Anyone use aus8a for woods knife?

K

kirko

Joined
Dec 4, 2004
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497
Hey, havent posted in here for awhile, but I have a question. I recently acquired a Kershaw Bear Hunter II, and the knife is amazingly great. Full tang, full flat grind, perfect grip. My question is how well does the aus8 hold up in the woods. Do people use aus8 to carve/camp, or does it dull quickly. Any good bush knives out there with aus8 or like 440c?
 
I Had a sog seal pup elite ,strait edge..it was aus8 and it worked fantastic! Most people will tell you 1095 is better, but you have to make the call for yourself ultimately. I never had an issue with Aus8 as an everyday woods blade. It sharpens quite well, especially if you have a good set of stones or a spyderco sharpmaker.

I gave the knife to my cousin because he needed a good every day knife.

Have you bought a knife yet or are you just trying to figure out what you want? If you own an Aus8 knife, you dont have anything to worry about, but if you are going to buy a new knife, 1095 carbon steel is a popular,durable bush blade steel.. You cant go wrong either way. Aus8 although a "stainless steel" will rust a bit if not taken care of. 1095 , being a carbon steel rusts when wet and not taken care of.

-Gaurdian_A1
 
Guy heremakes some economical bushcrafters in 440C and 01. Dunno how good they are 'cos they're not my style. Might be worth looking him up on an English forum.
 
Actually, I gifted a knife to a buddy of mine, and to return the favor, he gave me his kershaw that I always liked. I actually was thinking about getting a new knife for camp chores, because I got rid of my rc-3 last year and have been looking for another knife off and on. Heres a picture I found, not mine though.

mP5290029.jpg
 
In my experience, AUS8 is easy to sharpen and takes a edge fairly well, but doesn't hold it's edge as well as other higher end stainless. If you are comfortable hand sharpening and carry a small stone on you, than it should do O.K.
 
Alright, that's more of a user to me. Although personally I don't dig on finger stalls.

I think the Benchmade Rant is a splendid little knife and well worth shortlisting.

If I wanted something finer for flesh I'd probably consider the Baretta Loveless Classic Hunter - modern bucket friendly take on a classic design.

Cold Steel's Pendleton might be worth a thought although I've never had a hands on with VG-1.
 
My main outdoors knife is a Browning 679. It's has around a 5 inch aus8 blade and it works out quite well. I baton with it and although the edge isn't razor sharp anymore after, it can still cut and sharpens up really easily on a small fine DMT. It carves decently, though I would be willing to bet that a thinner aus8 blade would carve much better.
 
i love my Sog sealpup elite and Gov-Tac. they take a wicked edge and hold it well, and are easily sharpened in the field
 
AUS8 is very good for certain applications because it's a relatively tough stainless, and it takes an extremely sharp edge,
However, that extremely sharp edge becomes dull with use very quickly.

To me, a "woods" knife implies some hard use.
Therefore, if I have a choice, there are many blade steels I'll take to the woods before I'll take AUS8.
 
I have always been one of the anti-stainless brigade but I do own a folder that is made of Aus8 and it's never let me down. It takes a great edge, doesn't chip and has reasonable edge retention. I would rather have a woods blade made from Aus8 than many of the latest high-tec stainless steels that are a pain in the ass to sharpen and so hard that they chip !
 
AUS8 is better than 420HC and 420 has a bit of a track record for a woods blade ;)
 
I have been using an AUS-8 Cold Steel Vaquero Grande as a kind of pocket machete for years. I rarely sharpen it, only strop it on a pants leg after use, and steel it occasionally to perk up those tiny serrations.
 
I like Cold Steel's AUS-8. Reminds me of SAK steel in that it takes a razor edge, holds it long enough and can then be stropped or steeled back to shaving sharpness.
 
I used a CS Master Hunter in AUS8 for many years .It sharpens easily and holds an edge well .That knife is one of the most practical with a well designed blade and handle and handle material that is not slippery even when wet.It took apart many deer and did other jobs too.
 
mete said:
I used a CS Master Hunter in AUS8 for many years .It sharpens easily and holds an edge well .That knife is one of the most practical with a well designed blade and handle and handle material that is not slippery even when wet.It took apart many deer and did other jobs too.
Click to expand...

Design classic and somewhat of a benchmark in my opinion.
 
Kirko, I'd use that AUS-8 blade that you posted the picture of without any worry whatsoever. AUS-8 is a good steel for a good price. Especially in that case, since it was a gift. IME, AUS-8 takes a wicked edge, holds it a LONG time (as long as most of the "super" steels that I have used), and is easier to sharpen when it does get dull. It is, along with a few others, at the peak of the compromise curve, in my opinion. With only ONE exception that I have found, the longer a steel HOLDS its edge, the harder it is to get it back to that edge once dulled (and EVERY steel will dull eventually). My preference is a steel that holds its edge well as long as I'm careful with it, and is rather easy to sharpen once it is dull. AUS-8 does that, in my experience. Quite well.
 
Like most other steels, it really depends on the heat-treat. That's why you hear so many varied opinions on different steels. Not all brands are created equally.
 
EMT_Lee said:
Like most other steels, it really depends on the heat-treat. That's why you hear so many varied opinions on different steels. Not all brands are created equally.
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As he said. But I've used AUS-8 for years, went away from it for awhile and have happily come back due to it's ability to take a scary sharp edge, general ease of resharpening, and toughness. I do like A-2 or 1080 (or relatives) for seriously beating a blade though. I just realized I have no big blades with AUS-8, so I shouldn't say anything ;)
 
I have a Kershaw Echo and some SOGs with AUS-8 steel, they take a good edge and hold it well for me. I find them much easier to put a good edge on then my Spyderco in VG10. Still can't get a great edge on that thing.

Heber
 
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