Camp Knife Material

T

Texasbowhunter

Joined
Jan 24, 2019
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I have dabbled in the past on making a few knives and the materials I used was ATS-34
These were fixed blades used for the hunter family of knives
The first one I made was .185 thick which was a bit heavy for the use it was intended for...
The ones I had made after that were .156 thick and felt much better in the hand...

Now I'm considering taking the next step and build a couple camp knives...
I'm torn here as to which material and what thickness I should consider...
I'm kind of leaning towards the 440 family and perhaps something in the .220-.250 thick
The reason being I feel like this camp knife will be better suited for around the camp and needs to be on the heavier side for the occasions it would be used for chopping...I'm not sure if the .185 thickness would be heavy enough...
I would also think that it needs to be friendly to put an edge on out in the field...so hence the leaning of the 440SS family
I'm not sold on the 440 or the heavier thickness of .250 and was hoping for some thought on this matter from you guys that know more about this then I...
Thanks
Paul
 
length I was thinking somewhere around 12-15" blade length...
Perhaps the OVAL would be 18" so after the adjustment of the handle it would be what it would be...
 
Texasbowhunter said:
length I was thinking somewhere around 12-15" blade length...
Perhaps the OVAL would be 18" so after the adjustment of the handle it would be what it would be...
Click to expand...

Do you think, from your experience camping, a .25 inch thick, 18 inch OAL blade would be a useful thing to have while camping?

What camping tasks do you feel it would be appropriate for?
 
Camp Crystal Lake?

That sounds a bit large for just a camp knife. Most knives I take camping have a 5”-7” blade and are 3/16” or less in thickness.

What you’re describing sounds like a woods chopper to feed a fire and build a lean-to.
 
AntDog said:
Camp Crystal Lake?

That sounds a big large for just a camp knife. Most knives I take camping have a 5”-7” blade and are 3/16” or less in thickness.

What you’re describing sounds like a woods chopper to feed a fire and build a lean-to.
Click to expand...

Agreed. At that size and weight I'd rather carry a slicer and an axe. Then I got 2 tools that each work great at what they are designed to do, rather than one tool that isn't great at anything.
 
440A and C are fine steels get a bad rep from the internet folk but if you want to make a blade out of it. It’ll work just fine
 
Thanks guys for your guideness
Most all camp knives I have seen in pics are pretty good sized ones
I'm not sure if I was hunting in the mountains that I would want to load my self with to much stuff
perhaps something with a 10-12" blade and an oval length of 16-18" is kind of what I'm visualizing...
perhaps something that would suffice in a need as a survival tool but still can be all around use...

I'm kind of draw to the S/S family at this time simply due to its ability to hold its own in abnormal conditions whether it be in the coastal areas, mountains or the dry flats
paul
 
fielder said:
Use Aeb-l, tough, stainless and easy to sharpen.
Click to expand...

Seconding this, for exactly the same reasons. Plus, it's relatively inexpensive and easy to work with, compared to steels like 3V.

You may also want to check out Nitro-V. It's a very similar steel chemically to AEB-L, with added nitrogen and vanadium. Better edge-holding and rust resistance, potentially less toughness.
 
At the size you mentioned, I would go 3V. Clearly, you want a chopper and 3V is probably the best stainless steel for a big chopper if you can afford it. Since I seldom use a chopper, I tend to just get big Condors and for me they do just fine.
 
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