carbon steel not my friend

[maspeth]

Hello all, new to the forum and have a question.
I bought a Case sodbuster jr. (carbon steel blade), carried it around and loved it. I was very good about maintaining it. I used it to (heroically) eat an apple when the weather turned warmer, and I guess the moisture in my pocket and the acid from the apple caused it to rust slightly in a very short time, hours.

Having said that I am now looking to buy an all around camp/survival/messin' around blade. Leave it in the cabin during freeze and thaw cycles for a season and then not have to worry about rust when I take it out. The question is carbon vs. stainless. Most say carbon, but I find stainless to be bombproof.

Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Daniel Moore]

I don't understand why you don't like carbon blades. After cutting something acidic with your knife, naturally it will gain a patina (light discoloration/rust) if it's not wiped/washed and ideally oiled. Carbon blades are more work, and they take some planning ahead, but you can't beat their edge retention/durability if they're well tempered. I carry an 01 fixed blade, and there is discoloration and some light rust spots, but if you keep it clean and don't let it really grow you'll be fine. Patinas also add a cool timeline of sorts onto the blade. Now you'll remember that apple forever

And if worst comes to worst, you can always take some 000 steel wool or buffing compound (car wax, maybe?) and remove anything you don't want.

 

[Psydotek]

Spyderco Salt.

H1 steel is extremely resistant to rust because it uses nitrogen in place of carbon in the steel.

I've been hitting the swimming pool (high chlorine content) 4 days a week for the last three weeks with a Spyderco Salt in my pocket not a single blemish on the blade.

 

[ahgar]

I'm a fat guy and live in arkansas where, in the summer It gets to around 300 degrees with a humidity of about 200%. I have actually put a non rusted old timer in my pocket and by the next day I pulled out a rusted old timer. I've found over the years that a little break free, and a little basic care work wonders. I like carbon steel because i have better luck sharpening them and the edge seems to last longer. this is my experience and my preference. If you like stainless then by all means go with it, find a brand of knife you like or find a specific steel and stick with it. As my great grandmother used to say "whatever blows your skirt up" later ahgar

 

[Dijos]

I'm a fat guy and live in arkansas where, in the summer It gets to around 300 degrees with a humidity of about 200%. I have actually put a non rusted old timer in my pocket and by the next day I pulled out a rusted old timer. I've found over the years that a little break free, and a little basic care work wonders. I like carbon steel because i have better luck sharpening them and the edge seems to last longer. this is my experience and my preference. If you like stainless then by all means go with it, find a brand of knife you like or find a specific steel and stick with it. As my great grandmother used to say "whatever blows your skirt up" later ahgar

We floridians call that "winter"

I love carbon steel, but I cut up an orange to feed to my horse, and washed it off with some fine well water ( a Jonsson mora), and a few hours later, it had really angry looking rust-I mean this stuff was neon orange, so I had to run and nevr-dull it. Even my ridiculously patinad old timer rusts on its own

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Carbon steel is fine good stuff, the discoloration is harmless. I grew up in a kitchen full of carbon steel Old Hickory knives, still here to talk about it.

That being said, Stainless is fine too. Some folks are just BOTHERED by discoloration, or don't wanna take the time to fuss over a blade, which is fine too.

though the carbon vs. stainless debate seems infinite, I quite honestly don't feel it's the most critical part in choosing a knife. maker/manufacturer, blade geometry, temper, etc. I feel plays a much more significant role.

Carbon steel is not a villain steel in the least, but...If you want a stainless blade, I say go for it. I've been very pleased with everything from 12c27 up to S30V. (most everyone loves that S30V stuff)

I would suggest a knife for ya', but I'm not sure what size or style knife you're considering.

 

[Emanuel]

Give me carbon over stainless any day. You can't beat the raw performance of carbon steels.

Ironically, the biggest rust problems I've had so far have been with stainless steels, and D2(which is technically a carbon steel but it's almost stainless)

 

[buckg]

I understand your desire for a stainless EDC. Between contact with salt, acid, and water, pocket knives lead a hard life. If you want trouble free, I recommend a stainless knife that doesn't have liners. Salt, acid, and water love to get trapped between the scales and the liners. Spyderco's Salt line of knives in H-1 are said to not be able to rust. I don't own one, so I can't comment on how good the blades hold an edge. Cold Steel's Voyager knives are cheap, don't have liners, are easy to sharpen and pretty darn close to trouble free. Their AUS-8 blades are pretty immune to elements.

