Convince me that stainless is OK for traditionals.

J

Just Tom.

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Apr 24, 2019
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I somehow grew up with the idea that all stainless steel pocket knives were cheap junk, and I can’t seem to warm up to stainless steel even now. I have some knives I really like, except I still find the stainless blades off-putting. Convince me that I’m being ridiculous, and that stainless steel is just fine for a traditional pocket knife.

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If you've felt that way your whole life, I don't think there's any reason to try to change your mind, except to say you are wrong in generalizing all "stainless steels" as cheap junk. Whether you believe it or not, there are countless numbers of fine knives made with "stainless".
There's no need to convince you. You like what you like. If you want to change your mind, change it.
Perhaps you should define exactly what you mean by "stainless steel" and then we could debate one particular steel vs another.
 
I don't know that I would say that you are being ridiculous but I strongly disagree that stainless steel knives are junk. Case in point, this Kroo has RWL34 steel and works fine for all of my daily needs.

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Another fine knife that has stainless steel is this Albers lamb.

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There are also plenty of knives made by Buck, Case, and Victorninox that have stainless steel blades that people have used for years without complaint. I think so some (not necessarily saying you specifically) fall in love with the idea that a knife has to have patina on it to show that has been used. While that may add to the appeal of a knife, it has nothing to do with the functionality or utility of any knife.

Did I convice you? Probably not, but perhaps provided some thoughts that may help you see things from a different perspective.
 
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Some distaste lingers from very early stainless having poor formulation, and/or heat treat!! It spent years being distrusted!! Fairly modern stainless has corrected this, and has good function. Queen made Stainless knives for many years, that performed very well indeed!!
 
Stain Less steel has been used in/on high end knives since the early 1920's.
Current manufacturers that specify which stainless steel is used give them a good to excellent heat treat, regardless of country of origion.
("Mystery Steel" blades may or may not be heat treated.)

Personally, I prefer carbon steel blades. I like the patina.
That said, the knives I "take with me" when this shell gets planted will probably be stainless.
Reason? If my box is discovered by some distant future archyologist in say 500,000 to a million plus years, they probably won't have corroded to dust, and may well become the only known examples.
 
Camillus owned a sub brand from 1920 to the 40’s called Stainless.
Their own specific tang Stamp, in those days it was the newest hi tech steel out there.

These knives were THE best that Camillus produced at that time - the knives had beautiful craftsmanship , The finest sharpest Swages etc.

You can’t get a better traditional knife than that and would just as good if not better quality than the greater percentage of traditional knives in their era.

So I’m hoping that may change your mind that some cutlery firms ( Sheffield as well ) produced true traditional Stainless Knives.

Shrade as well let’s not forget. The quality of the Stainless - but also the quality of the heat treat as well comes into it.
 
karnaknives said:
you are wrong in generalizing all "stainless steels" as cheap junk
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sbh06 said:
I strongly disagree that stainless steel knives are junk
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I think you misinterpreted my post. I am fully aware of the different varieties of stainless steel and the difference in quality, but I just can‘t overcome the impression I got growing up in the 70s and 80s that stainless knives were always the inferior option. Maybe something explaining the history of its use in traditional knives would help, or pictures of some attractive old stainless knives with some wear on them…
 
Considering the number of Queen Steel knives I own and how long I've been using them, all I can say is "wrong". There was a time when I was young when "Made in Japan" was synonymous to Americans with "cheap junk". But even when they were getting back on their feet after WW2, not everything they made was cheap or junk. The same happened with Korea and Vietnam. It's just our prejudice talking.

Not all of these are stainless, but the vast majority are. A few go back into the 1950s or older from what I've been able to find out.

 
Two of my favorite users are stainless. Both half Congress. One is a Sabre (Japan) and one is queensteel.

Both are razor sharp and hold their edge just as well if not longer. They take a little extra work to sharpen but not much. The Sabre is not a fine knife, but it is solid and the steel is good.

I'd happily buy stainless knives today. I too, grew up with "stainless" or "surgical steel" meaning junk made overseas. It was Chinese steel in the 90s and it was pretty useless. I think my poor view on stainless was a lot of unfortunate pooly heat treated 440 or equivalent.
 
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Just Tom. said:
I think you misinterpreted my post. I am fully aware of the different varieties of stainless steel and the difference in quality, but I just can‘t overcome the impression I got growing up in the 70s and 80s that stainless knives were always the inferior option. Maybe something explaining the history of its use in traditional knives would help, or pictures of some attractive old stainless knives with some wear on them…
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I disagree, we both answered the question that was asked. We can’t help if you didn’t like it or were hoping we could read between the lines. Good luck on your search, maybe someone here is willing to do your homework for you. I’ll see myself out.
 
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All I can really say is that SS is just fine and I don't hate it, but I'll almost always choose carbon steel when I have the option.

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This particular stag covered Buck 305 from 1989 is one of my absolute favorite knives, I'd love it even more if it were carbon steel but being 425 stainless does not bother me one bit.
 
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If you feel that way then it's unlikely to change as it's clearly irrational ;) Prejudice is never easy to master.

Do you find stainless knives don't perform as well as carbon? As others have pointed out, stainless knives have been a very important aspect of Traditional knives for many decades. The idea that "stainless won't cut, won't hold an edge, is junk" is some imbecilic hand me down that's been out of date for a good 60 years.

There are some junk stainless knives and there are some carbon ones too... I hope to avoid both. It's a mater of taste and to some extent what you use the knives for. Patina can be very attractive when maintained but it can also be ugly, blotchy and crude looking, if so, polish and start again. I prefer glaze, matte stainless as scratches look awful on mirror finished blades. You may wonder why most Custom makers use various stainless if it is so useless? They also like to offer carbon alternatives where possible, so yes they are both very Traditional and nicely so.

Man cannot cut by carbon alone...well he can but his ancestors used bronze and further back, flint....:D
 
I prefer carbon non stainless but stainless has it’s merits and the stainless used today is amazing stuff.

90% of the steel I see custom knife makers using is stainless. There is no way they would use inferior or “junk” steel in their knives.

But yeah if I have to choose between stainless or carbon…..I’m going carbon almost every time.
 
Stainless steel on traditionals is fine, as some have pointed out Albers, Queen, Buck, Case, Camillus - you get the point, 'many storied outfits' have used it to satisfactory effect.

That said, I'll purchase stainless steel knives and carry them in corrosive environments (near the ocean, etc) but the ones I have don't really see much use (Albers excluded because I like how they feel in my hand - but would prefer carbon on those if I had the choice) beyond those niche scenarios and I believe it's because when I think about cutting something, I know I have the choice between the action doing nothing for the blade's appearance or adding to its character. I'll choose added character 99 times out of 100.

Also, while some surface treatments look good on stainless (Case's finish on their S35VN blades, for example) that goofy over-polished mirror finish BS is one of the most visually painful things I can think of and want it on none of my knives.
 
Will Power said:
The idea that "stainless won't cut, won't hold an edge, is junk" is some imbecilic hand me down that's been out of date for a good 60 years.
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I think I agree, and I have some perfectly fine knives in stainless, but I just don’t seem able to warm to them. There is no real practical reason to dislike them, I don’t think, outside of aesthetics, and possibly how they feel cutting wood (though that may be all in my imagination too).
 
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