Carbon steel vs Stainless steel

Carbon steel vs Stainless steel?

  • Carbon steel

    Votes: 41 52.6%

  • Stainless steel

    Votes: 37 47.4%
  • Total voters
    78
I love stainless steel in folders. I live in the South, and I sweat a lot.
I really prize stain resistance and edge retention. For EDC S30V by
Spyderco has worked great for me. I love M390, 20CV, and CTS 204P
even more.

I don't have any big fixed blades except for my antique 1945 Tru Temper
mil surplus machete which I use for trimming branches and yard chopping.
I suppose it is 1090. I keep it slathered in motor oil and it is a chopping
BEAST. Folding knives do not need such levels of CHAOS STRENGTH so
all of my folders are stainless. Of course, my axe is not stainless either.
 
superpog said:
stainless! stainless! stainless!


Need more fixed blade stainless options, look at how it is now, top one steel option on fixed blades is a century old carbon steel...
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There are quite a few fixed blades available in stainless steels.

All different sizes and types.
 
420hc,VG 10,cpm 154,s30v, or 20cv 24/7 365. I don't like to deal with rusting and pitting because of the one time I forget to clean and oil my camp knife for instance. 1045, 1060 and 1095, for my swords. I only own one and it sits on the wall and still I have to take care of tarnish every so often.
 
Good points all, I do prefer carbon steel for fixed blades that see tougher use than folding knives that sit in my pocket where I do prefer stainless steel.
H-1 and its ilk are for aquatic - especially because I'm in, on or around salt water so much.
For what it's worth, I have a few folder in D2 and like it.
 
HopalongCassidy said:
Depends.
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This is the correct answer, and it came quickly and concisely.

I live in a rainforest just two miles upstream from the ocean. Today's better stainless steels are awesome for me, especially with their amazing ability to hold an edge. But I also have carbon (non-stainless) that I use as well. There is no one perfect steel for all applications.

In the kitchen, however, I've given up on carbon steels. They have no net advantage for me.
 
Carbon for big choppers / swords / machetes for toughness .

Otherwise , a good balanced stainless is much easier to maintain , especially on a folder .

Small fixed , either is OK .
 
I voted Carbon Steel.
I live in the high desert and don't use knives outside much.
That said I couldn't care less if a steel is "stainless".
I looked at Larrin's link again. To borrow one of the " made up categories " my main interest is “high alloy” steels.
Some times they have a very high percentage of chromium such as ZDP-189.
A high percentage of chromium usually turns a high carbon steel into a stainless steel.
In theory / usually a chromium content above 12% renders a steel "stainless" but in ZDP-189's case even though it has on the order of 20% chromium it can still show a bit of a brownish cast. A stain.

Fact is most all of the blades I care a hoot about stain to a more or lesser degree.
M4, K390, HAP-40, ZDP-189 and now Maxamet.

Life would suck without those alloys . . . I simply could not continue :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :(
. . . perhaps I exaggerate just a little tiny bit. :D

That and my simple plain high carbon high hardness knives :thumbsup:
Put it this way, for my location (not near the ocean; boy is that an understatement), given the choice between M4 and a steel that is just a squeak less edge retentive but is totally stainless I would buy the M4 and wouldn't even glance at the other stuff.
 
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“Carbon steel” is supposed to refer to steels that are alloyed only with carbon, manganese, and silicon. Instead people use it to refer to “non-stainless.” In terms of properties it doesn’t provide much of a distinction. Non-stainless D2 shared much more in common with 154CM than it does carbon steel 1095. Stainless AEB-L would share much more in common with 1095 in terms of fine microstructure, ease in sharpening, etc. Though in that case the stainless AEB-L would be much tougher than the carbon 1095. The carbon steel would still be much easier to forge. The stainless vs carbon categories provide little value other than telling you one will rust faster. Except in the cases where a steel is called stainless but should in fact not be categorized in that way such as XHP and ZDP-189.
 
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Larrin's got it right. I like both high carbon and stainless. Out of what I own, Willim & Henry ZDP189 is the best performer, but it's San Mai with a ZDP core :)
 
Stainless for folders and powder coated carbon for fixed hunting or outdoor knives. That’s my preference anyhow.
 
If I understand correctly, for knife users, the only advantages carbon over stainless nowadays are just cost and differential heat treat.

Differential heat treat just makes a knife bend under certain amount of force or beyond without break. However, I would prefer a stainless knife that won't bend at the same amount of force nor break, but may eventually break at a point that no human can achieve with bare hands which I don't care.

If we leave behind the differential heat treat, I don't think 1095 has any other physical property that can't be replaced by a stainless steel. Per Larrin's data, 1095 is just ok on toughness and several other stainless steel are much tougher that 1095, like sandvik steels, CPM154, LC200N etc. And almost all of them holds an edge at least as good as 1095 and also easy to sharpen.

I think currently lots of fixed blade are made of 1095 is more of the benefit of 1095 on knife maker side, but not much for knife users. Both "easy to sharpen" and "differential heat treat" are not quite convincing for me.
 
Wowbagger said:
given the choice between M4 and a steel that is just a squeak less edge retentive but is totally stainless I would buy the M4 and wouldn't even glance at the other stuff.
Click to expand...

and why?
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I forgot the and why.
  • I prefer the way the alloys I listed sharpen.
  • I prefer the way they """" feel """" when I cut with them. I swear I can feel a difference.
  • It feels to me like the edge bites "easier' in a carving, shaving curls kind of cut.
  • The edge TO ME seems harder right at the edge. The couple of microns behind the edge . . . heck the very edge it's self . . . Less squishy, wiggley, foldy to use esoteric engineering terms. :)
  • I like the way the non stainless steels tarnish. As a kid I grew up with stainless steel everything; the tarnish fascinates me.
I swear that I could tell the difference doing a carving cut in hard rubber between M390 and M4. Seriously.
And I LIKE M390 !
I like M4 more.
 
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