Very well-thought out reply, thank you.
I probably could be talked into keeping my 3V Demko if I did not have my M4 Shaman, the ergos on that thing when I was biting into hardwood over up my local nature preserve was just amazing, M4 is some tough stuff, and will keep an edge. Speaking of, if you like hard-use folders... Shaman. M4, preferably, but anything works. So nice. Otherwise, I choose a Cruwear PM2 if I don't expect to basically want a hard-carver. Where I live, I am hesitant to just walk around with a fixed blade because of the laws around them (they prefer folders in LA county but hey, no length limit!).
I love my Voyager XL! Carried it today actually! Thanks for the exp on AUS-10A, I've chopped a bit of wood and taken apart a couch with it, a hone on the Sharpmaker got it very satisfyingly sharp.... when it came out in the days of AUS-4 and 6, it was by all accounts a super-steel, and I heard people from 12 years ago comparing it to VG-10, calling it a souped-up 440C, and that may not all be fact, but I like a good low-alloy steel, if treated well.
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You prefer stainless? Just because or for a reason? I usually only specifically want it on knives meant to be pretty, like the fancy Espada XL or my engraved Ti PM2, or meant to be in water. I haven't had a lot of rust issues, except the really hot parts of this month. Was happy for my S30V Yojumbo and XHP Native Chief as I like to EDC around 4" of locking knife and my usual K390 Police was a no-go.
I don't dislike it either, it comes in handy for example in a knife like Yojumbo/Ronin/Matriarch, the S30V/BD1/VG-10 can be trusted to be up aganist me for a long time without worry, but I'm no Meal Team 6, got a Yo2 in 20CV and Cruwear to compare the steels in the same platform (love Wharncliffes). The silly thing? The Cruwear is satin but the 20CV came in DLC... I mean Cruwear is practically stainless, but it's moreso 20CV having DLC and no such option on Cruwear, haha.
I like some good knives that happen to have a good stainless, S45VN, a small M390 Microtech, S30V... but I do not scoff at low-alloy stainless like 420HC, BD1N, VG-10, even AUS-8 is okay in an EDC knife for me, and I love Victorinox steel, always have a SAK! I like all that, too.
I unfortunately have not got to use CS's S35 a lot in reality because I only have it in my fancy Espada and my Black Talon II so.... I feel like AEB-L (overlooked steel imo, super tough and very very stainless), Cruwear, or XHP, even. Would love an XHP Espada. I know the knife is thin because of its fighting nature, but I think it could make good use as a light machete, esp if I find an XHP version or stop using this version as a safe queen!
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Other than my Moras, these are my only "good" fixed blades, and I just got the SRK 3V in today. Ontario SP-1, bombproof but thick 1075, classic 119, Benchmade 200 3V Puukko, and my David Mary EDC gentleman's bag spearpoint. Hopefully the Moras, SRK and Ontario help me get into some tougher stuff. Eventually plan to learn to
I need to get a full dress Espada Xl, and I love those purple paisley scales on your pictured Spyderco…also, your tanto XL Voyager a beast of a knife. I have several, and they are underrated in my estimation. I would suggest a SE version as well, even if you don’t like serrated blades in general.
My only Shaman is S30V, and I love it. That knife can certainly take almost anything that I throw at it within EDC limits…and it doesn’t flinch. I’m sure that the M4 version is basically indestructible for all intents and purposes. I should get one.
Comparing a 20.5 and Shaman really just comes down to preference IMO. I think that either of these are about the best hard use EDC folders ever made. I love the ergos on both, and I’m a fan if both the shark and compression lock. If I had to choose only one, I’d probably opt for the 20.5, but that’s the ONLY folder that I’d consider for hard EDC use against the Shaman. Again, I have 11 20.5s and only 1 Shaman…mainly because the Shaman has been hard to get ahold of in anything other than G10/30v without going to a secondary market.
I absolutely love the Cruwear PM2, especially the brown micarta version. It’s plenty strong btw - I have abused that knife, and it has easily held its own. I have 2 of them in case I destroy one somehow.
I don’t personally qualify a steel by its stainless properties like I did years ago, as many modern stainless steels are so good. So no, I wouldn’t only get a stainless for a dress knife or for when its ultra hot or humid out nowadays. I used to scoff at considering stainless for abusive knife work, but I’ve seen enough in the past decade to know that modern super stainless steels are up to almost any “normal” challenge.
Yes - Aus10A was indeed considered a killer steel not all that long ago, as was VG-10. They are both still excellent steels, and I think that Cold Steel does Aus10A as well as Spyderco does VG-10…which is about as good as those steels can get. The heat treat with both of these is very important…I’ve had some VG-10 cutlery knives that were garbage next to Spyderco’s VG-10. The edge retention was a joke, and after two sharpenings, I gifted them to a friend who is not a knife snob like myself.
I also regularly carry a K390 Police (SE) as one of my primary EDC blades, but I substitute it with a S90V Native Chief when I feel that it might be too hot or wet out. The Native Chief and Police are two of my favorite knives ever made. I am really excited about the Military 2 with the compression lock, especially if it comes in Magnacut.
I am a Victorinox fan through and through, and I will always love their stainless. I have a collection of their various models, and I still regularly carry a Swisschamp that my mother gave me in 1996…apart from some cleanings and many sharpenings, its as good as ever. If I ever meet someone who just wants a decent first knife, I’ll always recommend a SAK before anything else.
If you want to get a good feel for CS’s S35 without defiling your beloved Espada or putting your Black Talon to use for which it was not intended, I recommend trying an S35 DLC Recon 1. I can promise that it will hold up to about as much as you could throw at it. If you want something more svelte, but not huge, the Code 4 is very nice, and without the diamond coating. If you want to go large, the Frenzy is an amazing knife, and probably my favorite CS ever.
3V vs good 1075 or 1095? That’s hard to assess,
as the heat treat really comes into play. I will say that I have a bunch of 1075 and 1095 blades (I loves Topps and Condor) that take a serious beating…but they need a lot of resharpening, and both steels will roll, even if heat treated correctly…they do not chip though in my experience. Try a Condor Makara machete or a Topps 111A Steel Eagle if you want to feel 1075 or 1095 at its craziest best…But, I have a 12” bladed Bark River Bravo 3 in 3V that is just insane. I have beat that knife unmercifully, and it is by far the best steel to combine toughness and edge retention that I’ve ever experienced. I can’t get the edge to roll, and I don’t think that it would chip unless you were to beat it on concrete or metal…Of course, it’s a monster of a knife both in thickness and length, and you feel the weight every time you use it…but wow.
My guess is that your SRK is going to make you very happy. I assume that the 3V is heat treated the same as on the 20.5s, and if so, its very good 3V indeed.
EDIT: I think that your S35 Espada is so close to an XHP version that it’s negligible. I really can’t tell a difference between the steels, at least on Cold Steels. For what it costs nowadays to get one in XHP, I don’t think that there is a practical difference. But if you want it for collection sake, I totally understand.
The Aus10 on the Espada XL will really take a lot of abuse…I think that the mass and geometry comes into play here, but I have “macheted” fairly large foliage with my Aus10, and it hasn’t even phased it.
Lastly, I need to try a Mora of some sort. I’ve never touched one, and considering how affordable they are, I have no excuse for not doing so.
). I also ordered a few Moras to give them a test…a 511, a Robust, and a 106 Wood Carving - I figure this will be a decent introduction to them.