I've never heard of Delta 3V, but I'll look it up. I have a Cold Steel SRK in CPM-3V. It's a 6", flat grind blade, with an extremely strong tip. It's not really going to chop, but it does almost everything else. Maybe I'll grease it up, put it in a Ziploc bag, and keep it in my tailgate. I can always buy a cheap stainless steel hand axe to go with it! I don't really like stainless steel hand axes, but some of them perform decently. BTW, I know a place where I can get another SRK CPM-3V for about $90. That's not a bad deal. Those versions have orange handles as well, so I wouldn't have to worry about not being able to find it if I drop it. My current version has a black handle.
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Best full tang stainless bowie <$300?
- Thread starter y53p
- Start date
You can't slather a knife with petroleum jelly if you are in a "survival situation", which means that one of the primary uses for your knife will be food prep. Petroleum jelly and food just don't mix well....
Probably silicon from a tuff cloth. Or I just use wd40 silicon spray for my truck tools.
And hopefully don't use it on food. (Although even that isn't the biggest concern)
Otherwise a 440 or a bohler or other sort of decent stainless won't actually explode in to sharp shards in you eyes when you use it.
People use the muleas here all the time and have no issues. They also don't know about super steels.
I know they have. Stainless steel is a rather modern invention. I definitely trust high carbon blades more than stainless blades, even the super steels. CPM-3V might be the one exception, but it's a lot harder to resharpen than a high carbon blade. My bigger concern was leaving survival tools that rust in my tailgate, for long periods of time. I'm trying to put together a 1 week survival kit. It's a PIA, but I can always set a calendar reminder to go out and grease my carbon steel blades every 4-5 months.
Sure, but you asked for a clip point Bowie knife. Now it seems you prefer a drop point shape?
I'm glad the discussion is turning to stainless steel though because I'm in the tropics and also looking for a quality SS blade. Back to the Nomad, I'm reading N695 is pretty basic.
What steels are equally stainless / rust proof / maintenance free, while offering better edge retention?
I used to put petroleum jelly on the paws of my cat, so hairballs would easily pass through, instead of getting barfed up on the carpet. The veterinarian actually recommended this. For 1 week of survival, a little petroleum jelly isn't going to affect a person's health. I wouldn't recommend eating it like chip dip, but a small amount is meaningless! That said, I have a true stainless steel knife in my tailgate for anything food related.
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I have a Collins machete, maybe 70+ years old. I used it in the field for close to 30 years, it spent a lot of time under the seat of a truck. I never had a thought about oiling the blade, just tossed it back in the truck at the end of the day. It hasn't rusted yet.....
Magnacut I think is the business. But you need to take out a mortgage to buy any of it.
Having just a look at all things magnacut. You could pick up one of these for $180. Which isn't insane.
I did see a custom bowie for 8 grand if your budget has no limits.
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About this.....cover a blade in grease in the field and it won't take long before it starts collecting bits of grit and all sorts of nasty stuff. Not the same as greasing your cat...That grit will also scratch the hell out of the blade when its in the sheath.
I don't recall ever asking for a clip point survival knife. I think you might be thinking of someone else. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Drop point blades, that are curved downward to a slight spear point, and don't taper along the spine, are best survival knives IMO. They can be used for hard wood tasks, but also for self defense. You can definitely use a clip point blade for survival, but it better be a huge Bowie knife, with a saber or flat grind, and a spine that doesn't taper (until it gets close to the tip). I own several clip point knives and Bowies. I don't buy the versions that taper gradually along the spine. IMO, those are purely self defense knives. I do own some knives like that, but they're large folders, that are legal to carry in my state.You're correct about Bohler N695. It's a slight improvement to 440C. But, at one time, 440C was newest and best "super stainless steel" people could buy. A relatively thick knife of Bohler N695, with a pronounced saber grind, is unlikely to chip, roll, or break, unless you're using it in an unintended way. On the other hand, I would not trust a Bohler N695 survival knife, if it had a hollow grind, or a very thin flat grind. That's definitely asking for trouble.
Regarding the tropics and rust, even stainless steels will rust, unless they're the cheapest of the cheap. I was talking on a forum with a guy who had the same Cold Steel AUS-10A folding knife I owned, a Voyager XL. He said his was rusting like crazy. Then he told me he lived near the ocean in Puerto Rico! Most high carbon stainless steels will rust around salt water. Ironically, I recently noticed a tiny rust spot on my Cold Steel Voyager XL. I was surprised, because I live in an HVAC controlled home. However, I realized I had been carrying that blade daily, even in the summer, when I sweat a lot (I live in humid VA). I now oil my high carbon stainless steel folders.
That's good to know. I guess I'll be just fine with my high carbon blades greased, and in my tailgate.
Yeah, I'm not paying over $500 for a knife, no matter how great the super steel is supposed to be. In 5 years, Magnacut will be relatively affordable.
What type of oil/grease/wax would you recommend? BTW, the petroleum jelly is only for longer term storage. I would of course wipe the blade as clean as possible, before using it.
I got to laugh every time somebody says this.....
I carried this Spyderco for more than 16 years on the job. Its a C44 Dyad with ATS-34 blades. For 2 years I ran a brine making operation for snow and ice removal, and most every day ended up covered in salt dust and / or brine. I used the knife quite often to make repairs, and it was always wet with salt brine, which by the way was mixed at a 23% solution, ten times what sea water is..... All I ever did was wash it off. For 10 years after that, I carried the Dyad at a facility that had 300 tons of road salt in the bins, and 2000 gallons of Calcium chloride in a storage tank. You could taste the salt in the air on a daily basis. One of the many things I did was keep the equipment running. That meant calibrating and repairing the salt application equipment mounted on the trucks. Knee deep in road salt, salt dust everywhere, cutting and replacing broken hoses and valves full of CaCl₂, with only a quick rinse at the end of the day.
