AUS8 vs everything.

My old opinel was stolen ( may it cut deeply whoever stole it ) , I bought a RAT 2 and another opinel 10 , the RAT2 rape my hand with prolonged use , and the blade edge kept rolling , the opinel kept its edge , no roll , no dulling by comparison , and my hand didnt get raped , no sore spots

still for an occasional use knife , the aus 8 is not bad . I just dont like having to stop part way thru a job to retouch the edge , my quirk .

corrosion for me isnt a big deal , nor is modern style , ergonomics and performance for what I do is .
 
Myal said:
My old opinel was stolen ( may it cut deeply whoever stole it ) , I bought a RAT 2 and another opinel 10 , the RAT2 rape my hand with prolonged use , and the blade edge kept rolling , the opinel kept its edge , no roll , no dulling by comparison , and my hand didnt get raped , no sore spots

still for an occasional use knife , the aus 8 is not bad . I just dont like having to stop part way thru a job to retouch the edge , my quirk .

corrosion for me isnt a big deal , nor is modern style , ergonomics and performance for what I do is .
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I had the same problem with my rat 1. The edge kept rolling on me. But finally after a few months of use and sharpening the rolling stopped, even under pretty hard use ( plastic straps and other stuff you hate lol)
 
I've had rolling issues on aus8 before as well. But that went away as soon as I sharpened a bit of the edge metal away. It was on a rat1 odly enough. Maybe they have a poor heat treat compared to other companies aus8.
 
More like overheated the edge when they sharpened it at the factory, since its ok now that you have removed some metal
 
My Rat1 is my only AUS8 knife and it is by far the sharpest factory edged blade I have owned.
I really would like to check out another knife with this steel cause mine holds a good edge and is very easy to touch up.

One of my other work knives is a Tenacious and these two steels seem pretty similar to me.
The Rat is just a little easier to maintain IMO, not by much though and they both can get a very sharp edge.
 
PropThePolecat said:
I want an American Lawman, but still haven't taken the plunge because of its AUS8 steel...and that's coming from a guy who was served well by a Tenacious and Gerber Gator. I think it's all in my head :confused:
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Take a look at several of these and you will wonder why you waited.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=American+lawman+test&page=1

If the Tenacious did you well, you will love the CS American Lawman. No comparison. The CS isn't as slab sided and takes up a little less pocket real estate. The CS hold a better edge for me. I like the ergo better with the CS much better than the Tenacious when using the knife for an extended period.

I like to have a good balance of easy maintenance and the ability to have useful edge life in my work knives. AUS8 and 8crMov do both for me. But as mentioned, they aren't all the same end product from the makers. When I got the RAT1 I quit using the Tenacious. I mean that literally. It sits in the drawer. The steels are the same, but the end treatment makes the RAT1 I have that much better.

I have the CS AL, and really like that knife although I don't carry it that much. I found I have an allergic reaction to the black coating as it makes me feel like a mall ninja. I will carry that knife when I get the coating off. The steel works well however, and I can't imagine a stronger locking mechanism on the planet. The new versions have no liner and are a solid construction of thick G10. This makes the handle very, very sturdy, but still light weight.

My latest knife into that steel family is the Kershaw Tremor. Fantastic knife. Too big for most folks to carry, Kershaw discontinued these knives and I was able to pick mine up for about $16 delivered to the door. I used it for a week out on the job site and liked it so much I bought two more! It has the famous Kershaw 8crMov steel, and it is tempered just right. There may be a lot of cursing if I hit a hidden staple when cutting open an appliance box, but the edge isn't ruined. A bit of rolling maybe, but no chips (unlike my higher end steeled knives) and I can fix the edge back to working if I need to with a piece of 600 gr sandpaper.

I think these steels have a great niche for the working man and even though I can get higher end steels, these suit me fine. For me, my S110V knife isn't a good work knife. Chipped it the second day I had it and I was really, really pissed. 154cm is nice for light work, but in practical use I can't tell a HUGE difference between Kershaw's 8crMov and Benchmade's 154cm when using them in the field.

