At nearly 69 years old - I've learned you can't beat...

[22-rimfire]

My years at deer camp say otherwise.
Seemed like the older vets I hunted with spent more time touching up their knives, and I wasn’t using anything overly modern.

I think it's just part of the hunting ritual. What else you going to be doing when not hunting or getting ready to hunt? As also noted, just because you are a hunter does not mean you know how to sharpen a knife.

As long as a knife holds an acceptable edge for field dressing a deer (and completing the task), I am comfortable with whatever steel it might be. In camp, if you process an animal, sharpening is no big thing.

 

[elkins45]

Until I discovered titanium I used to have to buy a new watch every 3-4 years because my sweat would corrode the edges of the case and make it like a serrated edge against my skin. A carbon steel blade in my pocket or in my hands suffers a similar fate. For an occasional use knife carbon is fine, but if I'm using or handling it very much I want it to be stainless.

 

[Twindog]

Both my EDC and my chef's knife are Vanax SuperClean. The steel is very fine grained, easy to sharpen and takes a killer edge.

If you have a relatively thin blade and/or a thin edge -- with steel tough enough to prevent damage -- the steel is a breeze to resharpen. It doesn't get dull as fast as the primitive steels. And in the field, a diamond pocket stone will touch it up fast with a micro-bevel.

And Vanax isn't just stain resistant, it's close to stain proof. Rust is not a feature, it's a bug.

There is definitely a place for primitive carbon steels, but you're missing a lot of performance if you turn your nose up at progress.

 

[SALTY]

Unless I'm on some sort of extended mission (hunting, camping or other) I prefer blades that are easier to sharpen. In fact, I'm a 1095 (1095 CroVan) fan.

I also adore 52100. In fact, it is probably my favorite hunting steel.

I have many different types of steel and, yes, many hold an edge better than 1095 Cro Van and 52100 but, truth be told, touching up the edge easily is a benefit to me more than a difficult to sharpen "super steel" that hold an edge longer.

 

[knarfeng]

At nearly 69 years old - I've learned you can't beat..
a good old fashioned carbon steel blade.

Stainless is ok - if you want something that resists moisture.
But, if you want a sharp blade - with minimum effort going into keeping it that way - you just can't beat "rusty steel".

Well unless something changes for me in the next year, next October I'll be saying
"At nearly 69 years old - I've learned you can't beat.. Good stainless."

I started out using a carbon steel blade in the 1950's. Once I switched to stainless, I never looked back.

 

[Buellrider]

Sooner or later, everything old is new again.

As far as tools go, each one has their own place and purpose. For me, I love a good patina on a high carbon steel. It seems to have so much more character and story to tell than stainless steels. With that said, I will carry my LC200 to the beach or lake because that’s it’s purpose.

I made the mistake of carrying my M4 Gayle Bradley 2 to Florida, and didn’t even really go near the beach. But man it looked rough after a few days.

 

[deltablade]

If you ever read the part in Jesse Stuart's Hie to the Hunters about when Peg Sparks sharpens his hunting knife all night to prepare it for its work the next day, you will understand why some men sharpen their knives with enjoyment. I have both carbon and stainless, yet love my carbon blades, and sharpening them, and oiling the blades and handles, wiping them down. This Randall isnt mine, yet exemplifies in my mind beauty in a hunting knife; well used, well cared for, beautiful patina. A faithful companion.

 

[jbmonkey]

I'm not 69 yet, but Ive learned I like and use both carbon steels and stainless steels.

 

[marchone]

I like carbon steel. Yes, some of the newer stainless steel options sharpen just as easily. And maybe the patina appeals to me. But the main difference between my carbon and stainless steel knives to my mind trumps steel recipe and is blade geometry. My carbon slicers are generally made of much thinner stock and slice correspondingly so when a working edge is put on.

Full flat grinds rock.

 

[Ourorboros]

High carbon steels are great, but some of the new powder steels take an edge quite easily (on diamond hones, anyway).

That is a meaningful qualifier. It takes the hardest abrasive to make it easy.

 

[herisson]

Not necessarily. Some stainless steels (from the top of my head : AEB-L, ATS34, Krupp 4116, 420HC, VG10...) are easy to sharpen, offer good edge stability and take a razor edge with minimal skills. Just like good ole' 1075, 1095, Hitachi White (wow !). I love my carbon steel blades and they are probably the sharpest in the drawer (just because it's so satisfying to hone them on the finest of wet stones...) but if I need a job quickly done, I'll grab a stainless blade. Cutting performance is equivalent and you can forget the knife, leaving it lying around dirty, without entering a cleaning, scrubbing, polishing chore afterwards.

 

[whp]

Sooner or later, everything old is new again.

As far as tools go, each one has their own place and purpose. For me, I love a good patina on a high carbon steel. It seems to have so much more character and story to tell than stainless steels. With that said, I will carry my LC200 to the beach or lake because that’s it’s purpose.

