Help choosing new knife

[Trancid]

hey, im kinda new when it comes to knives. I been doing some reading on the different blade steels. i also just recently got a gerber fast draw knife for like 33 bucks yea its cheap but it will do in the meen time while i choose what i realy want. and if anyone is familur with this knife i would like some thoughts on it. realy only cut some cardboard with it sofar and still is able to shave hair from my arm. anyways on to what im lookin for. Im lookin for a 3-4" blade pref straight edge in a steel that takes and holds an edge for a while im lookin to spend 200 or less, im gunna be cutting mainly cardboard and using it for every day use, altough it has to be tough enough to take some abuse dont want the lock mechanism to give out on me. and lastly have a question about damascus is that for looks or is it actualy durable?

 

[Azrael31]

You really should check around the forums here, find some quality companys, and go to their websites. You can check through all of their products and find what you are looking for that way. I personally like to find things that fit me well, and then ask about them in the forums if i dont know much about them. As for knife steels, I personally like VG-10 a lot. I can normally find it at fair prices, and it holds its own against a lot of more expensive stuff. The functionality of damascus really depends on its composition. To make it bladesmiths just weld together a few hundred layers of hard and soft steel and then etch it in acid. The acid attacks the hard and soft steels at different rates resulting in a visible pattern on the steel. Some art knives have nickle in them to produce brighter lines, and are not functional, but there are plenty damascus blades that are.

-Å

 

[Trancid]

thanks for the info, i was looking at the leek g10 with is s30v steel, the 942 osborne by benchmade which is 154cm steel, Spyderco manix -c95 which is s30v steel also, and another spyderco the Adventura ~ C102 which is vg-10 steel, was wondering what you guys thought about these knives and what one you think is the best performing knife

 

[orthogonal1]

Azrael31 has the right idea. Cruz the forum, look about at manufacturers sites, look at knives in shops and fleamarkets (or anywhere, for that matter).

It's easy yo recommend companies, "brands," etc. But I'd rather have anyone get touchy-feely with a knife first.

Unless you plan on spending major cash, I'd suggest staying away from damascus. Most of the user grades are usually a bit pricey from what I've read - but it is pretty, though.

Steels - VG-10, AUS8, 154CM, S30V, BG-42, D2, etc. Better to ask what to avoid (and then standback for the sparks )

 

[Trancid]

i wasnt planning on gettin a damascus blade just was wondering on its durability, ones i seen were pretty expensive, 500-1500. and those steels u listed are ones that are good for knives?

 

[Trancid]

and i dont meen to seem lazy or anything wanting people to just tell me what to buy, but i was looking around on a few different knife forums and people seem to like spyderco and benchmade alot from alot of the posts i have seen, just wasnt too sure of the knives cause i can not find one knife shop around here that doesnt sell complete crap. i got some smith and wesson about a year ago "knew nothing about knives at the time" and the guy that sold it to me said it was their higehst quality knife so i took it and i used it maby a week before it got too dull to even try to use infact the tip bent and almost broke off cutting cardboard boxes, just says 440 on the blade as far as the steel goes, the only brand i even recoginised in any shops was gerber and that was from walmart.

 

[Confederate]

Yes, well, Gerber is a knife company that has really declined lately. The steel used in the blades nowadays is dreadful in their cheaper knives; same thing for CRKT -- but CRKT at least tells you what kind of steel they're using. Gerber has pretty much stopped doing that. (They figure if you need to ask, you probably know enough to buy something better.)

You also can't judge a whole lot by whether a knife will shave your arm or not, either. People who want shaved arms should sharpen the edges of their Cold Steel DVDs and use them instead.

We should have a contest on the most creative ways to use Cold Steel DVDs and award a Benchmade to the winner! (I say that bein' a Cold Steel fan, too). It's just that they can be a bit overbearing.

 

[hkbladelawhk]

You also can't judge a whole lot by whether a knife will shave your arm or not, either. People who want shaved arms should sharpen the edges of their Cold Steel DVDs and use them instead.

sorry to get off topic, but that had me lmao...