I never did lust after the "Holy Grail Steel" and have always seen knives primarily as working tools. Their job isn't always slicing up nice clean materials, cutting up the UPS box, or cutting fruit. The blades get a bit torqued on occasion, they hit a nail or staple on occasion, they have to cut filthy material from time to time, so their life isn't just a slicing tool. In that practical light, these steels work fine for me.

Robert
 
After owning and using dozens of steels I've grown more and more fond of low carbide steels like 1095. They're easy to reprofile, sharpen, and maintain. They hold a sharp edge for a while and then when a touch up is needed it takes very little time on the ultra fine Sharpmaker rods to get the knife back to hair popping sharp. For my uses it makes more sense to use 8cr, 1095, etc because I don't mind doing little touch ups. Many people mistakenly think that wear resistance is the same thing as edge retention. A knife's ability to take and hold a high level of sharpness isn't the same as its abrasion/wear resistance. People seem to think that more wear resistance = better. You end up spending more time sharpening a highly wear resistant knife than one you can touch up in 30 seconds from time to time, especially if you have to fix any edge damage. High carbide steels like S110V will maintain a low sharpness "working edge" for a very long time, but they won't maintain a high level of sharpness for significantly longer than other steels simply due to the microstructure. In fact many low carbide steels can hold a higher level of sharpness for longer than the high carbide steels. AEB-L is an ideal stainless for low edge angles and a high level of sharpness because of its excellent edge retention. It isn't highly wear resistant.

So in the end wear resistance shouldn't be the ultimate goal IMO. I'd rather have a knife that stays super sharp for long rather than maintain a low level of sharpness "working edge" for a very long time.
 
Fanglekai said:
A knife's ability to take and hold a high level of sharpness isn't the same as its abrasion/wear resistance. People seem to think that more wear resistance = better. You end up spending more time sharpening a highly wear resistant knife than one you can touch up in 30 seconds from time to time, especially if you have to fix any edge damage. High carbide steels like S110V will maintain a low sharpness "working edge" for a very long time, but they won't maintain a high level of sharpness for significantly longer than other steels simply due to the microstructure. In fact many low carbide steels can hold a higher level of sharpness for longer than the high carbide steels.
So in the end wear resistance shouldn't be the ultimate goal IMO. I'd rather have a knife that stays super sharp for long rather than maintain a low level of sharpness "working edge" for a very long time.
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For my larger working knives (as opposed to a traditional folder which is in my pocket as well) I always keep a good edge on them by a few swipes on my 12" diamond chef's rod. When I am making dinner, I pull my knife and give it a couple of passes before I tune up my chef's knife. (BTW, I run my chef's knife over my diamond rod every time before use, which is several times a week!)

When it gets dirty and full of "stuff", I give it a couple of passes.

When I have used it a lot during the day, again, a couple of passes.

Timing it, I can refresh the edge on my work knife in literally seconds. The angles of the edges have been reset using my Lansky, but they are super easy to maintain. I don't need to shave or tree top hair with my knives, so I stop with my work knife at 800gr. My traditionals are different, but they are a different steel, too. They also do slicing jobs only.

I agree with your comment on S110V. That blade is a huge disappointment for me as I thought it would be the end of all my searches for the best blades steel. I paid a good amount of dough for that knife, too. On the other hand, it has saved me a lot of money as after checking its performance first hand, I lost all interest in steels except for assessing their actual utility value.

Robert
 
Kwon Kwang said:
Entirely to blame on the bead blast finish, which is being replaced with stone wash finishes on the Spartan and G-10 Espadas as we speak.
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Actually, when is that going to be done? I've been wanting some Cold Steel folders but the bead blast finish really puts me off. I asked them via email a couple months ago but they haven't sent a reply.
 
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