best steel for around salt water?

cotdt said:
VG-10 rusts pretty easily in my experience. 10 minutes in a fog chamber was all it took.
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I only have a couple of knives in VG-10 and no rust issues. I am not a fan of the steel. But, then, I regularly carry M2 without rust issues, though I use other metals when I plan on being on the shore or affloat for long periods these days.

The OP stated "just resistant enough till I can clean and oil it".

I was under the impression that VG-10 is close to 440C in rust resistance. If such is the case, it shouldn't be much of a problem keeping the knife rust-free, since many carried 440C knives when I used to spend mega time on the "briny pond" without any particular issue.
 
After reading the whole thread & the OP's subsequent posts, I'm guessing you're looking for a FB.

The easiest to find & least expensive (Not cheap, but not as expensive as some of the others) are BM's in X15TN & Spyderco's in H1. I've never used a knife with X15TN, so I can't honestly comment on it. I have used H1 & think it's great. If on a budget, I think your best best is one of the Spyderco Salt line of FBs.

There are alternatives, such as Telonite, Boye Dendritic Cobalt knives, & Ti. Each has their own strengths, but will be more expensive than one of the BMs or Spydercos.

If you're looking for a folder, I do think the Salts are the best. While I think the Grips are very good knives, there's alot of parts in them that I'm assuming will have SS & therefore not be as rust resistant as the Salt series folders, JMHO.
 
cotdt said:
VG-10 rusts pretty easily in my experience. 10 minutes in a fog chamber was all it took.
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Same here. It seemed like I had to remove rust from my Endura 4 quite often, and it didn't see water except occasionally for cleaning. That's in past-tense because it was annoying enough that I stopped using it. It's my only knife in VG10, so I can't say it isn't an anomaly, but I don't foresee more VG10 knives in my future.

H1's been good to me though. My Pacific and Tasman Salts see regular pocket time.
 
I remember several years ago someone posted about using a Benchmade 705 axis lock as an all-around pocket knife, even having taken it sea-diving on occasion. I believe he mentioned always (disassembling? and) rinsing the entire works off afterwards.

For me, VG-10 is a great steel. I have several VG-10 knives, but so far only one that has ever had spotting on the blade. It's a Delica 4. I rarely use the clip, and carry it down in-pocket. One day was humid and I didn't think to wipe it off when I took it out of my pocket at the end of the day. There were some brown spots on it, probably from sweat condensation, but after a little bit of work with a pencil eraser, they eventually rubbed off. There is still some rust-like discoloring in between the jimping on the back of blade, though.

I would also highly recommend H-1. I own 4 knives with it, and for rust-proof there is no comparison. And in my experience, it does hold a decent edge. The serrated versions seem to hold an edge similar to serrations in VG-10, 154CM, etc. If you'll be cutting lots of abrasive stuff like ropes or netting, I'd definitely choose the H-1 in full-serrated. But I've found that the plain-edge works quite well for ordinary knife chores, and holds an edge well and sharpens up very easily.
Jim
 
how about A2? barkriver started with it, and supposedly the marine recon thought it worked great. I am looking for a fb, and i am not looking for a knife to last a year before cleaning. A week before cleaning would work, and staining and a light spot here and there does not bother me as long as it will not dammage before i can clean it.
 
Josh K said:
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.
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Could you provide a link? My understanding is that it's chemically impossible for H1 to rust.
 
saylorbrand said:
how about A2? barkriver started with it, and supposedly the marine recon thought it worked great. I am looking for a fb, and i am not looking for a knife to last a year before cleaning. A week before cleaning would work, and staining and a light spot here and there does not bother me as long as it will not dammage before i can clean it.
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For a moment I thought this thread was about stainless steel.
 
cotdt said:
It's general knowledge.
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A little research might help you out from making such ignorant statements.

From Spyderco's website on H1 Steel (link: http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=174):

A myth in the knife world is that, out there somewhere exists steel with high-performance cutting abilities that cannot rust. A Japanese steel foundry recently turned this myth into reality with the introduction of a steel they call H1. H1 is a PH steel meaning it is a precipitation-processed alloy, that's rolled hard without heat-treating and has .1% nitrogen which acts like carbon in the steel matrix, but does not react to chlorine making rust. Surprisingly, it holds a sharpened cutting edge comparable to the premium knife steels being used in the industry by most knife manufacturers...
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saylorbrand said:
how about A2? barkriver started with it, and supposedly the marine recon thought it worked great. I am looking for a fb, and i am not looking for a knife to last a year before cleaning. A week before cleaning would work, and staining and a light spot here and there does not bother me as long as it will not dammage before i can clean it.
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A2 was not meant to be corrosion resistant. It is tough and wear resistant, but will rust very easily.
 
cotdt said:
I'm an organic chemist with a chemistry degree and I can tell you that that quote is not relevant. H1 may be resistant to chlorine but not hydrogen ions. In fact it will dissolve quite quickly.
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Being the authority on such a subject, I'll have to take your word for it. This would mean that Spyderco is guilty of false advertising. They specifically say that "H1 will not rust."

