Custom knife makers steel choice- what drives it??

I used nothing but 1095 for a long time. When I finally got an oven I went to d-2. I like 1095 but it is a pain if you sweat a lot and I can control the heat treat much better using d-2. The blades don't warp as bad and the springs are not as bad to break. For me it is just a matter of what I can make the best knife out of and I can heat treat air hardening steel better than oil hardening steel. That is just me though.
 
JAlexander said:
Most of the time when people buy custom slip joints, they want them to keep looking pretty.
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This is what I suspect, looks are the thing. Of course, there ARE a fair few people who do use their custom knives, and good luck to them, but I feel the majority don't. These knives stay in the safe, safe and un-used or brought out to be photographed in pristine state then sent back to the cocoon. They cost a lot, they are often for 'investment' sold-on or passed down to relatives/friends. Any suspicion of patina/rust/wear aaargh! might compromise this, so, I think that is why stainless is so often the metal of choice on custom knives.
 
I agree that makers use stainless because customers want their knives to retain their original appearance.

However, it could be argued that they might also be using the best materials available. Most quality stainless is rich in carbides, thus more abrasion resistant. For use cutting some materials it would excell. Heat treated 400 series bolsters and liners are less likely to get bent or deformed than NS or brass. Just playing devil's advocate.
Also, fzla226, since we're discussing custom makers in this thread fine blanking doesn't apply. I bet there isn't a single custom maker using a press and blanking dies.
 
stevomiller said:
I agree that makers use stainless because customers want their knives to retain their original appearance.

However, it could be argued that they might also be using the best materials available. Most quality stainless is rich in carbides, thus more abrasion resistant. For use cutting some materials it would excell. Heat treated 400 series bolsters and liners are less likely to get bent or deformed than NS or brass. Just playing devil's advocate.
Also, fzla226, since we're discussing custom makers in this thread fine blanking doesn't apply. I bet there isn't a single custom maker using a press and blanking dies.
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More about production blades. I wouldn't be talking about mass production for customs. Most custom makers just send stuff off to be water jetted anyway. All of that equipment is way too expensive for most low volume makers to use.
 
Most custom makers I know shape each part one at a time. The ones I know that work with stainless use it based on heat treat setup and customer preference, but still shape each part individually.

Chris
 
I just ordered a custom sodbuster from a forum maker, and he has two steels available: CPM154 if you want stainless and O1 for carbon. I actually asked him this exact question, and his answer made perfect sense. He told me that he has the HT on those two steels nailed, and offering more choices would drive up his prices because he would have to test and practice before selling a new steel. The two he offers are great every day steels with good balanced properties, so why increase cost to keep up with the latest and greatest steel? I think very few can tell the difference in daily use between most steels anyways.
 
I like some stainless steel, 154cm, cpm154, ats-34. But I really like carbon steel blades on my custom knives more than anything now! I've had lots with stainless and a few with carbon
steel, A2, 52100, and my newest carbon steel is W2. If the carbon has a good heat treat, thin grinds, there's nothing better..imho. As for looks, I think carbon steel looks great with a natural
patina or etched blades. Here's a few of my custom knives with carbon steel.

Jason

W2..


A2


A2


52100
 
fzla226 said:
More about production blades. I wouldn't be talking about mass production for customs. Most custom makers just send stuff off to be water jetted anyway. All of that equipment is way too expensive for most low volume makers to use.
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Not sure where you got this , but of the respected makers around here, I have not heard of many that do this. I have heard of a few, but most do thier shaping and profiling using their grinders. Steven
 
I use carbon steels for custom pieces when I find them for really, really cheap. Most of them are super easy to work and perform well enough.

Stainless is a far better choice for me and most of my customer base.

Corrosion resistance is huge when you're carrying the knife IWB, neck looped or shoved in a pocket 24/7, even while doing PT and working in bad weather, around the ocean, in the shower trailer-wherever.
 
bakerg2g said:
I like some stainless steel, 154cm, cpm154, ats-34. But I really like carbon steel blades on my custom knives more than anything now! I've had lots with stainless and a few with carbon
steel, A2, 52100, and my newest carbon steel is W2. If the carbon has a good heat treat, thin grinds, there's nothing better..imho. As for looks, I think carbon steel looks great with a natural
patina or etched blades. Here's a few of my custom knives with carbon steel.

Jason

W2..


A2


A2


52100
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Based on these pictures, your taste in knives and mine are just about synonymous.

Those are beauties!
 
Several mentioned that some buyers want a stainless knife so that they can protect their investment or collection. As a maker, I take the opposite approach. I make alot of carbon steel fixed blades, and a few stainless slipjoints. It has always bugged me as a maker that a carbon steel knife will never look as good as it did the day it left my shop. If I'm making a deer skinning knife, I can live with a patina. On the other hand, if I'm going to go to the trouble as a maker to use liners, solder bolsters, work on flush backspring in all three positions, good walk/talk, centered blade tip, and all that, I want it to stay that way. I don't want a rusty or "dirty looking" knife out there that says "Jason Fry" on it and USED TO BE worth several hundred dollars. I want my knives to stay like I made them, so that they don't lose value. If that jives with the interests of the collectors, great, but I make them how I want them. I also will make a knife however the customer requests, so a carbon steel slipjoint isn't out of the question, but I believe the OP question was about those knives we make for general sale, not custom orders.
 
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