 

[Dog of War]

Except for rust and corrosion resistance, carbon steels have just about every advantage over stainless. Sometimes rust and corrosion resistance is very important ..... and, sometimes, because of other features of knives available, stainless is good enough for what you need the knife for. But usually with a little extra care, just keeping carbon blades clean, dry and lightly oiled or otherwise protected, you won't have a problem.

 

[stevekt]

Having said that I am now looking to buy an all around camp/survival/messin' around blade. Leave it in the cabin during freeze and thaw cycles for a season and then not have to worry about rust when I take it out.
Any thoughts?

Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. The 91mm models are about the same size as Sodbuster Junior but you'll also get a few other tools depending on the model you select.

 

[Thomas Linton]

I love my carbon steel knives, but switch to SS in Summer.

With a SAK you get consistent quality.

For higher quality at prices that are still a value, you might look at Spyderco knives. 'Course, no cork-puller, awl, or cap-lifter, but lots of choices.

 

[Sword and Shield]

It's really weird, but I have only had one knife rust out on me- a Buck 450, in 420HC stainless. I treat that no better nor worse than my 1095 Old Timers or my CV Cases, and it is the one that will speckle red.

 

[redjohn48]

Carbon Steele is where it's at. Just care for the blade as it will for you. You'll love the way she keeps her edge and she'll keep it too.

 

[puukkoman]

Carbon steel all the way, for me.
The discoloration, as mentioned above... and above that... and.... is good. It protects the blade from more severe, uneven oxidization (rust).
Carry a hanky or a bandanna to wipe your blade, if you're that worried about it. Personally, I just moisten the blade to loosen whatever junk is on there, and wipe it completely dry. Whenyou get home, wipe it down with some oil. I actually use olive oil on some of my slipjoints, since it's totally food-friendly (and works just as well for this purpose as any toxic synthetic).

 

[Hair]

After cutting an apple, just wipe your blade down. It is probably a good idea to do this with most good stainless steels too (but many obviously do not need it).

I have many stainless, carbon, and tool steel knives, and the only one that ever rusted was actially stainless*

*It was a fluke though. I let some co-workers handle it as it was my new knife at the time, and I think someone had something extremely corrosive on their hands (we work in a warehouse full of machines, oils, and chemicals). I wiped the knife down with my shirt, but within an hour it has rust spots.

Don't be turned off to carbon blades just because of some rust after cutting an apple and failing to wipe the blade down. If you do not want to do this in the future, then yes, stainless would be better for you, but I doubt that wiping the blade off with your shirt is too much trouble. Rust is also removable and generally not exactly harmful if caught before decades pass.

 

[Gringogunsmith]

A little story..
A friend of mine bought a stainless Ruger Blackhawk when they first came out in ?? '78 or so..
He didn't like the shine on it so he fired up a fine wire wheel on his buffer and slicked that badboy out !
Well. He washed it with soap and water, blew it dry, and put some molylube on the internals and shoved her in the holster.
About 4 months later he takes it out and it looked like a black powder gun that had been under the sea !

What had happened was that the steel from the fine wheel had impregnated itself into the SS during the buffing procedure and IT rusted.. Not the stainless itself.
I fired up a hard wheel with white and finished with a loose muslin and purple snot and the problem never returned.
Keep that in mind when you go to remove rust from stainless or even cleaning brass or copper.
They make bronze wool as well as stainless wool for these tasks.

Carbon knife ?
Get some Ospho Blue from Brownells and blue the thing and be done with it..

 

[tristram]

Welcome to BF,
if you stick around and compare knives you'll soon be more certain of your preferences. I think it's quite okay for a newbie to start with an SS for outdoor / pocket folder carry... then you might want to get a Japanese carbon kitchen knife which will be easy to keep clean and oiled after use, and you may soon find that carbon blades have an aesthetic as well as functional appeal lacking in SS.
Have fun,
t.

 

[buckg]

Carbon knife ?
Get some Ospho Blue from Brownells and blue the thing and be done with it..

Three cheers for blued blades. Absolutely beautiful in my opinion and far more resistant to the elements than bare carbon steel. You can also brown your blade, but I don't think browned blades are very good looking.