carbon VS stainless

In my humble opinion, there is no best steel. They all have uses for which they're suited, and other uses for which they're not. What do you want your steel to do?
 
dawsonbob said:
In my humble opinion, there is no best steel. They all have uses for which they're suited, and other uses for which they're not. What do you want your steel to do?
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well i prefer stainless because it will not stain and holds an edge longer
 
I think dawsonbob hit the nail on the head. :thumbup:

And...if you already prefer stainless, then you don't need to be convinced otherwise. (Though your assertion that stainless holds an edge longer really has no foundation. There are a lot of factors that determine how long a knife holds its edge.)
 
stockmanlover said:
well i prefer stainless because it will not stain and holds an edge longer
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Well, there's your answer: Stainless doesn't stain. Whether it holds an edge longer is open to question. Also, many carbon steels take as good of an edge and are easier to sharpen. There are a lot of people who can chime in on this that are far more knowledgeable on this issue than I. One question they're all going to want answered though, is what are you going to use the knife for? If it's salt water fishing, I think they might recommend a different steel than if you were using it for other purposes.
 
Heh, here in the traditional forums that's almost sacrilege, stockmanlover. :D

Like dawsonbob said, neither is empirically better, except for some very limited uses. Stainless is pretty much assumed for a diving knife for instance. Generally I think you'd have a hard time finding many of us who have used both that will agree with the idea that stainless holds a better edge. Some of the fancy new super steels are excellent, don't get me wrong, but for a balance of sharpenability, and taking that truly scary sharp edge, some of the carbon steels are pretty hard to beat.

Personally I have a couple stainless knives around, in the toolbox, floating around in the truck, etc. For the most part the only real plus I see to the stainless is that well, it is stain resistant. So I can ignore and abuse them without worrying about it. Nothing wrong with the decent stainless, although in a reasonable price range there are alot more crappy stainless blades than carbon.

For most of my edc and specific use knives I prefer carbon. I like the patina that it develops for one, it tells a story. I also find that while you may need to touch it up a bit more than the newest super steels, it holds an outstanding edge and is generally alot easier to resharpen. Now resharpening might be a pain to some folks, and if it was constant due to lousy steel I wouldn't want to deal with it either. But sharpening is a knife fondling retreat for me, and isn't needed too terribly often anyway unless I've been working a given knife really hard. So generally carbon.

YMMV

Syn
 
Like synghyn, I prefer carbon for most of my blades. As far as oxidation is concerned; oil's cheap. Over time a carbon blade will develop the patina that synghyn mentioned: lovely stuff.
 
to tell you the truth i carry both
mostly i carry carbon for fixed blade
and stainless for pocket knives because i don't know what i will be doing and i like how it looks
 
stockmanlover said:
well i prefer stainless because it will not stain and holds an edge longer
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That's a very broad generalization. There are different grades of stainless just as there are different grades of carbon steel. Therefore you can't just say X > Y. You have to take into account expected usage, heat treat, blade grind, and a myriad of other factors.
 
dawsonbob said:
In my humble opinion, there is no best steel. They all have uses for which they're suited, and other uses for which they're not. What do you want your steel to do?
Click to expand...

And there you go!.

My best suggestion is to get one of each!. And then you will have the best of the best for both worlds.
 
I think each person has to deside that for themselves. I care more about the heat treatment and grind then the steel.
 
It's all about personal preference.

For me, carbon steel. But, I grew up in a world where knives were used & maintained daily. In the evenings, we'd sit on the porch & whittle & sharpen them up & oil them if needed. 'Minimal maintenance' (ie: the main reason for stainless steel) was not in our vocabulary.

thx - cpr
 
I've used both. I started out with a preference for stainless because of it's corrosion resistance but have gradually moved to carbon steels that aren't at the higher end of their hardness scale. I have noticed that the softer carbon steel blades that I use take a great edge and will hold that edge for a full day of cutting. At work I cut alot of cardboard and plastic some times the cardboard contains copper or steel staples that my blade comes in contact with, the carbon steel blade edges tend to roll when they hit a staple the stainless edges tend to chip. At the end of the day all I have to do is strop my carbon blade on some leather or cardboard and the edge rolls are realigned. The chipping on my stainless blades require more time and effort to repair. I have also grown to prefer carbon steels that contain vanadium because they seem to take a keener edge than non vanadium carbon steels. As long as I maintain my lower hardness carbon steel blades on a regular basis "edge retention" does not really matter that much because my blade is always job ready when I need it.
 
