CV or Stainless

I've never had the opportunity to handle a Case SS knife but I have five Case CV knives.

Edge maintenance is a breeze on CV but surface maintenance takes some work, though not a lot. Keep the blade clean and occasionally rub a drop of oil on the blade surface and wipe with cloth or napkin. That's pretty much it. Even with cleaning and lubing the CV blade will still discolor a bit but it won't really hurt the steel.

Patterns and handle materials are limited with CV blades unlike SS which comes in all sorts of patterns and nice colorful handle materials. I've been meaning to pick up a Case SS knife but haven't decided on a specific knife, too many choices! I may start out with a basic black handled SS Sodbuster Jr.
 
Based on my limited experience(2 CV's and 1 TS)---I'd go with the CV.

I can get the CV OMFG sharp---while the TS only takes a so so edge.
 
Definately CV for me. I have no major issue with stainless. If you carry and use your knives without ever stopping to clean them and don't frequently sharpen then stainless may be better. I like the CV for the ease of sharpening to razor sharpness and the patina it develops looks nice after a while.
 
I prefer CV over SS on a slipjoint. My small Case Texas Jack's blade is aging nicely. Years from now the blade patina will look great with the natural bone handle. My Boker, Schatt and Morgan, Bulldog and Moore Maker knives all have beautiful natural patinas developing on the carbon steel blades. SS will just look shiny and scratched up while the handles mellow with time.
 
I prefer CV as well. Nothing like a knife that develops patina over time. The biggest gripe that I have (and probably most others that like CV) is the lack of available patterns and handle material. Most CV knives come in yellow delrin which I happen to like, but more bone and stag offerings would be great.
 
"Lack of wide choice of handle materials in CV." As much as this is repeated here, I wonder if anyone at Case ever lurks here and is listening to what we are saying?

Shirley?

Are you there?
 
love the case cv but i've also been fairly happy with a ss sodbuster. overall, cv.
 
I would buy many more Case knives if the other patterns and styles were in CV. I buy probably 15+ knives per year and I would prefer many more Case...just in CV.
 
I have about 5 Case knives in CV and about the same number in SS. It seems easier to get a really sharp edge on a CV blade, but SS also takes a decent edge, and I prefer it's anti-rust properties when I'm around salt water, like at the coast.

L.
 
L. Richard said:
.. SS also takes a decent edge, and I prefer it's anti-rust properties when I'm around salt water, like at the coast..
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L. Richard brings up a very important point. When you are directly stationed on the coast or fishing, lobstering, crabbing, ect. it is difficult to keep any carbon steel from oxidizing when in daily use.

A friend of mine lives just north of Nova Scotia and as a full time fisherman and a part time dock worker, the poor lad gave up on carbon knives years ago. He told me at one point a while back that he would oil up his CV and other carbon steel knives, including his sheath knives in the morning and by the afternoon and evening they would be taking on rust. He couldn't stop it by any means. He used mineral oil, tool oil, and others.

He got a Case 6254 tru-sharp regular Trapper in jigged Red derlin from me several years ago(the work mans series) and he wrote me about a month or so later about how much he enjoyed the knife regarding the edge taking & holding abilities with a lot less muss and fuss. After that he acquired a bevy of stainless knives for his jobs. Although he still has to maintain the SS, rust is much less of an issue.
 
Strange, I recently spent a week by the sea, fishing every day. I used a carbon Nessmuk style knife and a CV peanut. The Nessmuk developed a blue patina, and after a week, the peanut only had a few spots of rust on it., I was suprised. I have a feeling the nessmuk developed no rust due to the near mirror finish it started with.
 
sunnyd said:
L. Richard brings up a very important point. When you are directly stationed on the coast or fishing, lobstering, crabbing, ect. it is difficult to keep any carbon steel from oxidizing when in daily use...He told me at one point a while back that he would oil up his CV and other carbon steel knives, including his sheath knives in the morning and by the afternoon and evening they would be taking on rust. He couldn't stop it by any means. He used mineral oil, tool oil, and others.
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I wonder if different carbon steels are more prone to quickly rusting? I know from Elchuchillo's posts he carries CV and as long as he keeps the blades wiped down seems like he said they stayed pretty rust free. I figure gator wrestling in Florida is a pretty corrosive environment:D:D. I do think that once the rust starts it definitely comes back more quickly. Would you agree with that SunnyD?
 
realstagman said:
I wonder if different carbon steels are more prone to quickly rusting? I know from Elchuchillo's posts he carries CV and as long as he keeps the blades wiped down seems like he said they stayed pretty rust free. I figure gator wrestling in Florida is a pretty corrosive environment:D:D. I do think that once the rust starts it definitely comes back more quickly. Would you agree with that SunnyD?
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Actually El Chuchillo wrestles Gators at a well known and historic them park in Orlando, FL which is located near the middle of the state. Gators are fresh water critters and so therefore there is no salt water issues whatsoever. My post was about a fellow who is litterly a fishmonger working every day 8+ hours and directly coming in contact with salt water and all the blood and guts to boot. That is the most punishing environment that there is for CV.
 
sunnyd said:
Actually El Chuchillo wrestles Gators at a well known and historic them park in Orlando, FL which is located near the middle of the state. Gators are fresh water critters and so therefore there is no salt water issues whatsoever. My post was about a fellow who is litterly a fishmonger working every day 8+ hours and directly coming in contact with salt water and all the blood and guts to boot. That is the most punishing environment that there is for CV.
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Now I've gotcha. How about my carbon steel question? Do you know if there are steels with different carbon content that may rust differently from one another? I know alot of makers use 1095, but that and Chrome Vanadium are the only two I'm readily familiar with.
 
sm2 said:
CV.
Partial to Yeller Handles too.
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There is something about that Case yellow delrin! I've got two CV yellow handled ones: a medium stockman and a mini Trapper, both are excellent users!
I also have stainless pen with yellow handles and really, other than ease of sharpening, I haven't found much of an edge holding difference. So for me, either steel will get the job done.
 
realstagman said:
Now I've gotcha. How about my carbon steel question? Do you know if there are steels with different carbon content that may rust differently from one another? I know alot of makers use 1095, but that and Chrome Vanadium are the only two I'm readily familiar with.
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Hiya rsm,

Yup you betcha, 1095 seams to actually oxidize(rust) faster than CV in my experiences. I prefer a good 1095 over CV if its the older stuff in regards to carbon steels in Case knives..

D-2 will also oxidize on you, but at a much slower pace and with a lot less maintenance than the other two aforementioned.

I know I have said it before but tru-sharp ss is great stuff if the blade has a proper bevel on it. For me keeping an edge on it is as easy as dry stropping the blades every so often on the back of one of my leather belts and touching them up on a Wichita whet stone now and again depending on the cutting chores. I like to use my slippy's for everything though including food preparation. Ive grown to enjoy using tru-sharp much more often as of late.
 
I'll take carbon steel everytime. All my favorite users are always carbon steel blades and not just in slippies.

STR
 
I have some of each, and like both.

I predict that you will prefer that little pen knife for most cutting chores to your bigger lockbacks, and that it will do them more neatly. That's what I've found, anyway.
 
Well, reading this thread has gone and made me do it! I just ordered a Case 6347SS 3 7/8" round-bolstered stockman from Shepherd Hills Cutlery! I have a fondness for Stockman pocketknives, like the larger size with round bolsters, and wanted a Tru-Sharp stainless one, since my older carbon steel pocketknives have a tendency to develop rust when worn in the front pocket of my jeans while working around the ranch in the summer heat. It'll probably wind up being my constant companion, along with a VIC Farmer SAK.

Ron
 
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