This is the knife today, not a spot of rust anywhere....
Never really used anything but proper maintenance and never had a problem with rust. I hear Ren wax is pretty good though.
Bowie style is a clip point, the Nomad is also shorter than what you asked for.
Yeah I can't find anything over 5" and under $300. Some interesting 4 inchers though...
I’ve had good luck with Ballistol. I use it on guns also. It’s been around since before WW2 (invented by the Germans) and is 100% food safe and biodegradable. Truthfully, I own a bunch of stainless knives but also some high carbon ones and have never not bought a knife because I was worried about rust. Just carry a small bottle of Ballistol with you and rock on with a good 1095 knife if you like the design. Use the knife, rinse the knife off with water, dry and apply a few drops. If only the other things in my life were such low maintenance
Yeah, I didn't think to rinse mine, and never wiped them off. You can bet your butt, that I do it now. Ironically, I carry a 9_mm pistol with an extra mag daily, in addition to my large folding knives. Whenever I come home with my pistol and mag wet (rain while walking the dog, or sweat), i immediately wipe down my gun slide and extra mag, to ensure they don't rust. My grandfather instilled this practice into me, from the time he taught me how to shoot at age 14. My grandfather was a champion skeet shooter, so he maintained his firearms to the highest standards, especially his semiautomatic shotguns, and his original Colt 1911. It honestly never occured to me, that I had to rinse-off, wipe down, and dry my stainless steel folders. Ever since I saw that tiny rust spot on my Cold Steel Voyager XL, I always dry my folding knives, and leave them on the top of the toaster oven, until I'm sure they're dry (I don't turn on the toaster oven, it's just in a convenient place for doing so..Strangely, I always followed this process for my Zwilling Professional S kitchen knives. I've been doing it for 24 years. Zwilling knives are Zwilling's take & heat treat on German 1.4116 Krupp steel. Those knives have less carbon content than my stainless folders. It just never occured to me , that I had to treat my stainless steel folders in the same way. Now, I oil then at least 2 times a year.I got to laugh every time somebody says this.....
I carried this Spyderco for more than 16 years on the job. Its a C44 Dyad with ATS-34 blades. For 2 years I ran a brine making operation for snow and ice removal, and most every day ended up covered in salt dust and / or brine. I used the knife quite often to make repairs, and it was always wet with salt brine, which by the way was mixed at a 23% solution, ten times what sea water is..... All I ever did was wash it off. For 10 years after that, I carried the Dyad at a facility that had 300 tons of road salt in the bins, and 2000 gallons of Calcium chloride in a storage tank. You could taste the salt in the air on a daily basis. One of the many things I did was keep the equipment running. That meant calibrating and repairing the salt application equipment mounted on the trucks. Knee deep in road salt, salt dust everywhere, cutting and replacing broken hoses and valves full of CaCl₂, with only a quick rinse at the end of the day.
This is the knife today, not a spot of rust anywhere....
Cobalt
Platinum Member
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- Dec 23, 1998
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El Gigante is an excellent knife, but not really a chopper. But very few clip point bowies are real choppers anyway. Quality is excellent, steel is excellent and at $200 on sale it is a good buy for sure.
Your stainless steel req is a personal choice not a necessary one. If you maintain your guns you can do the same with a knife. I have owned tons of plain carbon steel knives and I've been in very nasty environments and I've only had a few steels rust on me easily. Most steels do just fine with simple maintenance. Here is a 24 year old knife that spent it's entire life living on a harsh coastal area doing harsh work. And when I got it, it smelled like manure, but had no rust under the handles. And that is not a stainless steel.
Conversely, I bought a stainless steel folder in the mid 90's, figuring I didn't have to clean it often in Hawaii. Well, that thing rusted so bad, I had to work on it for days to get it back to normal.
Thanks for the advice. I'm admittedly a little lax of cleaning my firearms, but I do eventually do it. I just don't do it after every range trip, like I did when I was younger. The guy I spoke with, had the same experience as you with a stainless steel knife. He didn't think he would have to oil AUS-8 or AUS-10 steel, and his knife rusted badly on him, because he lived near the ocean. My AUS-10A knife has a tiny rust spot on it, because I thought the same thing. I forgot I was sweating on it daily. And the rust spot did occur directly where the knife was close to my waistband, where we tend to sweat the most. I'm going to buy one of those rust eraser things. The rust is in a difficult spot to remove. I don't want to mess up the stonewashed finish, by spraying it with harsh chemicals.El Gigante is an excellent knife, but not really a chopper. But very few clip point bowies are real choppers anyway. Quality is excellent, steel is excellent and at $200 on sale it is a good buy for sure.
Your stainless steel req is a personal choice not a necessary one. If you maintain your guns you can do the same with a knife. I have owned tons of plain carbon steel knives and I've been in very nasty environments and I've only had a few steels rust on me easily. Most steels do just fine with simple maintenance. Here is a 24 year old knife that spent it's entire life living on a harsh coastal area doing harsh work. And when I got it, it smelled like manure, but had no rust under the handles. And that is not a stainless steel.
Conversely, I bought a stainless steel folder in the mid 90's, figuring I didn't have to clean it often in Hawaii. Well, that thing rusted so bad, I had to work on it for days to get it back to normal.
I'd like to know how you maintained that non-stainless steel blade for 24 years, despite living near the ocean.