CS or SS for a long term bushcraft trip and why?

J

JokersFaceLifter

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I want to gather thoughts and opinions from bushcraft/outdoor veterans on whether you would take a SS knife or a CS knife for a long trip and the reasons for doing so? I'm more or less precarious as to my own opinion, so looking for deeper insight
 
How large of a blade would you elect to take? Any particulars models in mind? Folks often argue that SS blades are too difficult to sharpen in the field, with modern sharpening stones I find that a bit overblown. If you have developed the skill to establish an edge using whatever kit you keep with you then I think whatever steel you choose can be honed without much issue. Toughness is another attribute to consider, for a larger knife that will be pressed into chopping, toughness and edge stability is a far more pertinent matter to consider. If it is going to drive you insane to see any discoloration or surface rust on your blade then perhaps it is best to opt for stainless. If a blade patina and wear reminds you of adventures shared and puts a smile on your face then carbon would be great. I personally like high carbon steel with some stain resistant qualities, 3V is pretty much my favorite steel for any fixed blade application (thus far). I like when a knife develops character, but at the same time I like the peace of mind knowing that my blade wont turn into a rust bucket if I fail to maintain it properly. In my opinion you should take whatever will suit your needs and puts a smile on your face. *Disclaimer* I am by no means an expert or experienced bushcrafter :D
 
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I think rust would be an only only concern, but only if your in a bumid or very damp climate.

I sharpen my knives on a basic old school oil stone, so I'd have no worries about using a carbon steel blade as the small bottle or oil I put on my stone would also be used to keep the blade rust free.
 
If you are afraid of patina, then go for stainless. If you are not, then choose whatever steel suits you best. Just wipe your knife before you sheath it.

I think that lot of people have ridiculous concerns about knives rusting these days. I think most think that rust magically evaporates your blade over night if some staining happens.

Knives that have been forgotten to barn or outside for years have been restored to functional knives.
 
It depends on the environment. I tend to camp in humid environments that can quickly make a non-stainless edge dull with rust. In those environments, I prefer a good stainless blade and a small diamond sharpener, instead of a non-stainless that I have to pack extra supplies for just to keep it rust free.

No the blade won't rot away, but 1095 for instance will speckle and loose its sharp edge pretty quick when it's rainy and foggy.

I personally would rather tend to whatever else I'm doing, than worry about using a care kit to keep my blade rust free in between uses. I also don't like using oily knives to prepare food.
 
If you are comfortable sharpening your chosen stainless steel blade, I would choose the stainless for general outdoor use. If not, I would go carbon steel unless it is a salt water environment. Long term, I would still carry the means to resharpen and wipe my knives down with oil in the field regardless of steel choice. Short term, I wouldn't worry about resharpening if you have some experience with the knife. The little RemOil wipes can be handy to have along and take up little space.

Long term and short term?.... your definition of each might make a difference in the choice. What bushcrafting do you do? My activities would more likely fall under the "woodscraft" banner.
 
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AEB-L seems to be as tough or tougher than most carbon steels, so I would go with a good AEB-L buschcraft knife.
 
Something to consider...What sharpening system do you plan on bringing on your trip? Should you have a Worksharp field system, it can be used on any steel fairly effectively. If you plan on using one stone, a simple carbon may be the way to go. Maintaining your edge is more important to me than corrosion resistance.
 
To be honest, I don't think it really matters qs long as the steel is well suited to the knife design.

I've worked outdoors for extended periods (like a month or two doing archaeological surveys in the jungle), on some trips I carried stainless steel knives, on others carbon.

Carbon steel will rust, but that's mostly an aesthetical issue. The knife won't disintegrate or fall appart. Machetes were our main tool in the rainforest, and those are made out of 1050 or something like that. Most had an almost black patina, I only saw one or two with tangs so corroded that they broke under the handle scales (after years of neglect).

We love fussing about knives because they are a hobby to us, but any good one will do just fine.
 
