Can you believe this guy?!

J

Jake Bauer

Joined
Sep 19, 2007
Messages
4,293
Hey all,

I came across this video when I was searching for videos reviewing the Buck Nighthawk (fantastic knife by the way). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVTFI-nvyzU&feature=related

At one minute, twenty three seconds, this guy quotes "In my opinion, no good knife should ever be made out of stainless." He goes on to say he doesn't like it because "It's hard to sharpen and does not hold an edge very well."

Do you guys buy what this guy is selling? I mean yeah, carbon steel holds a great edge and is not that difficult to re-sharpen. Stainless typically, the harder the steel, the more edge retention you have, but it's harder to sharpen, and vise versa. But to say that no good knife should be made of stainless?! I think he's been spending too much time around the moonshine.
 
Even though more and more really good stainless steels are being used in knives, crappy stainless steels when they first started coming on the market left a bad taste in people's mouths. I think of it like an automatic transmission, a manual can be more efficient and more torque, but the automatics are getting better. (I do like driving with a clutch though)
I partially agree with him, I think that edge holding and easy sharpening are very important in a survival knife. What is the point in spending extra in getting a high quality stainless that may not even do as well?
 
complete ignorant dude.i'm sure he's a nice guy,just ignorant.

i better be careful,he's probably a member on BLADE FORUMS.

i've seen this before and though he doesnt know what the hell he's talking about.

i prefer high carbon myself but that doesnt mean anything.

the reason he has trouble getting stainless sharp and keeping it sharp is because he's probably dealing with junk stainless like 420 or crappy 440 with crap heat treats.

dont want to sound like a knife snob but i wasnt too impressed with his "survival" knife collection.

something about shorts and survival never mixed with me either
 
I don't have that particular Gerber but for a survival knife I might see a bit of an advantage in the CS Recon Scout, Carbon steel and thick stock down to the tip with a bit more 'belly' than the Nighthawk. For balance and swiftness in the hand the Nighthawk walks away with it though. I've never really had to fully sharpen the Nighthawk but the CS Recon Scout has been slightly re-profiled to fit my freehand sharpening angle and even with a cheap 3" stone I can get it back to a very functional edge in no time. The Buck has only been on a couple 2 day hikes with very little in actual survival involved but it did great around camp and I even let one of the younger campers use it to whittle a piece of fallen hickory for her walking staff. I hate to say it but among those 3 choices the CS wins out for me. If I were to choose right now from my collection of blades in that general size I'd jump straight on my Swamp Rat Knife Works RatManDu since it is a relatively new acquisition or the trusted and true Gen 1 Howling Rat, both in SR101 steel. One of those Busse BATAC LEs down there in my 'sig. line' wouldn't be a bad choice either.
 
his blade knowledge might not be up to par, but he apparently got atleast two more deer than i did last season :(
 
i've seen thi clip before

that dude shud be introduced to my stainless F1, which is so sharp his pitch'll go right up to match
hehe
 
blanket statements about the inferior characteristics of stainless steel, i had no problems really with his review seemed to know from experience what worked for him but the stainless declaration was a little much.
The tie down might be an issue on a larger knife not so much so on the gerber or the buck. I need to quit carrying my Cattaraugus 225Q it doesnt have the tie down, or the proper snap :grumpy::D
good clip though
ivan
 
I saw that bit about a year ago, and my instant reaction was the same. It's a blanket statement, at least in part based on his opinion of the sheath, and uninformed readings. The reality is that you can come across excellent knives in stainless, and completely inadequate knives in a tool steel. He seems to really get hung up on the sheath issues, and it appears to be one of the reasons why he likes the Cold Steel, and dislikes the gerber and buck. Buck makes an excellent knife in 420HC, and the 119 has been a go to blade for hunters and woodsman for years. Try not to get too hung up on it.
 
Oh, it's him.....I saw that clip about a year or so ago when the word "bushcraft" was really raving in the WSS forum. First off, his knife choices aren't that great from the get-go. Of course out of those three choices the Cold Steel is going to be the winner.

I also agree with the shorts in the outdoors idea. Who wears shorts when there's snakes, ticks, chiggers, sheeple, and poisonous plants in the great outdoors?

I'm more of a folder person, so my fixed blades don't have to be "carbon steel sharp."
 
Also, technically, It's tool steel, not cabon steel ;) I think the nighthawk or cold steel would be fine in that scenario, and his opinion is based in part on ignorance.
 
I just wonder if people who make the statements about carbon being better than stainless realize there are more than one grade of each.
 
me2 said:
I just wonder if people who make the statements about carbon being better than stainless realize there are more than one grade of each.
Click to expand...

Yeah, exactly.

I work at Lowe's and I can't help but jabber on when a customer in my tool area starts to ask questions about knives :D.

We carry SOG's, Case, and a few cheap chinese knives there. When they ask which knife is descent, I always recommend the case sodbuster jr. I also tell them that if they want the full size sodbuster to go down the street to "mr.smith's" shop since he carries them. After my big 'ole speech about the greatness of Case, they ask, "is it carbon steel?" I say in response, "no, it's true sharp stainless from Case."

As soon as I say stainless they start making their faces and pretty much run out of the store. The ones that stick around but still make the face get my "Excellent Heat Treat" speech and usually are convinced to buy it or another stainless knife.

You just have to have an open mind when it comes to blade steels, especially nowadays with so much technology and steel breakthroughs in the cutlery industry. Just look at the Crucible site, they have dates of every major breakthrough since they started.
 
What crucible site is that? Good recommendation on the Case knives. I would hope my local Lowes store would be as helpful and knowledgeable. The grind and heat treatment really play a big part in the quality of a knife. The Blackhawk would be better if the tang extended all the way through.
 
DrivebyTrucker said:
What crucible site is that? Good recommendation on the Case knives. I would hope my local Lowes store would be as helpful and knowledgeable. The grind and heat treatment really play a big part in the quality of a knife. The Blackhawk would be better if the tang extended all the way through.
Click to expand...

I found the site, here is the link, just scroll down about 2/3 of the way and you'll start to see important dates and breakthroughs:

http://www.crucibleservice.com/literature/keyDevelopments.cfm

Hope this helps, J.
 
Jake Bauer said:
Hey all,

I came across this video when I was searching for videos reviewing the Buck Nighthawk (fantastic knife by the way). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVTFI-nvyzU&feature=related

At one minute, twenty three seconds, this guy quotes "In my opinion, no good knife should ever be made out of stainless." He goes on to say he doesn't like it because "It's hard to sharpen and does not hold an edge very well."
Click to expand...

Maybe with "Budget" survival knives. If you're comparing a Carbon steel like 1095 to the "Surgical Stainless Steel" on say, a Gerber knife, I can sure see how you'd get that impression.

I guess you can't fault the guy for making claims like that if he's never handled anything other than the lowest-end stainless available. Decent Carbon steel would seem like a miracle steel compared to that.

Then again, if he's going to present himself as an authority on survival knives like that.

I wonder why adding comments was disabled.
 
Last edited:
enderwiggin said:
Maybe with "Budget" survival knives. If you're comparing a Carbon steel like 1095 to the "Surgical Stainless Steel" on say, a Gerber knife, I can sure see how you'd get that impression.
Click to expand...

ROFLMFAO.....I second that remark. Gerber's infamous "Surgical Stainless Steel" is known for it's great edge holding capabilities.....NOT :D.
 
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