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Carbon or Stainless Steel Mora for Rainy Climates?

D

Dawn Walker

Joined
Dec 11, 2013
Messages
3
I know that this question has been asked a thousand times, and doesn't really have a definitive answer, but I'm looking for advice from some veterans on whether stainless or carbon steel would be better in my particular context.

I know that carbon steel is easier to sharpen and can achieve a sharper edge. However, as I sit here with the rain hammering on the windows for the third day in a row, the rust resistance of a stainless steel blade seems to be a more sensible option. Does anyone here who lives in the UK, or a similarly wet climate have any opinions on the topic?
 
I live in New England, lots of moisture and rain and have no problems with my carbon Mora. It seems that many believe that carbon steel will dissolve if it gets wet. This has not been the case for me. After all what did generations of outdoorsmen do years before stainless?

I dry my knife when I get a chance and apply a little oil or grease and everything is fine.
 
Get both Mora's! I use the stainless for food prep and a carbon for everything else.

The universal knife law dictates: As long as you clean and dry the knife after use they will last a long time.
Carbon steel will need some oil now and then. WD-40 and a simple oil drained (cotton) cloth work fine. Steel-wool takes care of oxidation stains.

Greetings from rainy NL!
 
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pietje said:
Get both Mora's! I use the stainless for food prep and a carbon for everything else.

The universal knife law dictates: As long as you clean and dry the knife after use they will last a long time.
Carbon steel will need some oil now and then. WD-40 and a simple oil drained (cotton) cloth work fine. Steel-wool takes care of oxidation stains.

Greetings from rainy NL!
Click to expand...

Would you say this about a M4 steel? I have a Benchmade 810, and I carry it a lot. I have read that the knife is strong and sharp but will show surface rust. Can I use the same care for this steel as you have for the higher carbon steels?
Thanks, Frank.
 
If you can afford it get both. I have a carbon I use for everything, but I'm going to buy a stainless for fishing and food prep when outdoors.
 
I live in northwest Oregon which sees quite a bit of rain. All of my outdoor knives are carbon. They can rust but to be honest the only time I really care about rust is when I use it on food. Then I just use a native plant(usnea or horsetail) to scrape the rust off. It only takes a few seconds. And generally once you've rubbed the rust off, there's a layer of patina underneath which appears as a dark gray/black spot. Knives don't disintegrate when they get rusty like most seem to think. It takes a long time for that to happen. Oil is a good idea but I don't oil my knives unless they're being put away in a drawer for a while. If you want to use oil I'd suggest using mineral oil instead of the gun and industrial oils that a lot of guys use. It works well and it's non-toxic.
 
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pietje said:
Get both Mora's! I use the stainless for food prep and a carbon for everything else.

The universal knife law dictates: As long as you clean and dry the knife after use they will last a long time.
Carbon steel will need some oil now and then. WD-40 and a simple oil drained (cotton) cloth work fine. Steel-wool takes care of oxidation stains.

Greetings from rainy NL!
Click to expand...

I agree with this as well. I have a Mora Bushcraft in Stainless that I bought over the carbon version basically because its my go to knife for food prep and hunting. Gutting and skinning a deer is another wet environment that you don't want to use a blade that needs to be coated with WD-40 or other non-eatable oil. Sure you can use vegetable oil, but it just seems to be a PITA. 99% of the time if I go hiking and camping the Mora rides in my pack and is only taken out to cut up cheese and summer sausage, or to open a pesky Mountain House bag. Maybe I will use it for light batoning, but not much. I use other knives and hatchets for heavy wood work. In a survival situation sure the Carbon Steel will hold a better edge and will be stronger, but I can still get by with the Stainless verison in an emergency.

If you are more into bushcraft and woodwork in the woods then I would side with the Carbon version.
 
