Blade material

[894tom]

Hi, I am new to this forum and have already found a ton of info here. I have a growing collection of Case folders and have one old Camillus that I don't use. When I do cut with my Case knives, I generally cut paper and cardboard. I have found that my Case knives (SS) dont really hold thier edge as long as I would like.

I would like to here from guys who own or have owned all these brands....Case, GEC, Queen, Bulldog, S&M. Please compare which of these knives holds the best edge for you? Please give year and type of metal (if you know it).
Thanks in advance.

Tom

 

[knarfeng]

Howdy,
I own examples of most of those brands.

Queen's D2 likely holds an edge best, but I'm very partial to GEC 440C. GEC does a much better job with their blade geometry than Queen. Because the GEC blades are thinner right above the bevel, they cut better than my Queens.

Of the companies you mention, Case holds an edge least well, by quite a fair amount. Case CV holds an edge only a bit better than Case Tru-Sharp.

Queen D2 and GEC 440C will hold an edge better than any carbon steel used by any of the companies you mention. They will hold an edge far better than anybody's 420HC. I've not tried Queen's Schatt and Morgan File and Wire series ATS-34 (Queen makes Schatt and Morgan). I would expect that to be in the same category as the Queen D2 and GEC440C, with the same comments on blade geometry.

BTW come and visit us in the Traditional Forum.

 

[arty]

Some Queens have thin blades and still have D2 steel. The Teardrop is one of them. The Schatt and Morgan File and Wire series has very good ATS 34 blades. Any of these will do really well for edge holding.
Some Queens may need sharpening when they arrive, so be prepared for this.