Carbon and stainless on fixed blades(Just my opinion)

[J.Davey]

Okay, a bit of background. I loved stainless knives. I still do. But, as time has gone on in my 20 years of knife buying and using, I believe ANY knife over 5 inches should be made of carbon steel. This is where the catch comes in. 1095 doesn't impress me; it is the 440A of carbon steels (great for general use, but I wouldn't depend my life on it). I would like to see companies like SOG, Spyderco (sorry, but I think if you had used 3V on the Outcast, it would have been superior...and I would've bought one) Cold Steel, Benchmade, AlMar, Buck, Gerber, and last, but not least, Ka-Bar, start using some, or better, carbon steels on their knives over 5 inches. Hell, admit it; the CRK Yarborough in 3V would have been a superior knife! This is not a knock against any company, but there are some good carbon steels out there that would be better better than the stainless you're using (and you can't tell me that 3V costs more than S30V). Yes, people are lazy and don't want to spend the wopping 2 minutes to clean a knife and wipe it down. Too bad. They'll learn. Knife users have become this lazy because we allow them to. Just my opinion. Yeah, I'm in a mood.

 

[Franciscomv]

In some climates and with some jobs, you need stainless knives. I work as a guide, on SAR and relief operations and sometimes we get very wet and there's no time to wipe your knives (or everything is just so damp and wet that it makes no difference if you do).

I worked in some flooded areas in the north of my country, tropical weather and floods will have carbon steel for lunch. Even my stainless knives needed constant oiling and drying.

I don't use anything over 5" anyway, so I guess the kind of blades I use don't really fall into the category you're talking about in your post.

I do agree that knife companies should offer better carbon steels, just because I like to see the best possible blade materials being used even if they aren't suited to my particular needs.

 

[barrabas74]

I partially agree with you in that I would like to see more carbon steel fixed blades especially those over 5. But as was mentioned above sometimes you need a stainless steel blade. I however like carbon steels and dont mind the little extra work of wipping down for a in my opinion better impact resistant steel type.

 

[RedEdge77]

Spyderco (sorry, but I think if you had used 3V on the Outcast

I think you have mistaken the company for Kershaw. They have a large fixed blade in D2.

 

[bill_G]

correct me if i'm wrong.........but ka bar has been using 1095 since WWII.

i have a short ka bar and think if 1095 got the GI's thru WWII Korea and Nam........then its been proven tough enough for me to depend on.

i also have a howling rat in sr101 and a brkt fox river in A2. yeah....i like carbon in FB too!

of course i always carry a back up folder and a vic swisstool spirit.

But,.....YMMV

Bill.

 

[kamagong]

Wow. I like carbon in fixed blades too, but you're being more than a little facetious. Many custom makers favor 1095 for their knives. You'd be hard pressed to find one that uses 440A.