Help Choosing Survival Knife (folder)

[Cliff Stamp]

What exactly are you seeing/feeling?

-Cliff

 

[LHD]

It feels as if there is more direct resistance. The leverage seems to be working against me. Both the 960D2 and the Ritter M2 are very polished sharp and push cut equally well. Pushing on the back of the blade with no leverage from then handle the feel near identical.

This is into soft pine wood.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Is this when you are pushing the blade into the wood, or turning it while in the wood.

-Cliff

 

[LHD]

Pushing it in. I should draw a pic.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

That is interesting, I can see a torque issue if the edge is far behind the center line of the hand (or infront) , but most knives have the centerline in the same place unless the width is excessively large. How does it act when you turn it in woods.

-Cliff

 

[LHD]

That is interesting, I can see a torque issue if the edge is far behind the center line of the hand (or infront) , but most knives have the centerline in the same place unless the width is excessively large. How does it act when you turn it in woods.

-Cliff

I dont do too much turning in the wood. I mostly do what you described where you torque the knife to the side of the wood to chip it off. IE push the blade in and then lever the blade to either side perpendicular to the edge, with the edge acting as the fulcrum. So the side of the blade makes full contact with the media being removed.

Like I said before this could be all in my head. It wouldnt be the first time.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I mention turning because this is really sensitive to width issues. By turning I mean carving a curve such as the taper from the handle to the head of a spoon.

-Cliff

 

[perpster]

This site has information on several blade steels including M2 and S30V. Also, it references the Ritter, Benchmade, Reeves and other makes.

Wow. I went to the linked college site and man, did it trash S30V. I'm a knife newbie. I thought S30V was supposed to be an excellent steel. I bought a Ritter RSK Mk1 folder because ETS website raved about S30V steel. Yet the linked college webpage says "There was little done with the Skirmish and RSK in evaluation because the edges of both would not even sharpen due to the steel fracturing under the hones." What's the real deal here??

 

[Cliff Stamp]

What's the real deal here??

The blades could not sharpen, they cracked apart under the stone hence edge testing/cutting comparisions could not be performed. I have used other S30V blades which didn't have that problem, one developed it after awhile. Many people have had similar problems, both of the serious Benchmade defects I used were sent to be for an independent check as the owners had problems, one was even a replacement for an already defective model.

-Cliff