AUS 8A How does it compare?

without good edge retention
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Sorry Huugh, if I have taken your meaning wrong. I took the term without good edge retention to mean bad edge retention. Which imho AUS8 does not have, having knives from Al-mar, Spyderco, SOG, CS etc. with excellent edge retention.
 
I don't understand why AUS8 should be in a 'cheap' knife. VG-10 costs more, but it is not too hard to machine (everyone says it's easy to sharpen, right?) and the actual difference in material cost is not so great. Definitely not a ~$50 per knife difference. It's just crazy that greater edge retention should equal significantly greater cost.
 
hardheart said:
I don't understand why AUS8 should be in a 'cheap' knife. VG-10 costs more, but it is not too hard to machine (everyone says it's easy to sharpen, right?) and the actual difference in material cost is not so great. Definitely not a ~$50 per knife difference. It's just crazy that greater edge retention should equal significantly greater cost.
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VG-10 costs more, and is more time-consuming and expensive to work, but you're right, the difference shouldn't be anywhere near $50 for a typical 3.5-4" folder. The rest of the extra $$$ is simply what the knife manufacturers can get away with charging because people want the better steel. That's good ol' capitalism .... and at the rate US knife companies seem to be failing, I'd like to see them charging enough to stay in business.
 
I do wonder if the AUS range of steels are a bit of a marketing ploy. If they had the equivilent 440 steel on them would we be so impressed? 440 in England imho has been devalued through lots of cheap Europeon and far east knives stamped with 440. Most of which are crap.
 
Archer26 said:
Sorry Huugh, if I have taken your meaning wrong. I took the term without good edge retention to mean bad edge retention. Which imho AUS8 does not have, having knives from Al-mar, Spyderco, SOG, CS etc. with excellent edge retention.
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So "without good edge retention" means excellent?
 
Dog of War said:
VG-10 costs more, and is more time-consuming and expensive to work, but you're right, the difference shouldn't be anywhere near $50 for a typical 3.5-4" folder. The rest of the extra $$$ is simply what the knife manufacturers can get away with charging because people want the better steel. That's good ol' capitalism .... and at the rate US knife companies seem to be failing, I'd like to see them charging enough to stay in business.
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It is called line merchandising. As an example, a manufacturer might make the same knife in two different sizes. The cost of making the knives is the same. There is a slight difference in material costs but that is pennies. It seems normal to people to pay more for the bigger one so that's what the manufacturer caters to.

The same holds true with materials. How much more does it cost to make a carbon fiber handle instead of a micarta handle? Not much. They are both plastics combined with fabrics. But people view the CF handle as having more value so it gets a higher price.

If two steels that cost the same and provide for the same speed of manufacturer are viewed by consumers differently in terms of quality or useability, the price will reflect that.

Cost of manufacture is a pretty small part of the final price of the knife or any other manufactured consumer product, for that matter. Most of it is in the overhead of the companies that handle the product from manufacturer to consumer. Some of it is in profit. Some of it is the cost of manufacture, but it is a small part of it.
 
I've only got one AUS8 knife...no, I suppose I have two. In any case, edge retention is solid and satisfactory. The Benchmite has rusted a little, surprisingly...but my M16 hath not. My CRKT tends to roll the edge, which can be annoying..but favorable to chipping, perhaps?

It's a fine mid grade steel. I still prefer 440C though.
 
I think the AG Russell Deerhunter/Bird & Trout in AUS8, VG-10, and D2 is a good example of how the market views steels and blade sizes.
 
---Walle ---

I would get it and try it out. For what you need it might be the perfect knife. If you were laying out a ton of bucks I would be more careful but I think it looks like a winner.

I think that the only true way to judge a knife steel is to have properly heat treated identical blades made of different steels hardened to their optimum values for toughness and edge retention, ground to their optimium edge holding ability and geometry, and mounted on the same handle. Then they are used in the same identical manner, like peeling and cutting up a 50# sack of potatoes.

Here is what our BF resident knife expert, ninja, jedi-knight, master wizard, Mr. Joe Talmadge says about knives.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368828
 
I've had an AL Mar Eagle in aus 8 with its flat ground blade and it stays sharp and its easy to touch up if it gets dull. Much better than 440 type steels.
 
Interesting thread. I'm a total NOOB that is looking for my first "serious" knife. (Right now all I have is a BenchmiteII and a Pika. I've thought about getting the Griptilian or going up to the Skirmish. But I admit that the reason I like the Skirmish is because its S30 vs. the 154 CM of the Griptilian - well that and the Skirmish is just plain badass!

The link that DGG just gave is very helpful.
 
From a user's perspective 8a is a great steel.

I have several knives with this steel and have used them for years without complaint. I've used them for game processing after the hunt primarily.

They take a razors edge and holds it it for quite a while. It sharpens easily without a lotta effort.

It's a great novice steel; great to learn to sharpen with, without the dissapointment of not being able to get a reasonable edge with a minimal effort that the premium steels sometimes come with ...

I've used an old CS Voyageur serrated to butcher 2 elk and a muley before needing sharpening.

It won't take hard utility or camp work without a lot of maintenance. Knowing that, one shouldn't have any problems with the steel.

Personaly, I've found it to come extremely close to VG-10 and 440C in edge retention.

Though I prefer premium steels, at the price point you can get it for, how can the average user go wrong? My $.02 :D
 
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