best steel for around salt water?

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saylorbrand

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Jun 8, 2008
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Thinking about knives today and thought about the wide field of steels that are good for wilderness or freshwater areas. But the field of steels for saltwater seems much more narrow. I know of SOG AUS 8, Mission titanium and a few others, but really would like opinions on a great knife steel for salt water.
 
Look at Spyderco's Salt series. They are made of H1 steel and it has been proven to be rust-proof. They also come without liners which make them very easy to clean.
 
+1 on the Salt Sereis. I have a "Salt 1" model and I have taken it into the ocean for hours at a time (submerged).

It will not rust at all because the H1 blade steel replaces nitrogen for carbon; carbon being the reason for rust.

Interestingly, the #1 on the "H1" logo does rust, but nothing else. It kind of makes the knife look cool having a spot of rust that you know wont develope anywhere else.
 
Benchmade has a new,salt water/rust proof griptilian out now.Have a look at that, it's in orange.
 
If you want a very corrosion resistant steel that can actually hold an edge for a while, look into CPM S110V. It is more corrosion resistant than S90V, 440C, S30V, ATS-34, VG-10, etc.

Of course H1 is even more corrosion resistant but I would not use it in a performance knife.
 
Boye Dendritic Cobalt knives.......won't rust,blade takes a toothy edge perfect for cutting rope & salt water use, that's what they're made for ,the blade wears like 154cm.
 
frontline29 said:
Benchmade has a new,salt water/rust proof griptilian out now.Have a look at that, it's in orange.
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It's not rust or corrosion proof. It's that X15 stuff. Also that's just the blade, what about the screws, clip, axis lock, liners.

The Salt series is where it's at for rust proof knives. :thumbup: I think only one person got theirs to rust, by sticking it in some pure chlorine.

cotdt said:
If you want a very corrosion resistant steel that can actually hold an edge for a while, look into CPM S110V. It is more corrosion resistant than S90V, 440C, S30V, ATS-34, VG-10, etc.

Of course H1 is even more corrosion resistant but I would not use it in a performance knife.
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H1's edge holding is on par with AUS-8/10. Not bad at all.

S90V, 440C, ATS-34, it doesn't matter. Salt water will rust your knife, it's a simple matter of time.
 
Josh K said:
It's not rust or corrosion proof. It's that X15 stuff. Also that's just the blade, what about the screws, clip, axis lock, liners.QUOTE]

X15TN is pretty good stuff. It is very close if not the same in corrosion resistance to H1. I own both Spyderco H1 and Benchmade X15TN. The only difference I can see between the two is that the X15TN seems to hold an edge a little bit longer than the H1.
I agree that it seems the body and axis lock may not fare well in salt water. Has anyone tried it yet?
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SOLEIL said:
Josh K said:
It's not rust or corrosion proof. It's that X15 stuff. Also that's just the blade, what about the screws, clip, axis lock, liners.
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X15TN is pretty good stuff. It is very close if not the same in corrosion resistance to H1. I own both Spyderco H1 and Benchmade X15TN. The only difference I can see between the two is that the X15TN seems to hold an edge a little bit longer than the H1.
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There was a post some time ago where someone used it out on a fishing boat and noticed rust after only a couple of days. I haven't handled it, and judging from what I've read (about the same edge retention) I'm not all that interested.
 
Josh K said:
There was a post some time ago where someone used it out on a fishing boat and noticed rust after only a couple of days. I haven't handled it, and judging from what I've read (about the same edge retention) I'm not all that interested.
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If you haven't handled it and are not interested then why even bring it up :confused:. You propagate a third or fourth hand opinion from a disinterested party :confused:.
 
SOLEIL said:
If you haven't handled it and are not interested then why even bring it up :confused:. You propagate a third or fourth hand opinion from a disinterested party :confused:.
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Replied to the person who brought it up. ;)
 
Why not Talonite? It doesn't seem to rust. Hard to find, though. I have an old Camillus EDC model and Talon model that have never rusted when on the North Shore and exposed to sea water.

Old talonite info: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Meadows/1770/talonite.html

I've also used the Boye Dendritic Cobalt in the same enviroment and it is good.

Spyderco probably has the edge (pun) here, as the SALT series is more readily available.
 
what about VG-10 it seems highly corrosion resistant. Im not looking for rust proof just resistant enough till I can clean and oil it.
 
Well, if that is all you want, VG-10 or any readily available steel will do.

Heck, 440A would be decent choice, since you are searching for rust resistance primarily.

Just pay attention to the finish. Bead blast finishes and such seem to be a siren song for rust.
 
saylorbrand said:
what if I wanted to purchase the steel so I can custom make a knife?
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Stainless steels require sophisticated heat treat protocols---it's not like simple carbon steel where you can just heat it until it's orange and dump it in some water. I suppose you could pay someone to treat it after you grind it, but that may not appeal to you.

If you want to do it yourself then you either need access to a hear treating furnace or you need to use something that doesn't require heat treating, like Talonite. I don't know where you would buy it now that Rob Simonich is gone. It's darned expensive, and because of the large amount of cobalt it is fairly toxic to grind. You would need a good ventilation system and a good respirator.

A Salt is starting to sound better and better. :)
 
see i have a RAT rc4 and that sucker starts to rust when Jaws comes on. So I bet that actual exposier to salt water, it will not only rust but pit. Mission knives sound good but I would like to know what else is out there.
 
Go with the SALT, great blades for you intended application. I noticed where someone said the logo rusts, but that is not true. It is actually the metal left over from the drill bits in making the logo etching. If it does happen to to that take a fine steel wool and rub over the logo to get the debris out of he etching and it will not rust again.
 
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