best all weather steel

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misterjuiceman

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Sep 19, 2009
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some of the threads on the brittleness of 1095 in extreme cold, and on H1 steel got me thinking. which steel would you guys say can stand up the best to any weather environment---extreme heat and cold, intense humidity.

edit: I realize the answer might not actually even be a steel. "stee"l should be replaced with "blade material"
 
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Any steel will be fine, there isnt going to be an ultimate steel. Vg-10, a-2, 1095 are the three i will recommend. If its hot, cold, really wet, i dont go outside and find something to do with my knife, i stay inside and watch t.v. or this.
 
It's going to be more the heat Treat and tempering process than it is the steel.

Any steel used by a reputable company will hold up just fine.
 
blue i've missed the info on brittleness of 1095 in cold weather. i remember that the 1st marine div. was surrounded by 16 chinese divisions in korean war , did'nt hear any thing about brittle ka-bars. temps were in the minus 40 to minus 30 degrees.incidentally the marines come out of there with all their dead , equipment, lost about 140 men & killed 14000 chinese. was considered one of modern warfares greatest feats. leader was gen. chesty puller.i think i'm close on the stastistacs.thanks for any info on brittleness.
 
I've heard claims about the brittleness of numerous materials before but I think like someone else posted above it has much more to do with PROPER HEAT TREAT than with the material for the most part.

If your looking for something that is dang near impervious to corrosion be it natural or chemical and can withstand heat and cold beyond what the human body can endure that beta ti (a special titanium alloy) is your answer. It is used by Mission Knife and Tool or whatever it is called these days as it now the subsidiary of Mission Aerospace a manufacture of hi tech military and aerospace parts of titanium and titanium alloys.

Yes, I know titanium itself is an alloy, it is just that in the material world when people reference titanium its mainly 6Al4V which is the commercial standard and other materials are known as titanium alloys.
 
My Ka-Bar 1095 had no troubles with bitter winter when I was army. We had knee deep snow and - 27,5 degree's at day and night temps were - 33,4 degree's during January / February. No problems. Like stated earlier, tempering and heat treat are key.

Reputable makers usually make tempering and heat treat right.
 
Fallknivens laminated VG10 are used on knives that are specially designed for arctic conditions and being stainless wont rust as easily as regular carbon steel.

1095 has a proven record all over the world, it has rust issues in humid conditions but a little maintenance work will prevent/solve it.

I dont think you'd go entirely wrong with a steel used by the major manufacturers in their knives. Sure, everybody put out a lemon every now and then, but thats the exception and not the rule.
 
I struggled with that question when I was actively doing whitewater canoeing and ocean kayaking in the far north and down south. Corrosion was, and is, a big problem, especially if you are stuck out on the water for a long time and can't clean or oil the blade.
The best solution for me depends on blade size. Stellite or talonite is great unless you intend to chop because the material is too soft and you can roll and edge too easily. Titanium doesn't hold an edge very well. 440C is a very good steel, much under-rated. For me, Infi works really well. It will corrode but it won't pit as easily as other steels ( like my Carbon V Trailmaster)&can be cleaned quite easily in the field.
I use talonite or stellite for smaller blades ( I have a custom Blackwood for my PFD and Rinaldi for kitchen) and Busse for bigger jobs.
 
PS
I haven't noticed a brittleness problem, but I haven't been out for extended periods in serious winter arctic conditions where the effect might show up.
If memory serves, Cliff Stamp did some tests on this way back. The Inuit ("Eskimos") don't seem to be very particular about their blade steels, and they would know best.
 
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