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synghyn said:
Heh, here in the traditional forums that's almost sacrilege, stockmanlover. :D

Like dawsonbob said, neither is empirically better, except for some very limited uses. Stainless is pretty much assumed for a diving knife for instance. Generally I think you'd have a hard time finding many of us who have used both that will agree with the idea that stainless holds a better edge. Some of the fancy new super steels are excellent, don't get me wrong, but for a balance of sharpenability, and taking that truly scary sharp edge, some of the carbon steels are pretty hard to beat.

Personally I have a couple stainless knives around, in the toolbox, floating around in the truck, etc. For the most part the only real plus I see to the stainless is that well, it is stain resistant. So I can ignore and abuse them without worrying about it. Nothing wrong with the decent stainless, although in a reasonable price range there are alot more crappy stainless blades than carbon.

For most of my edc and specific use knives I prefer carbon. I like the patina that it develops for one, it tells a story. I also find that while you may need to touch it up a bit more than the newest super steels, it holds an outstanding edge and is generally alot easier to resharpen. Now resharpening might be a pain to some folks, and if it was constant due to lousy steel I wouldn't want to deal with it either. But sharpening is a knife fondling retreat for me, and isn't needed too terribly often anyway unless I've been working a given knife really hard. So generally carbon.

YMMV

Syn
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righton.
 
dawsonbob said:
In my humble opinion, there is no best steel. They all have uses for which they're suited, and other uses for which they're not. What do you want your steel to do?
Click to expand...

What he said.

Every alloy has a combination of properties. And no alloy has optimal properties for every use. Define how you expect to use the blade, then you can figure out what combination of properties you need the steel to have. Then you can identify which steel has that combination of properties.
 
knarfeng said:
What he said.

Every alloy has a combination of properties. And no alloy has optimal properties for every use. Define how you expect to use the blade, then you can figure out what combination of properties you need the steel to have. Then you can identify which steel has that combination of properties.
Click to expand...

By the way, knarfeng, I tracked down a Vorpal blade for you. They're only made by Charles Dodgson somewhere in the Tulgey woods. Sorry, I don't have a URL or a price.
 
I think knives are alot like ice cream. Some people will swear that rocky road is the best, while others will go with pistachio. Old folks like myself will go with plain vanila or chocolate. It's all a matter of taste. Being a plain vanila icecream fan, I tend to like good old carbon steel. But I have a couple of stainless steel knives I like as well.

In day to day use, I can't tell the difference. But if I had to take off with just one, I'd go with a simple carbon. I think in the long run, a carbon has more going for it, than against it. My most rugged beaters are carbon, like my 12 inch machete's I have spaced around for emergencys, and my yellow sodbuster and peanut. They cut well, and are easy to touch up in a few moments with a small hone I keep in my wallet. I think carbon just may have an edge under abusive conditions, or maybe I just like a knife that ages along with me.

I'm not too worried about rust or corrosion. My grandad left Ireland just after Michael Collins was killed, and lived on the Chesapeake Bay for the rest of his life as a working waterman. He carried a sailors knife grandmom gave him before they left Ireland, and he carried it till some years after WW2. It had a carbon steel blade, and somehow he kept it from rusting. Just wiped it down at night. Looking back at him, and my dad with a carbon steel pocket knife, I guess I could get by with one if I had it as my only knife. But then, his old Smith and Wesson 1917 revolver is still in good shape too. It gets wiped down now and ten too.
 
I like 'em all!! :thumbup:Seriously though for slippies I've come to prefer carbon steel...guess cause its pretty traditional and the ever evolving patina sorta makes 'em seem alive. For my Skinners I like your high carbon stainless steels thru D2 which is just under the SS standard. For tact style folders I like high carbon SS. For saltwater fishing I love the newish H1 SS knives. They all have their plus' and fans...boils down to whatever "trips your trigger":D
 
For me, I don't make either one leave the dinner table. I just like a good quality (American made if possible) steel that sharpens 'decently' and holds a edge a fair time.

I am equally concerned about the body of the knife and the total "karma" I feel when it is in my hand. I am not vain nor am I ego orriented but I do like to have a knife that when I pull it out in a small group of 'manly men' I am not embarassed by its quality or good looks. Carbon or stainless can fill the bill.
300Bucks
 
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