Due to this claim and the fact that I've never seen any cases where H1 has shown any signs of rusting, I'd still be interested in the link to the thread where the H1 rusted.
 
Kaizen1 said:
I'd still be interested in the link to the thread where the H1 rusted.
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If you provide me with such a knife I can get it to rust and show some pictures, w/o damaging the knife. Or just leave it in a cup of vineager overnight and see what happens.

Since you ask, here is why anything containing iron (ie. steel) will corrode in acid:

Fe2O3 + Fe + 6 HCl → 3 FeCl2 + 3 H2O
4 FeCl2 + 4 H2O + O2 → 8 HCl+ 2 Fe2O3

Fe2O3 is rust. Having oxygen, water, and acid will guarantee rust, so acid vapor alone will rust the steel. Or dipping it in acid and exposing to air.
 
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cotdt said:
If you provide me with such a knife I can get it to rust and show some pictures, w/o damaging the knife. Or just leave it in a cup of vineager overnight and see what happens.
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I'm in no position to buy a knife to send to someone to destroy. I do think I remember reading a thread where someone tried the vinegar thing and it had no problems with it. Here's a quote from Sal Glesser, I'd like to know what you think of it:

...We use "Q-Fog" which a govt test. Also a salt spray. Boye's Cobalt, Talonite, X15-Tn and H-1 - salt spray had no effect.

As I understand it, Sodium Chloride attacks the carbon in the steel matrix. that's what causes the corrosion. With almost no carbon (replaced by nitrogen in the steel matrix), there is nothing for the NaCl to atack.

sal
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H1 is resistant to NaCl (salt) as advertised. NaCl attacks carbon, whereas acid like HCl attacks iron, which H1 would not survive. Set the H1 blade directly on top of an open vineagar bottle overnight and see what happens. I'm willing to bet good money that it will stain from the acetic acid vapors.

It would not damage your knife if you pull it out as soon as rust develops. You just sand off the rust and good to go.
 
cotdt said:
H1 is resistant to NaCl (salt) as advertised. NaCl attacks carbon, whereas acid like HCl attacks iron, which H1 would not survive. Set the H1 blade directly on top of an open vineagar bottle overnight and see what happens. I'm willing to bet good money that it will stain from the acetic acid vapors.

It would not damage your knife if you pull it out as soon as rust develops. You just sand off the rust and good to go.
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I do believe you but I'd love to see this. Any volunteers?
 
I say go with Spyderco Salt knives, I've got a Spyderco Tasman salt and I love it. I live only 10 min from the Gulf so I'm always out there fishing on boats or on bridges and I always take it out there, And with the salt in the air most knives will start to rust after a day out there or from just cutting a few lines after a big catch. But with the Tasman Salt I have never had that problem. Great knife for the price.
 
I really have to wonder what you folks are doing with your knives to be this worried about rust. :confused:

Bonescraper said:
I say go with Spyderco Salt knives, I've got a Spyderco Tasman salt and I love it. I live only 10 min from the Gulf so I'm always out there fishing on boats or on bridges and I always take it out there, And with the salt in the air most knives will start to rust after a day out there or from just cutting a few lines after a big catch. But with the Tasman Salt I have never had that problem. Great knife for the price.
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I too live less than 10 minutes from the Gulf. Have for about 12 years and I fish there with some frequency. I have never once had an issue with rusting on any of my knives. That's with being out for as much as 10 hours at a time with a 440C blade with a "stainless" handle clipped to my pocket; shore-fishing, boating, wadefishing to chest level. Once I had access to fresh water, sure, I'd give it a quick rinse...

I've only recently begun to carry my first carbon blade to the salt. Last week I went out twice for a few hours with a cord-wrapped Ka-Bar/Becker BK-11 around my neck, untucked. It has never seen oiling and at the end of each fishing session, I simply wiped the exposed edge across my pant-leg. I plan to continue on with this routine for the foreseeable future and don't expect to have any problems with it.

I also EDC a Bark River and a Mini-Grip around town... again, mere miles from the gulf. I don't think I would take the Mini-Grip directly to the salt, though. There are just too many crevice areas to vital parts in that knife and it's such a pain to reassemble after cleaning.
 
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