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- May 14, 2012
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Uh oh...please dont put a firesteel in the handle...a firesteel belongs in the sheath if anywhere. 

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https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
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Yeah, you're probably right, It's just a fun thoughtUh oh...please dont put a firesteel in the handle...a firesteel belongs in the sheath if anywhere.![]()
If it's like V4E, it is a great steel choice. It's tougher than CPM M4 but holds an edge better than 3V. V4E is supposed to be quite similar to 4V as well. Of course, geometry makes a big difference there as well. I find 3V is tougher than I need in 99% of the tasks I use a knife for, including chopping and batoning, though I do have a few 5160 blades for heavy use. I find steels in the 52100 toughness x edge retention range a perfect blend for most uses. Z-wear seems right along that area of toughness x edge retention but favoring the edge retention side. 3V is just tough a heck and tougher than I need as I've never been able to damage 52100 even.
I'm using edge retention instead of hardness in the above statements since there is a strong relation to the two, and then using Larrin's charts as reference, from the article you reference about history of 3V, etc. I think 3V is great if you want a tough as can be knife, but it's tougher than needed in many instances so getting more edge retention instead is a better performance mix. In my experience at least. I should also add that I like 52100 and 5160 because they are favorable on my wallet, generally speaking, so there is some bias there in the performance area, though they do perform quite well with a less premium price tag than some of the higher alloy tool steels like 3V and V4E.
http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=cpm+4v
4V is very versatile, it was my recommendation for "high alloy" tool steel with all-around properties. Can go higher hardness for edge stability and edge retention or go a little lower on hardness for high toughness.
Your knife is looking good, Josh. The A8(mod) blade that you ground for my Rukus 610 easily passed my initial tests for edge stability, but I haven't used it enough to give you an answer for edge retention. I can't get my Rukus with your Vanax SuperClean reblade out of my pocket. That knife just makes me happy because it is so good at everything.
My thinking on the A8(mod) blade was to have a folder with a super tough blade -- as good or better than Infi -- for extra-hard uses, such as chopping branches that encroach on my hiking trails. The reblade you made was heat treated by Fredrik Haakonsen, who is the master of this steel. At 60 Rc, Fredrik gets not just a super tough blade, but one that has good edge retention, largely because it is so good at preventing both rolls and chips, major and under-appreciated factors that are key to excellent edge retention. I know he also uses Vanadis 4 Extra, so you might want to get his opinion. I have not used Z-wear or Cruwear.
The blade on your knife has no distal taper, except for the very end where it forms the tip. That's a hard-use design element, but the knife is relatively small, so we're not talking about the high demands of a chopper. Of the steels you're talking about, which are all good, I'd probably put Vanadis 4E first for the reasons that Larrin mentions. A8(mod) would be radical, fitting with the do-it-all utility intention of this knife, but the heat treat would be important.
I have a special project 7-inch chopper made of A8(mod) with an elaborate custom heat treat. From memory, only 70 were made; and the heat treat, while excellent, proved too expensive for a production knife. There's a funny YouTube video of a bunch of excited Italians chopping a large rock in half and not getting any edge damage. I think Molletta was part of that research effort into that heat treat, so you might want to ask him, too. He's on the forum a lot.
I'm digging that design! One thing about the firesteel..
One thing that I haven't seen done on high end knives is stowing fire steel in the handle, like how mora did with their "Light my fire" line. All you'd need is a small cutout in the blade stock and you could make a fitting piece...
Uh oh...please dont put a firesteel in the handle...a firesteel belongs in the sheath if anywhere.![]()
I suppose there's a reason I've only seen it in one knife...Yes I can't help that this seems "gimicky"no offense!
I suppose there's a reason I've only seen it in one knife...
I swear I normally have better taste!![]()
But I don't agree with myself! That's the problem!Everyone is entitled to their opinions and ideas. Thats whats great about BF. Thoughts are always welcome! Even if others disagree.Happens all the time.
No real order of preference. I like the look of the bigger choil, but also realize it eats about an inch of usable edge. In that size knife, I'd say no choil. But would have to use/feel it.
Jimping is fine on a combat knife. I don't really need it on a bushcrafter, or knife I expect to spend time whittling, or bearing down on the spine with my thumb.
I've torn a thumb clean open in the dark on a knife with no jimping, so jumping would have made it worse. Just a rough coating under the thumb, dark, and levering the knife repeatedly with my other thumb, on what I was whittling. (Hogging shavings to try and get fire started in the dark. Cold/damp)
Knife felt wet, and I fished out my flashlight to see blood and skin torn....
I this case you would only be losing about 1/4-3/8" of the edge w/ the finger choil vs. a regular choil, because I still have to terminate the grind somewhere and clear the plunge area.
How did your thumb get torn open? Was it just the pressure against the aggression of the coating or did it get the corner of the spine? I think I'm going to leave the jimping but make sure I do it right, enough for some grip but not enough to cause blisters/hot spots or cut anyone lol. I also could switch it up to a finer type jimping like is on a folder like the sebenza or spyderco para 2 so that is an option.
Thanks for the input, very helpful, and I agree on the ferro rod issue!
I'd either go full flat grind OR drop the spine to the level of the current plunge line. It's a very broad blade, which makes turning a cut difficult, so in general a blade does well to be as narrow as the constraints on spine thickness and grind angles permits.
Hmmm... good thoughts.
What does everyone else think about making the blade more narrow...?? keep it or change it?
Also, I've personally never found jimping to be anything more than eye candy. If a ramp is present, I find smooth is the most comfortable in long-term use, as any grip retention it adds should be from the shape of the ramp rather than its texture. Just my thoughts!
Hmmm... good thoughts.
What does everyone else think about making the blade more narrow...?? keep it or change it?