AUS-8?!?

[Asher Sympson]

I am partially saying that from my own personal experience. Hard use knives can last long enough to hand down. If you only use stones when absolutely needed, and stroke with the edge facing backwards, your knife can last indefinitely. It can vary due to steel, heat treat, blade profile, and type of use. I guess it would depend on the user too. If it's somebody like me, I only want to have to buy something once, get whatever use I need out of it, and pass it down. I get where you're coming from, but butcher knives have thin blade stock, soft steel and frequently chip or roll on bones. They're made to be disposeable.

When I was learning to butcher and process animals I saw knives that were HEAVILY used and sharpened. People who use knives daily as tools and resharpen them accordingly will wear out knives much faster than a lifetime.

I have seen many a case knives with the blades significantly shorter and thinner than new. To the point of worn out.

If you use a knife sparingly and NOT as a full time cutting tool, yes they can last a lifetime but even that depends on the frequency it is sharpened at and how much material is removed every sharpening.

Obviously some one who is conscious of preserving the life of the blade and strops or steels significantly more than sharpens will make a difference in life span of the knife.

 

[kvaughn]

I think a lot of the old timers sharpened their pocket knife whether it needed it or not. I distinctly remember my grandad sitting on the porch almost every evening sharpening his knife even if it was only used a few times that day. He stropped it on the edge of his leather sole boot after. My great grandad did this a lot also.
Something to do with your hands while you're talking I guess.

 

[shinyedges]

I am partially saying that from my own personal experience. Hard use knives can last long enough to hand down. If you only use stones when absolutely needed, and stroke with the edge facing backwards, your knife can last indefinitely. It can vary due to steel, heat treat, blade profile, and type of use. I guess it would depend on the user too. If it's somebody like me, I only want to have to buy something once, get whatever use I need out of it, and pass it down. I get where you're coming from, but butcher knives have thin blade stock, soft steel and frequently chip or roll on bones. They're made to be disposeable.

There are many factors in how many sharpenings a knife will endure before it is used up. A swiss army knife will be used up much faster than busse wtf, obviously.

I think any quality knife intentionally cared for so that it will last, will last. Daily sharpen it with little regard for its potential multi generational future and it will wear out faster.

Axes as used by loggers before chainsaws were disposable tools, like butcher knives, can you make a gransfors bruk axe be passed down to future generations? Yep.

Don't use it and sharpen it to the extent it wears out then.

 

[Asher Sympson]

Yeah, that's a pretty good way to say it. You don't have to baby the blade necessarily, but take good care of it. Another thing I've noticed with people who don't care so much about making it last is that they tend to be very heavy handed with their stones or sharpening rods. You should use light, even strokes and some sort of polishing compound or mineral oil.

 

[coloradowildman]

I thought this was a great comment because SOG supplies the official knife for the Navy Seals

From forum member Pacifica on the Cold Steel Blade Forum-

"As a decade-long employee of SOG knives, back in the day when they were made in Japan and the USA, I have a unique perspective on AUS-8. We worked extensively with the Navy Seals, Devgroup and Rangers on R&D. Contrary to popular belief, the SEAL, SEAL-PUP, Trident and other military issued knives are rarely, if ever, used as weapons. They are tools for cutting, splitting, hacking, etc. They are the ultimate multi-tool. When using these blades as a working tool, you need the best balance of durability, edge retention and ease of sharpening. The last is most important because so many high-speed steels hold an edge well, but really need to be sent back to the factory for a truly sharp edge. AUS-8 has consistently been the steel of choice by all military end users for this balance. Takes a licking, and it is easy to quickly put the edge back on. Do not buy into the "strongest, hardest" discussion. If you are using your knife, AUS-8 is a remarkable steel."

 

[gadgetgeek]

This has wandered a bit, but my POV of the initial post, at least from a historical perspective:
Obviously, a lot of things are subjective, but I feel that near the end SOG was pulling more out of AUS-8 than a lot of companies because they'd put in the time. Kinda like how some other "middle of the road" steels are really pretty good from certain manufacturers. I had one of their cryo tempered blades for a while and as far as performers go, I don't think I found something that was noticeably better until I encountered steels like 3V. I know it's an apples to oranges comparison, but on average I think most people would take something like S30V over AUS-8, but I don't know that I'd notice a difference. I do think that with all the experience SOG has, they were able to pull a lot of performance out of that steel. How much that matters now of course is anyone's guess.