CS San Mai Kukri question!!

R

razorblade

Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
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Ok all you knife veterans out there!! I have been looking around this site for a while now and found tons of useful info on all kinds of blades!! I was wondering, of all those out there that own a San Mai Kukri, has ANYONE really put one of those to the test??? I mean testing to see how well it chops, batons, feathers, etc.?? I have the Carbon V version and love it! I've put it through a lot of abuse and so far it's still on my side when I'm roughing it. I don't have any safe-queen knives, I use them all! I've seen the knife-tests on some fairly expensive blades and wondering, if this is the BAD-BOY of ColdSteel, then where are the real-world-woods tests??!! Is this something I can depend on or is it for show?? Will it break and chip? Will it dull as quick as the Carbon V version when chopping? I prefer to stay with a kukri, but I don't wish to spend that amount of $$$ when it won't stand up to the rigors that is to be expected in the woods. I know HI has some fine and original kukri, tough too. But which one holds the edge better, San Mai or leaf-spring Kukri? I don't car for the scabbards of the original kukri at all and don't like the handles either. CS has that beat in both areas IMHO...Someone out there has had to compare these two blades somewhere!!

Give me some suggestions ya'll!!!

Big THANKS in advance!!
 
CS san mai performance doesn't justify the price.
VG-1 steel is VG-1 steel and sandwiching it between two slabs of soft stainless steel will not make it perform so much better.
 
Gator97 said:
CS san mai performance doesn't justify the price.
VG-1 steel is VG-1 steel and sandwiching it between two slabs of soft stainless steel will not make it perform so much better.
Click to expand...

Sandwiching VG1 between layers of soft steel will make it tougher than straight VG1, of this I have no doubt. How much it will improve the toughness I do not know. It is not meant to improve the edge retention.

But unless you really need stainless I think you would be better served with Carbon steel. It won't hold an edge as well as VG1, but you do not buy a kukri for work requiring great edge retention. So you get more bang for the buck with carbon steel.
 
I have a Carbon V kuk and it does everything its supposed to. I have used it hard and everything is still rock solid and it sharpens up easily enough, despite the S-shaped blade.

I have a San Mai Trailmaster and that holds an awesome edge. I havent used it as hard as the kuk but I have a lot of confidence in it.

I'm not sure the price of the San Mai kuk is justified though. I didn't pay full price for my TM and I feel you need to pick these up on the used market to get the best bang for your buck.
 
Hey THANKS for yall chiming in on this!! Forgive me for my questions on the statements above, not trying to start up a flame, just asking okay!!

"It is not meant to improve the edge retention."
I'm assuming by this it's meant to make it more durable/stronger than carbon-v?? If so, that's a plus for me.....

"It won't hold an edge as well as VG1, but you do not buy a kukri for work requiring great edge retention."
So, it will hold an edge better than the carbon-v! That's another plus for me. I have to disagree with the 2nd part of your statement though. The kukri has 3 different parts of the blade to utilize properly, even in the most extreme abuse part (the curve or belly for chopping) "edge retention" is a priority, also for the other 2 parts of the blade, better edge retention is, well, better, definite plus for the San Mai you are saying then.

I do have a question though, what about VG1 (not San Mai III) just VG1 by itself compare to carbon-v in terms of durability and edge retention?
 
I do not know how laminated VG1 compares to Carbon V for toughness. I don't have a measurement technique for comparing them.

I do have a technique for comparing edge retention of alloys if they are similar in hardness. I measure the hardness of the knives prior to most comparisons.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641279
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=743238

Carbon V is pretty similar to 1095. Good reason for that. It was 1095 with about 0.5% Chromium and 0.2% Vanadium. Wayne Goddard had it analyzed and he published his results in The Joy of Knifemaking.

If all three alloys are hardened to the same hardness as mine were, then 1095 is very similar in edge retention to AUS 8. VG1 has edge retention that is significantly better than AUS8 or 1095. VG1 has similar edge retention to that of VG10 if both are hardened to the same hardness.

I have compared my Carbon V blades to GEC 1095 for edge retention. (Same knife I used in the comparison above.) The 1095 blade had better edge retention, but I do not know whether they were the same hardness.

The only Cabon V blades that I have are in pocket knives. Camillus being an old time knife company, they did what most traditional companies did, they annealed the tangs to give them better endurance at the pivot. To get a hardness reading on steel, you have to have a piece with top and bottom that are parallel. That means you usually have to measure hardness at the tang. I could not get a valid reading there. So I do not know how hard my Carbon V blades are.

So while I am certain that Laminated VG1 will hold an edge better than Carbon V, I do not know how it compares for toughness. Laminated VG1 is tougher than straight VG1.
 
VERY INTERESTING TESTS!!

I'm glad you took the time to do those tests for everyone's benefit including myself!! Thanks for sending me the link too........

So, with the information at hand so far, San Mai III will be better than the carbon-v version. I definitely can attest that the carbon-v can take care of the job so far, but I never push the envelope too far with it. I am on my way to thinking the San Mai Kukri will take the punishment that might be encountered and hold the edge better.

I do appreciate you guys taking the time and explaining things in more detail. Keep up the great suggestions and info!!
 
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