Boker Tree Brand carbon steel appreciation...

Since I am not willing to destroy the blade to have the chemical composition determined, I am limited to performance of the blades. Therefore, the most I can attest to myself is that, on the knives I own that are purported to be Carbon V or 0170-6C,
-it performs better than Case CV in edge retention.
-it takes on a patina similar to that of CV and different than that which I see on pure 1095 blades.

That indicates, to me,
1) It either has a higher Carbon content or is taken to a higher hardness than CV.
2) It likely has other constituents than those in pure 1095 that affect the corrosion process.

I think that, in the knives I have (at least in the ones I have tested) which purport to be 0170-6C, I got what was advertised to be.

I have read in posts from former Camillus employees that, especially toward the end, Camillus sometimes substituted 0170-6C for carbon steel if they had an order to fill and were out of carbon steel in a specific thickness. I have not read the opposite, that is, I have not read that Carbon steel was substituted for 0170-6C or Carbon V.

But, meanwhile, back at the thread, I like non-stainless blades.

edited to add: I have also read that not all Camillus non-stainless blades were 0170-6C. I know they also used 1095 in most of their non-stainless blades. And that they were marketed as such.

Further add:
Wayne Goddard had a Cold Steel Carbon V blade chemically analyzed and posted the results in The Wonder of Knife Making, which is now available as a Google Book. He found it to be 0.95% Carbon steel with small additions of Vanadium and Chromium. This match the advertised ingredients. So at least some of them are exactly what they were said to be.
 
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kamagong said:
I'm not sure which knife you are asking about so I'll list them from top to bottom.

Boker
Cold Steel
Eye Brand
Imperial
Schatt & Morgan

The yellow knife is a Moore Maker. Hope that helped.
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I REALLY like your S&M :thumbup:
 
I do have a Menefee & a Case/Bose collab in ATS-34, but other than those, everything else are carbon steel. Don't know if I'm correct here, but I consider D2 a carbon steel, too & have a couple in that, too, which I really like (CSC Cannitler & a Queen #9 Stockman).

The knives I had that had Carbon V & 0170-6C have been excellent & I definitely thought them to be better, edge holding wise, than Case's CV. Of course, this is an observation/experience thing, not a scientific exercise.

Either way, I do like slippies with carbon steel & D2.
 
I like carbon steel pocket knives. Most of my favorites are exactly that - 1095 or CV. But I do have, and use, some stainless ones.
 
Stainz said:
Now... who still uses CS in their slippies?
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Me, definitely. I covet U.S. Schrade's old carbon blades, and Case's CV; I've got several knives in 0170-6C, and it's every bit as good as what's it was advertised to be. I've been trying out various brands' carbon steels - I've got a Boker carbon steel Stockman on the way.

I don't care for the appearance of old stainless like I do old carbon steel blades. My stainless (Tru-Sharp) Case knives have taken on a rather nice 'used' look, but it's a whole different character from carbon with a good patina.

thx - cpr

ps - Something I've noticed in all the used traditional knives (flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores) I've bought: the old carbon steel pocket knives have at least one or two blades that are usually VERY sharp. As in, literally almost razor sharp. Most of the stainless-bladed knives I've bought have mediocre edges, at best. I don't know why; I can usually sharpen most of them to almost the same good edge I can get with carbon.
 
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dannyp said:
... there's just something about the look of a patina and the contrast of the sharpened edge.
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:thumbup: I totally agree. I love the look of a well patinaed knife where it's all gray - except for that tiny strip of shiny silver where the well-honed edge is. A couple of days ago I did a little maintenance on my Case cv yella trapper and it's looking great (and, of course, cutting like a damn laser). :)
 
I have a three bladed 140th Anniversary something or another Boker with carbon steel blades that I like very much. Sometimes I slip it in my left pocket. The right pocket always carries a Bose knife.
 
I have a Boker stockman and soddie, love the carbon steel on the stockman I just wish Boker springs had a bit more snap to them.
 
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