Are regular custom knives waterproof?

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blandies

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Aug 18, 2011
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As far as a knife being submerged in water for semi-long to long periods of time would it be worth getting a waterproof spyderco salt h-1 blade steel or do regular fixed blade stainless customs work well? My worries would be if I took a custom fixed blade knife in the water with me for a good while and came out that there would be little bits of water stuck in the rivets and other small cracks causing rust later on. I have a nice custom user with g10 handles....was wondering if this would be good to take under water or not.

I understand regular folding knives would be a bad idea underwater but what about the fixed blades with g10 handles? It would be taken into water at least 3 days of the week so I want something that will hold up to it and not rust. Also unsure if g10 gets mushy over time if exposed to a lot of water.
 
I'm pretty sure g10 is water proof. My biggest concern, would be getting water behind the scales and having it start to rust where you don't see it. If you plan to be in the water that often it might be worth getting something from there salt line. They do make some fixed blades with h1 if that's what you prefer. Plus it's a good excuse to get yourself a new toy.
 
I think the terminology is "corrosion resistant", and that is why we have stainless steel knives. If you are really asking if steel is water-proof, the answer is "generally", at least until they rust through!

If you know you will be around or in water with your knives, you should look into stainless steel blades, or titanium blades, but Ti tends to cost more and hold a poor edge.

Also G10 is resin mixed with fiberglass, or plastic + glass. Neither will absorb water.
 
Yes, all knives are waterproof, in that they do not stop working when they are submerged in water. ;)
 
blandies said:
As far as a knife being submerged in water for semi-long to long periods of time would it be worth getting a waterproof spyderco salt h-1 blade steel or do regular fixed blade stainless customs work well? My worries would be if I took a custom fixed blade knife in the water with me for a good while and came out that there would be little bits of water stuck in the rivets and other small cracks causing rust later on. I have a nice custom user with g10 handles....was wondering if this would be good to take under water or not.

I understand regular folding knives would be a bad idea underwater but what about the fixed blades with g10 handles? It would be taken into water at least 3 days of the week so I want something that will hold up to it and not rust. Also unsure if g10 gets mushy over time if exposed to a lot of water.
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G10 is impervious to water.
Most steel is not.
H1 is as close to "impervious to water" as you will find.

Whether you need to get a knife with H1 steel will depend on how often you intend to submerge the knife, and how well you will tend to it after each submersion. This assumes that the length of the submersion is hours, not days or weeks. If you dry it and oil it each time, you may be fine. But, overall, if you think submersing the knife is going to be a frequent occurrence, you would be best served by getting a Spyderco Salt.
 
blandies said:
As far as a knife being submerged in water for semi-long to long periods of time would it be worth getting a waterproof spyderco salt h-1 blade steel or do regular fixed blade stainless customs work well? My worries would be if I took a custom fixed blade knife in the water with me for a good while and came out that there would be little bits of water stuck in the rivets and other small cracks causing rust later on. I have a nice custom user with g10 handles....was wondering if this would be good to take under water or not.

I understand regular folding knives would be a bad idea underwater but what about the fixed blades with g10 handles? It would be taken into water at least 3 days of the week so I want something that will hold up to it and not rust. Also unsure if g10 gets mushy over time if exposed to a lot of water.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure which way you mean waterproof. But if I'm right, your main concern is the scale and pin fit. If it's good, it's good. If it's not, it's not. zapping a little ca and then buffing out will make sure, of course (which I do on kitchen knives, which I don't make out of stianless, but still......)


G10 and micarta will be fine in the water for extended periods. Yes, a fabric based phenloic can absorb some water, but it won't get mushy (and you can just soak the thing in linseed oil overnight and let dry for a week anyhow)
 
If you are doing any prolong water excursion, then getting any one of the knives from the Spyderco Salt line, or from the benchmade H20 line would be a good idea.

It depends on the steel. My BK11 with 1095 steel had surface rust within hours of touching water, but my Zt200 with 154 CM didn't at all even after a few days.

You can do your best to dry a knife after water exposure but there are points such as inside the pivot or in between the handle and liner you can't easily get to and rust will form, so its best to play it safe and get a steel that is highly rust resistant such as H1 (spyderco) or 15X T.N (Benchmade)
 
Other than going with the salt line, you want to make sure that the knife is screw construction, so you can disassemble it and clean it after use. You just said "water" not "saltwater," and in fresh water I'd be comfortable with almost any knife steel as long as it was oiled beforehand, and I knew I'd be able to clean it immediately after it gets out of the water.

If it's at least 440c stainless or better, then you'll be fine in fresh water. For saltwater, I'd recommend H-1, N680, or another steel designed for saltwater corrosion resistance.
 
Why not just get a dive knife they are designed for saltwater immersion. My uncle used to do a lot of diving and had the same knife for decades. Just be sure to rinse and dry it after submerging that seemed to be the key to its longevity .
 
If you intend on having a custom fixed blade accompany you in salt water with any frequency I'd suggest having it made with removable scales and stainless hardware. Salt can accumulate under scales and guards over time and cause corrosion issues, even if rinsed after immersion, if the scales aren't removed to ensure that all spaces and surfaces are cleaned.
 
blandies said:
As far as a knife being submerged in water for semi-long to long periods of time would it be worth getting a waterproof spyderco salt h-1 blade steel or do regular fixed blade stainless customs work well? My worries would be if I took a custom fixed blade knife in the water with me for a good while and came out that there would be little bits of water stuck in the rivets and other small cracks causing rust later on. I have a nice custom user with g10 handles....was wondering if this would be good to take under water or not.

I understand regular folding knives would be a bad idea underwater but what about the fixed blades with g10 handles? It would be taken into water at least 3 days of the week so I want something that will hold up to it and not rust. Also unsure if g10 gets mushy over time if exposed to a lot of water.
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A lot will depend on how the knife is put together and we are talking about customs here so just tell the maker what you want and they can make it for you.
 
You might want to take a look at Dave Boye's Cobalt knives which are designed fro salt water use.

Has both fixed and folders available.

John
 
If this really is an issue you may want to look into a bath of water displacing oil for regular maintenance.
 
Since you're asking about custom knives and Cobalt blades are now being brought up, I say just pick up an H-1 blade and forget the rest. You need industrial strength chemicals to get it to corrode, there is a good variety of models available, and the price is much better than the alternatives with similar performance.
 
One steel that has better performance then H1 is Nitrobe 77. Completely resistant against rust, but a very difficult steel to heat treat, carries a premium price and stock has been sold out. Only one maker has some Des Horn. To my knowledge he has all the stock available in the world and no future plans are in the works for more.
 
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