carbon steel folders, but not those steels and not those folders.

+1.

I like my Benchmades in M4, and Spyderco does some M4 as well. I think that the CRK is good in stainless to keep the look clean and maintenance low. A Sebenza in M390 might be sweet though, but I am fine with S35VN as I am not a "hard user". I like that ZT is also using M4 as well, it seems to be the carbon steel flavor of the week, and who can blame them.

 

[BMCGear]

Neither of those options make very much sense to me

Both are solid Titanium (excepting the scales (rhk) or inlays (crk)). So they'll be pricey, but with a high maintenance blade you'll have to sharpen more and be on top of rusting. Unless it was coated which I'd imagine they'd opt for good coating like a DLC which isn't cheap and neither manufacturer seems into. So now you'd have an expensive folder you have to maintain much more often. It's not going to sell. There's not an advantage. I can make the existing steels scary sharp, they'll hold it longer and I don't have to worry about corrosion. I like not having to worry. I got sweaty as hell working in the garden today , used my 21 a lot then tossed it in my knife storage area. I like that. It's fine. No ugly surprises.

I agree with this.

On that note I will say that I'm not much for "super steels" necessarily. I just want a steel that performs well. VG10, 154cm, D2, S30V, S35vn, N690 have all performed well for me. M390 has as well. But I don't go out of my way looking for M390 or S90v. I try to balance edge retention with ease of sharpening. With that being said I like carbon steel but when it comes to a modern pocket folder I prefer to have stainless for the reasons above.

 

[Ryan Sumner]

While I understand why a Sebenza in 1095 wouldn't be popular, I personally would love the option. I would expect the grind to be made fairly thin, the 1095 should be tough enough to handle it. I have found that it's good to have at least 2 knives, a thin edged carbon blade and some sort of 'higher end' steel with more carbides, and can take abrasives better than the basic carbon can.

I live in a fairly unpredictable climate, this time of year the weather can wildly swing from hot and sunny, to hail in seconds. (I've been back in Australia for 2 weeks, from a holiday in America, and most of the days so far have been just like that.) I've used 1095 in the rain, and had one in a sweaty pocket when it's over 100 degrees F, and I've rarely gotten any red rust on them.
I was quite shocked, however, when I was traveling down the rocky's from Seattle to L.A. that some of the old knives I had bought started to get a decent amount of rust just from sitting in my bag! Even after a good cleaning the rust came back only a few days later.
A lot of peoples needs and wants are very different. What's that American saying? Different strokes for different folks.


I would love to be able to buy a CRK 21 and have the option to buy an extra 1095 blade, to swap out myself.

I don't really see anything wrong with having options, it's something that draws us into, and keeps us in the knife hobby.

 

[Ernie1980]

I would buy one, carbon steel isn't as difficult to maintain as people think and takes a super fine edge.

 

[craytab]

The poll is flawed. So if I don't want the two specific high-carbon options my only other choice is vague non high-carbon? All the choices need to be either vague or specific, not a mish mash.

 

[Scurvy092]

I want my high carbon steel blades to be forged fixed blades.

 

[highestpoint]

I understand where most of you guys are coming from.. There are plenty of different knives in these high carbon steels that would serve a better purpose but I doubt CRK or HRK is going to actually produce one so why not just vote. I too would not want either one in the mentioned steel but out of the two I would rather have the CRK.