Cold Weather Blade

jca21

jca21

Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
3,188
Winter is rolling around so i know i'll be back up on the slopes snowboarding, skiing, snow showing, and hiking. Up till this point i only carried in my multi-tool and a fiskars saw as the main cutlery for my kit during the above activities.

My concern is that i've read on the forums that cold temperatures can make the steel in some knives brittle and prone to failure.

so my suggestion is which blades do you guys suggest for winter use?

the ones i normally carry during spring and summer are:

grohmann R4 survival

ka-bar usmc 7inch

cold steel bushman

i do have other blades but these some how seem to get the most work out.

In terms of folders i am planning to take my spyderco tasman PE in Rescue Yellow. High vis. seemed like a smart ideal.

Any and all experience and suggestions would be great. THanks in advance.


Cheers
 
I live in SO CALI so i might we wrong here. But for the weather to get cold enough for the knife to fail. I would think you would have alot more to worry about.
But hey i do live in sunny CA

Sasha
 
I keep using the #4, its a good size, not too small but big enough for hard use. Its a well built blade.
 
Fonly said:
I keep using the #4, its a good size, not too small but big enough for hard use. Its a well built blade.
Click to expand...

that's what i was thinking too. i have a nice pair of pants for it from normark and figured it'd be the best option to use.
 
Any chance to post pics eh !!!
PICT0902.jpg
 
thats one helluva knife pit. hows she do in the winter?

i'm trying to decide between my ka-bar and the grohmann now.
 
If you're still going to carry the multi and saw, the Grohmann is more than enough backup for them. I could only see a bigger blade if you were going for an extended stay in really rough country living off the land. Or just like to chop things. :)
 
Esav Benyamin said:
If you're still going to carry the multi and saw, the Grohmann is more than enough backup for them. I could only see a bigger blade if you were going for an extended stay in really rough country living off the land. Or just like to chop things. :)
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lol i love chopping things :)

i am at the point of contemplating taking both ;)

only problem would be the additional weight of the ka-bar so i'm leaning towards the grohmann.

still would like more opinions and input.

cheers.
 
Quick! Pitdog- getcher knife outta the snow before she breaks!

:)
 
For SERIOUSLY cold weather:

the most important consideration to make on a cold weather knife is if you can use it with your gloves on.

If you can't use your knife w/ gloves on you've got more potential problems than blade failure, like finger failure.
 
STROBENGH - "For SERIOUSLY cold weather:

the most important consideration to make on a cold weather knife is if you can use it with your gloves on.

If you can't use your knife w/ gloves on you've got more potential problems than blade failure, like finger failure."


You're 100% correct! :thumbup:

L.W.
 
Strobengh said:
For SERIOUSLY cold weather:

the most important consideration to make on a cold weather knife is if you can use it with your gloves on.

If you can't use your knife w/ gloves on you've got more potential problems than blade failure, like finger failure.
Click to expand...

definetly a great point dude.

thanks for the input
 
Why not buy a puukko or a Leuku they have handles
with very little metal.

Heat transfer is increased with pressure. You will be
gripping with pressure and the insulation in your gloves
or mittens will be compressed. Both not good.

Ragnar at ragweed forge has many Scandi knives for
sale. Here are some Finnish knives.

http://www.ragweedforge.com/FinnishKnifeCatalog.html

Navigate to his home page and you will see many choices;
very few have strips of metal (the tang) exposed.

No matter what kind you choose, you can use tape to
enhance the gripping-friction and cover any metal.
I use the old fashioned, cloth, breathing (Not water proof),
white or cream colored, athletic tape. Red magic marker
can add a little color; you might drop the knife in snow.

You could also use the old fashioned black cloth friction
tape, but it has a residue with a petro-chemical smell.

For breakage, I defer to previous posters, but I would still
try to avoid knots and wood that is water-logged frozen.
The latter is just my best guess at what can damage a blade.
 
fnc said:
Why not buy a puukko or a Leuku they have handles
with very little metal.

Heat transfer is increased with pressure. You will be
gripping with pressure and the insulation in your gloves
or mittens will be compressed. Both not good.

Ragnar at ragweed forge has many Scandi knives for
sale. Here are some Finnish knives.

http://www.ragweedforge.com/FinnishKnifeCatalog.html

Navigate to his home page and you will see many choices;
very few have strips of metal (the tang) exposed.

No matter what kind you choose, you can use tape to
enhance the gripping-friction and cover any metal.
I use the old fashioned, cloth, breathing (Not water proof),
white or cream colored, athletic tape. Red magic marker
can add a little color; you might drop the knife in snow.

You could also use the old fashioned black cloth friction
tape, but it has a residue with a petro-chemical smell.

For breakage, I defer to previous posters, but I would still
try to avoid knots and wood that is water-logged frozen.
The latter is just my best guess at what can damage a blade.
Click to expand...

hmm.. ragnar does not ship to canada last time i checked...

also trying to work within the knives i already own..

so your suggestion seems to make the ka-bar the better choice because of the covered rubber handles.
 
there seems to be some debate about at what temperature
the cold effects the knife steel whats not in doubt and most people dont stop to think about is the things your cutting.items your knife zipped through in the summer time like a ginsu knife are going to be frozen solid by midwinter and will be much harder on your blade even if the knife itself is not effected by the cold IMHO
 
jca21 said:
Winter is rolling around so i know i'll be back up on the slopes snowboarding, skiing, snow showing, and hiking. Up till this point i only carried in my multi-tool and a fiskars saw as the main cutlery for my kit during the above activities.
Click to expand...

Check out the Randall story about how one of his Smithsonian Bowies stood up to the test in Army maneuvers in Greenland, if I recall correctly. I imagine any of his tool steel knives would do the same. You can get the site via Google.
 
jca21 said:
hmm.. ragnar does not ship to canada last time i checked...
Click to expand...

He will ship to Canada. In the past there were serious delays. The situation has improved noticeably. Just so no one gets the wrong idea, here it is in his own words:
Shipping and handling is $5 per order (not per item) anywhere in the US. Standard shipping is by Priority Post, insured if warranted by the value of the order. This doesn't actually cover the cost in most cases, but it's easy to calculate, and is my way of saying "thank you". Shipping is available for most other parts of the world, but costs more. Email for a quote. Note; shipping to Canada can be very slow.
Fall '07 update: It seems to getting better. Postal rates have gone up a bit, but everything has been getting through without problems. It's still a bit slow. In response to the higher rates I've started offering ordinary First Class as an option. There's no insurance and it's at your risk, but seems almost as fast as Priority and is very inexpensive. Perhaps I should phrase that "not much slower than Priority".​
Click to expand...

​
 
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