Helderberg said:
Would you say this about a M4 steel? I have a Benchmade 810, and I carry it a lot. I have read that the knife is strong and sharp but will show surface rust. Can I use the same care for this steel as you have for the higher carbon steels?
Thanks, Frank.
Click to expand...

hi Frank! To my understanding M4 tool steel is high carbon, it isn’t stainless. Stainless just means it stains less, it’s not rust-proof ;) So I guess M4 will be fine with a wipe of WD40 and if the blade isn't coated; a occasionally steel-wool quicky.



Quote form http://www.benchmade.com/products/materials.aspx
CPM-M4: Special purpose, high-speed steel with a combination of high Carbon, Moly, Vanadium and Tungsten for excellent wear resistance and toughness; A powder-metal, non stainless steel.
 
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theyoungone said:
I agree with this as well. I have a Mora Bushcraft in Stainless that I bought over the carbon version basically because its my go to knife for food prep and hunting. Gutting and skinning a deer is another wet environment that you don't want to use a blade that needs to be coated with WD-40 or other non-eatable oil. Sure you can use vegetable oil, but it just seems to be a PITA. 99% of the time if I go hiking and camping the Mora rides in my pack and is only taken out to cut up cheese and summer sausage, or to open a pesky Mountain House bag. Maybe I will use it for light batoning, but not much. I use other knives and hatchets for heavy wood work. In a survival situation sure the Carbon Steel will hold a better edge and will be stronger, but I can still get by with the Stainless verison in an emergency.

If you are more into bushcraft and woodwork in the woods then I would side with the Carbon version.
Click to expand...

So in a hypothetical survival situation where you were out in the wilds for a period of weeks or even months where you had only one knife, would you choose a carbon or stainless mora? They both seem to be reliant on secondary items which, if lost, would severely inconvenience you. If you lost your oil or rust preventative of choice, then stopping the carbon from rusting might be difficult. Likewise, if you found yourself without a sharpening stone, then sharpening the stainless blade would be difficult or impossible.
 
I lived in Arkansas for several years carrying a carbon steel Opinel.
If you use the carbon steel Mora regularly I don't expect you'll have much trouble with rust. Wipe it off before putting it away, and wipe some oil on it once and a while. :thumbup:
 
Honestly, in a situation where you didn't have proper oil, there are organics that will sufficiently stave off rust. Wax, hair grease etc.

Or you could just take extra good care of your blades.

Also, rust+food = higher blood iron content :-)
 
I prefer carbon steel for all my knives. Pretty dry where I live (Wyoming), and not that big a deal to wipe a blade down after use.
 
Dawn Walker said:
So in a hypothetical survival situation where you were out in the wilds for a period of weeks or even months where you had only one knife, would you choose a carbon or stainless mora? They both seem to be reliant on secondary items which, if lost, would severely inconvenience you. If you lost your oil or rust preventative of choice, then stopping the carbon from rusting might be difficult. Likewise, if you found yourself without a sharpening stone, then sharpening the stainless blade would be difficult or impossible.
Click to expand...

Even if you were out for a year, your carbon knife will still be fully functional without any oiling. You're overthinking it a bit. As for sharpening the stainless, it's a mora. They do NOT use any fancy stainless that would be hard to sharpen on a river rock. Pick either and get out there and enjoy it. Both will work just fine. :D
 
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If youre concerned about the toxicity of rust-preventing agents, go with Froglube! Expensive, but very much worth it if you want rust prevention thats also non-toxic
 
I use pure bees wax(filtered so contains no honey) on my carbon knives that touch food.
Its hard to get a coat started but then it starts sticking to the blade real easy with each swipe, afterwards you use something like a plastic soda cap and scrape the blade up and down lightly and it pulls off the excess(need to do this or dust and dirt stick to it like crazy).
It doesnt look pretty but its 100% nontoxic and it really stays on though hard use, only real downside I have noticed is it gums up non wearing stones like diamond which I have to put in the fridge and then scrape with a steel scour to clean off.
 
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