Stainless. Not giving up toughness or edge retention in Elmax or M390. In reality, no one builds a shelter with a fixed blade.

Multipurpose is a factor. I prefer stainless for food processing.
 
It seems many bushcrafter website and books call-out carbon steel as the end-all be-all because of ease to sharpen and the ability to throw a better spark or to use to create a spark with a rock. Personally, I don't find stainless hard to sharpen at all, unless it's a very high hardness SS but you probably don't want those varieties anyways. CS is just super easy to sharpen, most of the time.

I prefer some of the tried and tested SS. 440C has actually been a surprise for toughness, sharpens well and holds a really nice edge. Sandvik 12c27, 13c26, or 14c28 (and whatever letter goes after the 2nd number) and AEB-l are also nice. I believe AEB-L and 13c26 are supposed to be the same. 12c27 is what's in the stainless mora's and that has been on the soft side but sharpens nearly as well as carbon steel and maintenance is simple, wash it with water and put it away. I can't get that stuff to stain.

I have a camp knife in CPM-M4 that has been pretty sweet. The edge holds forever and I'm comfortable with it for a long weekend trip because I know it will hold it's edge the whole time but I haven't taken it on longer trips because I know it's hard as heck and sharpening could get interesting, filing a 90-degree spine on it was time consuming. I do carry a diamond stick from buck, the flipstick, so I know I can sharpen it, it just takes longer. The flip stick cleans up the AEB-L, CS, and 440C in a hurry.

Otherwise, my chopper/big knife is generally CS but I have a big 440C that I've beat on pretty well and it has surprised me with it's toughness, I won't baton logs with it but I'll use it with smaller pieces for kindling without problem. My newest big knives to get rid of that lack of confidence is a ratweiler and a BK4, which do much better in the wood splitting if I leave the axe home. Most of the wood I work with is dead and dry in my area... and a ton of ash from the ash borer infestation that kills a lot of trees.

I've come to the point a well designed and built knife (HT, grind, geometry) out-weigh materials, but that doesn't stop me from getting the nicer materials when I can. I will say that a good 52100 has been a favorite for hard use, both in hawks/hatchets and in big blades. 5" and under and I prefer SS but won't shy away from CS since there are a lot of nicely designed CS blades out there. D2 and 440C are favorites for value but so far sandvik and AEB-L have been good to me in the woods, though I haven't chipped a knife in quite a while either. I have a BM contego folder in M4 I've been testing out and it's been doing pretty well, very blade heavy for such a small knife so chops better than other small blades (far from ideal and not recommended from folders but the testing is what I care about, bought well-used so no worries on beating on it).

Sorry for the lengthy post, I got carried away.
 
Like others have stated, I think importance needs to be placed on matching the tools so the tasks and the trip. Where are you going? What are you likely to use the knife for? What's the length of the trip? How important is weight?

For my uses, most typical bushcraft tasks are largely working with wood. The type of steel is less important than the system the knife is a part of. I carry carbon steel blades because I only need to carry a simple aluminum oxide stone to sharpen and likely only need to strop the edge for most edge maintenance. The strop and stone also work on my axe.

I could bring a diamond or ceramic stone and use diamond compound but Just as important for me is ease of field repair to an edge. O1 carbon steel is easy to fix. I don't want to spend a lot of time tinkering with my gear but rather, spend time using it.

Probably, stainless or CPM steels would be just fine but I'd need to switch up gear I am already familiar with and don't see any need to do so. If there was a salt water environment to contend with stainless would make more sense. All this said, I had a 3V field knife that really held and edge so I think my next acquisition might be in 3V.
 
