Anyone else having hard prefferences for carbon and tool steels?

L

LostCause

Joined
Apr 1, 2022
Messages
840
A lot of people have strong prefference for stainless and yet I have a hard time buying a real stainless steel.

I kinda feel as if carbon steel blades have a story to tell. Stainless always looks like new unless you either use it for something that will put schratches on it or do a really poor sharpening job. That can be a good or bad thing depending on who you ask.

If you have a stainless steel knife and don't use it for abrasive stuff - you'll end up with blade like new and handle that looks used.
If your knife is coated and coating gets worn out - it does give it some character, but it still looks better with patina showing on places where coating has worn out.

Carbon steels will patina, which can have various color, shade and shape. And various types of patina on schratched patina.
Another benefit is much easier sharpening, and extra toughness over stainless steel in general.

This is not saying that stainless steel blades aren't beautiful, or that well loved stainless steel blade won't show any wear on it, it's just that carbon steel looks different, that patina is more visible and each knife is unique with unique patina and different story behind it.

To me a knife is a tool, but also kind of a representation of it's owner and the taste of it's owner.
 
I tend to flitz my carbon blades so they always look like my stainless blades.
I personally think the "carbon steel is easier to shapen" thing to be an overstatement. I have no trouble
sharpening any of my knives, carbon or stainless. Never really suffered from a lack of toughness in stainless either.
Chips? I don't mind as I like to sharpen. Any knife.
But if you're into Patinas, ok, that's fine.
 
KenHash said:
I tend to flitz my carbon blades so they always look like my stainless blades.
I personally think the "carbon steel is easier to shapen" thing to be an overstatement. I have no trouble
sharpening any of my knives, carbon or stainless. Never really suffered from a lack of toughness in stainless either.
Chips? I don't mind as I like to sharpen. Any knife.
But if you're into Patinas, ok, that's fine.
Click to expand...
I guess it depends on who uses knives for what.

I can't remember last time I experienced chipping. I think it was on some Mora knife... I also saw someone chip his fallkniven on camping...

Regarding sharpening - just stropping or few swipes on ceramic/fine diamond and then strop is all carbon steels need.
But with stainless steel - I experienced stubborn burrs.

I guess everything has advantages and disadvantages
 
I prefer stainless all day long, especially in a pocket knife. But there is nothing wrong with a good carbon steel. It just requires a little more TLC to keep the rust away. 👍🏻
 
vwb563 said:
I prefer stainless all day long, especially in a pocket knife. But there is nothing wrong with a good carbon steel. It just requires a little more TLC to keep the rust away. 👍🏻
Click to expand...
And here I am, with K390 folder and small 1095 fixed blade pocket knife 😆
 
For fixed blades, 1095 or 5160 are my choices. I do prefer a coated blade to help combat corrosion tho.

For a folder, I prefer stainless with some tool steels mix in. I own no carbon steel folders atm.
 
Alberta Ed said:
I've come to favor tool steels like M4 and 3V for their toughness and ease of sharpening. They're still more rust resistant that high carbon steels and patina doesn't bother me.
Click to expand...
I'm in the same boat, tool steels are absolute favorites.

CPM-3V is my most used fixed blade.
I'll see how I like K390 on my Spyderco though, I've seen it should be similar to M4.
 
19-3ben said:
I will see your discussion on tool steel vs. stainless and I’ll raise you an AEB-L.
Click to expand...
AEB-L is one of rare stainless steels I've wanted to try for a while now. I almost bought Bradford Guardian 3 in AEB-L, but decided that if I'll be buying another fixed EDC - Subway Bowie in LC200N might be better option as it's more compact.

But yet another compact fixed blade isn't a priority to me as I already have one.
 
Oh, and I think there is plenty of room for both stainless and carbon steel. To some extent, my practical side likes stainless because if we're "out there" it's nice to know that a stainless blade doesn't have the same maintenance needs. I think modern stainless steels perform about on par with carbon steels in 90%+ of applications, so I don't see a significant performance advantage either way. Just little nuances here and there.

That said, being a thorough going luddite, I see a big draw for carbon steel. It's where my heart leads me. I don't have to rationalize it, and don't even care if I can rationalize it. I reserve the right to have irrational passions. I love the look, the feel, and the "vibe" of a nicely patina'd carbon steel.



IMG_3190.jpegIMG_2838 2.jpeg


Of course, there's also an element of a false dichotomy here, where we think in hard lines about stainless vs. carbon. It's like the only two steels are LC200n and 1095, with nothing in between. There are tool steels like D2, which falls into the grey in between. For that matter 3v is not stainless, but as a tool steel is much more corrosion resistant than the O1 blade in the picture above, and I'd likely not get that kind of patina on a 3v blade.


There the waters have been muddied.
LostCause said:
AEB-L is one of rare stainless steels I've wanted to try for a while now.
Click to expand...

It's a great performer.
 
I have a couple of Buck 104 camp knives, one in 3V and one D2. I really like them and so far performs well. I haven’t seen any rust but I’ve kept them dry and clean. The 3V takes a nice edge and seems to keep it just as long as the D2.
 
19-3ben said:
Oh, and I think there is plenty of room for both stainless and carbon steel. To some extent, my practical side likes stainless because if we're "out there" it's nice to know that a stainless blade doesn't have the same maintenance needs. I think modern stainless steels perform about on par with carbon steels in 90%+ of applications, so I don't see a significant performance advantage either way. Just little nuances here and there.

That said, being a thorough going luddite, I see a big draw for carbon steel. It's where my heart leads me. I don't have to rationalize it, and don't even care if I can rationalize it. I reserve the right to have irrational passions. I love the look, the feel, and the "vibe" of a nicely patina'd carbon steel.



View attachment 1876696View attachment 1876697


Of course, there's also an element of a false dichotomy here, where we think in hard lines about stainless vs. carbon. It's like the only two steels are LC200n and 1095, with nothing in between. There are tool steels like D2, which falls into the grey in between. For that matter 3v is not stainless, but as a tool steel is much more corrosion resistant than the O1 blade in the picture above, and I'd likely not get that kind of patina on a 3v blade.


There the waters have been muddied.


It's a great performer.
Click to expand...
I am SO excited to try that 8670!!!

But, to answer the thread... I like carbon.
Basic carbons to Cruwear and K390, M4. Love it.
Not a lot of humidity here. I like the character as well.
 
Almost all of my knives are acquired and kept as a part of my overall collecting hobby. Most are behind glass and my domain's air quality is controlled, so I don't worry about rust. So, my knives are a mix of carbon and stainless specimens.
With that said, for any knife that I plan to carry, stainless steel is my choice.
I simply appreciate the less maintenance it requires.
 
I do prefer carbon and tool steels.
They are tough and sharp and carry a sense of nostalgia with them.
Especially in slip joints just seems to fit.

I also like stainless for fishing, kayaking and putting it under water and not worrying about it. S30 Has been a really nice steel to sharpen and use.

Both have their place.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top