I made the mistake of carrying my M4 Gayle Bradley 2 to Florida, and didn’t even really go near the beach. But man it looked rough after a few days.

I really like my GB1 and my Endura zdp 189. But between my sweat and the salt water/air, they require too much maintenance for outdoor work. Much prefer stainless in a work knife. I m lazy.

 

[number9]

Mechanical vs quartz
Analog vs digital
45 vs 9
carbon vs stainless

You don't have to watch TV to see a debate.

 

[strategy9]

I still got a pair of decades ahead of me before I reach 60, but learned to really appreciate stainless steel as a young dock builder in my 20's... working on a barge, constantly cutting wet rope, long days in a salt water environment, and just one complacent day and even lower resistance and lower quality stainlesses would all but begin spotting up before the end of the work day. Carbons would just make those long days longer w/ the extra care and attention they demanded.
I also earned the appreciation of both realistic expectations, good sheaths and pocket clips, (using them), and even appreciating the cheaper stainlesses as well, as things "falling into the drink" was a real daily threat.
I remember when I set down my griptillian, 1st real "expensive" knife I bought myself that year for Christmas solely to use the upcoming spring on the rivers, and I loved that knife. Served me well into the summer months. Then while working one day; head motor running, barge deck vibrating, in the middle of manhandling and trying to set a 40' piling (so letting go was not an option), the colored handle caught my attention out the corner of my eye, vibrating across the deck, and I slow-mo watched it vibrate right off the edge of the barge and into 20' of the fastest current ocean inlet in NJ, as the tide was rushing out...
I also remember how mad my boss was one day when I dropped a sawzall, but I digress...
(Between rust and drops, the avg. lifespan of a tape measure was no more then about 2 weeks, so we would buy the cheap ones by the boxful)

In any case, for toughness and ease of sharpening, I'll agree that you can't really beat a good ol' carbon blade. But for good edge holding and rust resistance, (which can actually be all but a necessity in some cases), you can't beat a good stainless, and some of the stainlesses out there are still respectably tough, and some of the lower end stuff is still relatively easy to sharpen, so I think all steels across the entire spectrum, even the old school ones like 420 and 440 series, to any of the 10 series carbons, all the way to powder and nitrogen steels, etc. All of them have their proper place in daily knife use for modern day life. Depending on needs, wants, functionality, and cost, nearly everyone still shines in one category or another.

 

[Pomsbz]

My SAK steel sharpens up even easier and holds as good an edge as 1095 and is ridiculously stainless. I sold my last carbon steel folder a few months ago. Never again.

 

[Hal]

I sold my last carbon steel folder a few months ago. Never again.

LOL! substitute "bought" for sold & that was me 35 years ago when I bought my last Old Timer - the last carbon steel knife I bought. For me, it was SS or nothing. I've just recently, however (like the last few days), got to thinking about how I miss the rusty stuff. Never say never became an old saying for a reason.

 

[Smiling]

It depends on the task, if you need to use it in the moist or near sea - go stainless...

If you want entire day of cardboard cutting without touch-up - go with something loaded with Vanadium...

Normal use EDC, hunter knife or knife to beat the shit out of? - then yeah, plain carbon is the way to go. Especially if you love patina.

 

[Squid61]

The only vintage carbon steel I have left is my trusty Old Timer 34OT and I can assure you all it takes and holds an edge very well. I used it for whittling little people figures and only had to strop it daily. It isn't just the steel, as we all know the heat treat is critical. I have a couple of Buck China imports in 420J2 that do as well as many pricier SS blades.

 

[gazz98]

I prefer SS over carbon but everyone needs to find what works for them.

I don't worry too much about "ease of sharpening" anymore. I enjoy my time of setting up stones (diamond included) and going thru the ritual of sharpening a knife by hand.

 

[afishhunter]

a good old fashioned carbon steel blade.

Stainless is ok - if you want something that resists moisture.
But, if you want a sharp blade - with minimum effort going into keeping it that way - you just can't beat "rusty steel".

I agree.
However, just so you know, "praising" the simple basic steels like 1095, 440A, and 420HC ... or "lesser" steels, for that matter, or pointing out that they still get the job done, same as they have for over 100 years (over 500 years for the 10xx carbon steels) for 99.999% of those around the world (most using the "lesser" steels) who use a knife daily (most a lot "harder" than anyone here would dream of) isn't going to make you very popular around the forum, or earn you credibility with those who believe you need a "super steel" (preferably the "latest and greatest" since everything that came before it is now "obsolete" and doesn't perform/cut/hold an edge, or whatever, any more) if you use your knife for more than opening envelopes ... some seem to actually believe the simple steels require sharpening after opening one envelope or cutting a single cotton thread...