Cold Steel outdoorsman ... what kind of steel?

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DaveF

Joined
Jan 22, 2006
Messages
1
Hello,

I just picked up a cold steel outdoorsman.


The ad I bought it from said the steel was AUS-8A ... but the side of the blade says "san mai" as in this picture:

outdoorsman2oj.jpg


Do those names mean the same thing? I thought san mai was a more expensive offering form cold steel. Did they ever make the outdoorsman with that steel?

Thanks!
 
San Mai is laminated steel.
you can see the lamination in the picture
Cold steels laminated steel uses AUS 8 for the core.
So it is still AUS 8.
 
Well, the edge is AUS-8 steel... the outer layers are something softer, probably in the 440J2 class. So it'll cut as well as a solid AUS-8 knife, but the soft outer steel makes it weaker overall. If you're the type who likes to pry with your knife, you could end up with a permanently bent Outdoorsman.
 
Wait; that's nuts, isn't it? Isn't the purpose of laminating usually to wrap the greater resilience of a tough-but-not-so-hard steel around the greater edge-holding ability of a hard-but-perhaps-less-tough steel? Surely the PIA of laminating the blade more than offsets the savings of using cheaper steel for the outer layers--doesn't it?

I'm pretty new to all this knife business, and perfectly willing to be corrected, but lamination-as-money-saving measure seems nuts to me.
 
ChristopherG, welcome to Bladeforums. You are absolutely correct. Cold Steel uses what they call San Mai (Three Layer) laminated steel as a high-end material. The AUS-8A core takes a durable edge, and the (probably 420J2) cladding provides a stainless and tough protective outer coat.

Originally, laminated steels also allowed the smith to use a minimum of expensive high-end steel at the edge, forged to a softer shock-absorbing outer steel.

A knife doesn't need that shock absorbtion the way a sword does, but an Outdoorsman in San Mai instead of the regular AUS-8A sounds like a great deal. DaveF, I think you got lucky and got an older knife that sat on a shelf for a while. :)
 
ChristopherG said:
Wait; that's nuts, isn't it?
Click to expand...
Well, yeah; it's not a cheap process, you hopefully get some benefit out of it, specifically toughness. But in Cold Steel's case, I've read a few reports that the outside is so butter-soft that it lacks resiliency, hence my comment that it might take a set on you.

I've always wondered why Cold Steel considers their San Mai to be "high end", when the "better" steel at the core is mere AUS-8 -- not a bad steel, but certainly not premium knife steel, either. Now, Spyderco's version, with a ZDP-89 core, or Mcusta's with VG-10 core and damasteel outside, is more what I'd considered "high end".
 
Gryffin said:
I've always wondered why Cold Steel considers their San Mai to be "high end", when the "better" steel at the core is mere AUS-8 -- not a bad steel, but certainly not premium knife steel, either. Now, Spyderco's version, with a ZDP-89 core, or Mcusta's with VG-10 core and damasteel outside, is more what I'd considered "high end".
Click to expand...

Because the target market for cold steel really dont know any better.
 
Also because when Cold Steel began using their San Mai, there was no VG-10 or ZDP-189. Why update their sales pitch while it still sells knives? :)
 
So are all the outdoorsman knives this "San Mai" or are most of them solid AUS-8? How about the old school ones (discontinued long ago) with No false edge (bone breaker?) on the spine. That false edge kinda bothers me, but I like the shape/feel of that model and thought it might make a nice addition to my collection (it would be the first/only CS of mine), so I have been keeping my eye out for the origional run with a full? spine. Is it the same (AUS-8)steel? laminated as well? Thanks
 
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