CPM 3V is my favorite for the best balance of corrosion resistance, toughness, ease of sharpening, edge holding, etc. Spectrumwear is a great steel with a great balance too, as is Cru-Wear/PD#1.
Elmax is a SS that really surprised me! For the corrosion resistance and edge holding you get, it is amazingly tough and sharpens nearly like a carbon steel. Very awesome steel. I usually use this steel when I'm fishing a lot or near the ocean.
Some other great SS that have good balance. AEB L/13C26, 14C28N, Nitro V, Z-Finit, CPM 154, 154CM, S35VN.
What I usually have on me. I usually like a smaller corrosion resistant knife, like a 4 inch blade Elmax knife, then a 5-7 inch blade 3V knife(or a tough SS depending on the weather/location), and if necessary a larger machete or chopper like blade. Along with a folding saw. If it is a lot of hiking, then just the 4 inch, 6ish inch, and folding saw.
 
JokersFaceLifter said:
I want to gather thoughts and opinions from bushcraft/outdoor veterans on whether you would take a SS knife or a CS knife for a long trip and the reasons for doing so? I'm more or less precarious as to my own opinion, so looking for deeper insight
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Give us some more details. Or is this question hypothetical? If so, it’s too broad.

Truth be told, either is just fine, but in really wet conditions, high quality stainless is slightly less bother. Unless you are doing your bushcraft knee deep in a salt water lagoon, then just choose the knife you like. :)
 
JerryRig said:
How large of a blade would you elect to take? Any particulars models in mind? Folks often argue that SS blades are too difficult to sharpen in the field, with modern sharpening stones I find that a bit overblown. If you have developed the skill to establish an edge using whatever kit you keep with you then I think whatever steel you choose can be honed without much issue. Toughness is another attribute to consider, for a larger knife that will be pressed into chopping, toughness and edge stability is a far more pertinent matter to consider. If it is going to drive you insane to see any discoloration or surface rust on your blade then perhaps it is best to opt for stainless. If a blade patina and wear reminds you of adventures shared and puts a smile on your face then carbon would be great. I personally like high carbon steel with some stain resistant qualities, 3V is pretty much my favorite steel for any fixed blade application (thus far). I like when a knife develops character, but at the same time I like the peace of mind knowing that my blade wont turn into a rust bucket if I fail to maintain it properly. In my opinion you should take whatever will suit your needs and puts a smile on your face. *Disclaimer* I am by no means an expert or experienced bushcrafter :D
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What he said!
 
JerryRig said:
How large of a blade would you elect to take? Any particulars models in mind? Folks often argue that SS blades are too difficult to sharpen in the field, with modern sharpening stones I find that a bit overblown. If you have developed the skill to establish an edge using whatever kit you keep with you then I think whatever steel you choose can be honed without much issue. Toughness is another attribute to consider, for a larger knife that will be pressed into chopping, toughness and edge stability is a far more pertinent matter to consider. If it is going to drive you insane to see any discoloration or surface rust on your blade then perhaps it is best to opt for stainless. If a blade patina and wear reminds you of adventures shared and puts a smile on your face then carbon would be great. I personally like high carbon steel with some stain resistant qualities, 3V is pretty much my favorite steel for any fixed blade application (thus far). I like when a knife develops character, but at the same time I like the peace of mind knowing that my blade wont turn into a rust bucket if I fail to maintain it properly. In my opinion you should take whatever will suit your needs and puts a smile on your face. *Disclaimer* I am by no means an expert or experienced bushcrafter :D
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eek, sorry for the delay, i gave up on "rambo sized" knives which is why, although id like a tops bob, I'm not quite sure id ever need a tank of the knife, also looked at helle, and bark river, which are atm out of my price range, i like the bark river gunny in 3v, also looked at tops puuko, scandi grinds are every where :p
 
Kels73 said:
I prefer carbon steel for its toughness. Just bring a small maintenance kit for cleaning, rust prevention and sharpening and you're good to go.
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i bought 3 morakniv craft line basics in carbon to practice taking care of carbon steel blades, i put mustard patinas on all 3, most of them turned out good, theres some discoloration along one side of them which I'm not a fan of, but thats just the roll of the forced patina dice i guess
 
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