Folder or Non-Folder?

B

Biohazard97

Joined
Feb 6, 2011
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I'm quite unexperienced in the knife industry, and would like to know which knife type of a knife is long-lasting and effective with less needs of repair; mainly in rainy, dew climates. Folder or Non-folder? I'm talking about A-class knives, such as the Buffalo Skull or the Hamon Stag Bowie.
http://bladegallery.com/pics/87460_1_n.jpg
http://bladegallery.com/pics/88297_1_n.jpg

If it is possible, I would like to know as well what type of knife/handle is needed for wet environments ( blade type / handle type / approx. length / etc.) I would appreciate it greatly.
 
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Those a beautiful blades! What activities are we talking about? Bushcraft, Camping, Hunting? Where are you from? More details would help.

As a general rule, less moving part = less chance of break something...
 
defaultuser said:
Those a beautiful blades! What activities are we talking about? Bushcraft, Camping, Hunting? Where are you from? More details would help.

As a general rule, less moving part = less chance of break something...
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Mostly Jungles, I will be traveling from place to place, therefore there is no set environment. Something like survival/wilderness. I'm looking forward to buy a mastercraft knife, therefore I need to know that it will be useful for me ^_^.
 
OK...that helps. Do you plan on gutting/skinning animals? Will you need to process firewood? Do you want to "baton" with your blade?

A jungle environment...that's where the machete shine!
 
Wet environment...maybe look for some kind of stainless blade (440V, S30V, 154CM, CPM154, VG10, etc).
 
defaultuser said:
OK...that helps. Do you plan on gutting/skinning animals? Will you need to process firewood? Do you want to "baton" with your blade?

A jungle environment...that's where the machete shine!
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Hehe, I know that a machete is useful for it, but I want something that I will have for life, and adventure with it. And I probably do if I will catch any :p. What's "baton"ing with my blade?

And for having no clue about stainless blade types, will damascus forged from 1080 and 15N20 carbon steels do it?
 
^I agree. Scout troop has a couple of 10-year-old machetes. Dull and rusty is as bad as it gets, and neither problem is hard to fix.

In greater detail, there are certain sorts of micarta which seem to get even more grippy when wet. In general plastic (Kraton, FRN), G10/Micarta will both do great. Perhaps check out ESEE's line of knives.
 
Batonning is hitting the back of your blade with a piece of wood, with the edge applied to the piece of wood to split or cut. Generally speaking, you would need a beefier blade in order to do this. Generally speaking (again), "beefier blade" = less optimized for slicing application (like processing animals).
 
I see... though will damascus steel work fine? and assuming I have the proper cleaning tools, it will be possible to clean rusty stains?
 
Steel is either stainless or non-stainless (carbon steel). I suggest looking for stainless blades for wet environment. See my post above.

I also suggest you take some time to read the different forums; lots of great info to find here. This way, you can answer your questions (which are good, by the way) for yourself, with the best compromise for yourself. We can suggest knives all day long but in the end, YOU will be the one using it.

Finally, forget about the "one blade to do it all, for my whole life" idea...once you buy your first good knife, you start looking for the next one, etc...It's a sickness :o:):D
 
defaultuser said:
Steel is either stainless or non-stainless (carbon steel). I suggest looking for stainless blades for wet environment. See my post above.

I also suggest you take some time to read the different forums; lots of great info to find here. This way, you can answer your questions (which are good, by the way) for yourself, with the best compromise for yourself. We can suggest knives all day long but in the end, YOU will be the one using it.

Finally, forget about the "one blade to do it all, for my whole life" idea...once you buy your first good knife, you start looking for the next one, etc...It's a sickness :o:):D
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Not for 2500$ I won't xD
 
First, may I complement on you your taste, because those are two beautiful knives. I'm not sure they're very practical for your intended use, though.

Folders and fixed blades have their own advantages and disadvantages, but if you are in the field in a difficult climate in a somewhat remote area, you are probably best off with a fixed blade. Fixed blades are less prone to failure , easier to repair and are more versatile. They are actually easier to access too because you don't have to fish around for it on a pocket, you can lash it to a pack, tie it down on your leg, use it as a spear for fishing or for height extension if you really have to etc etc. Where moisture is a problem you don't have to take it apart to clean it and so forth. ( not as often anyway depending on the scales and the tang).
Having said that, a folder ( or a good neck knife) is very useful to carry as a backup or secondary, if you can afford two blades. But if I could choose one, it would be a fixed blade.
As far as what steel to use in a wet environment, that's one of the questions we debate here quite often. Until recently I used to travel to remote places to whitewater canoe and ocean kayak in fairly nasty conditions. where the usual precautions of cleaning your blade regularly and coating it regularly either isn't possible or that effective( what to coat it with is another debated topic here). Much as i love high carbon steels like 52100 or high performance modern steels like CPM 3V, they don't take well to corrosion ( although coated blades like Fehrman and some others like Busse in Infi steel aren't too bad), a stainless blade, out of S30V or even 440C, for example, may be a better choice. There are materials that are virtually rust proof, like talonite, stellite and titanium, but the first two aren't suitable for chopping and the last is too soft and won't hold an edge that well.
My personal carries for hard use in moist environment were Busses ( usually a steelheart II ( Infi)) or a Fehrman ( a custom Hood Hunter ( coated 3V ). Solid, solid knives you can bet your life on. They retired my Carbon V trailmaster that rusted and pitted in the blink of an eye ( so it seemed) on the nahanni river in the Northwest Territories that also had a terrible handle for hard chopping anyway. My preference in drier conditions is a custom Wally Hayes camp knife forged out of 52100. A better knife but it requires constant care. Still, I always carry at least one secondary on me at all ( almost) all times, usually a neck knife or folder. I also find having a smaller knife convenient for light duty and kitchen if the main knife has to be big enough for chopping.
Hope that helps a little.
 
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