Cold Steel Marauder VS United Cutlery Gil Hibben Legionnaire

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k69

Joined
Feb 1, 2016
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Hi all,
Kinda new to the whole knife scene, so please go easy if i ask a dumb question.

So im looking for a nice bowie knife, for mainly aesthetic reasons, and its gonna be a one time purchase, not looking to start a collection(yet).
Ive zeroed in on two blades- the cold steel marauder and the gil hibben legionnaire.
Both blades are 9ish inches
only big difference i can see is the steel, and thats where my doubts are, the cold steel is Japanese Aus 8A Stainless; and the gil hibben is 7CR17 stainless steel

which steel is superior in quality?
and has anyone owned both?

anyway i just need a solid reason to buy one over the other, or in the end i'll just go for the one i feel looks better, since my aim is just to have a knife to hold and admire when im bored. maybe show off to my friends.

thanks in advance :)
 
To be honest, if all you really care about is display, then the steel doesn't matter. All you should care about is rust resistance.

When someone comes and asks about a combat design and says "it's just for display" but then worries about steel, it's a red flag to me either they don't know what they want, are lying to themselves, us, or both, or wants it to be functional and pretty but know the price tag is too low for other people to agree, so they're just trying to get us to agree.

Buy what you like if it's for display. Very few people here buy United Cutlery, which should tell you something. Aus8A by cold steel will work just fine, though slightly prone to rust (negative for display) it is a great newbie knife steel for usage- meaning sharpening and cutting.

Choose what you like. Personally, I think the harpoon style bowie of the gil hibben is prettier, but I would choose the marauder over the hibben every. single. time. Because I would never just display a big bowie- I'd have to use it.

Zero
 
Both steels preform roughly the same, in the big picture. If I only had those 2 choices, personally I would go with gil hibben, because I don't like cold steel sheaths. The quality on their sheaths are weird, and I personally prefer leather sheaths.

Some other options you might want to check out are ka bar or a buck 119. My personal favorite is the condor Hudson bay (not exactly for aesthetics, but it looks great when you use it). Honestly theres a ton of great options, and if you really cant decide, get both!
 
hey thanks for the quick reply!
i too like the harpoon style of the united cutlery, and the handle too is solid steel and wood, with the leather sheath. i like that, compared to the cold steels fabric belt loop and safety button.
so youre saying the sold steel is better in terms of performance?
what about the 7CR17 stainless steel in terms of rust?

thanks
 
7cr17 is pretty rust resistant. a lot of those 10$ chef knives are made from that stuff. Plus it is a high polish, which will resist rust a lot better. If you are really worried, get some rust resistant sprays like aegis care, and if you actually see rust spots, get some polishing compound. Better to remove rust right away than let it pit your blade.
 
I don't think I'd buy a Hibben production. Custom, maybe.

I own more than a handful of Cold Steel, and even though I have way more expensive knives that I use and carry, I still enjoy Cold Steel.

I'm a kid at heart, and they make big, fun, dangerous toys!


For users, a lot of their designs are tough to beat.
 
I would echo everyone else's comments, of the two the cold steel will be better if its actually used but the hibben will work perfectly for a wall hanger

If you are getting this just to have a cool looking big knife around then look at the timber rattler western outlaw bowie, its cheap but its actually designed to be abused and it looks pretty good too, it should be much tougher than the options you listed
 
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