Please help educate me about knives. I am interested in buying a better hunting knife. I see the knife as a tool to skin, gut and dismember an animal, not as a prize collectors item.
I bought a Kershaw a few years back after having used a Schrade for several years. I like the Kershaw better because it is smaller and lighter and has rubber grips. It is 4 long when folded and 7.2 long when open. It weighs 2.7 ounces. I like the rubber grips bcs they do not slip in my bloody hand. I am interested in getting a knife similar to the Kershaw as far as design, weight and size goes but with better steel that will hold its edge longer. I also want the new knife to have rubber or a similar grip.
I saw a Kershaw today that had a Compressed Powdered Metal blade. I was told that it is harder than ATS-34 and that it will stay sharp longer but that it will be harder to resharpen. I have also been looking at the ceramic bladed knives. I understand that they are even harder and sharper and rarely need to be resharpened, but if they do then they need to be sent back to the factory. I also understand that they really should only be used as a skinning knife and that they are fairly brittle so no prying.
Another question I have is why would a hunter buy a $1000 knife rather than a $50 knife if both knives were made of the same steel and were the right size, shape, weight etc? Would the $1000 custom knife be any sharper? Would it hold its edge any longer? If so why/how? If they were made of the same steel I would expect them to be the same in edge holding ability. I understand that tempering is a very important aspect. Does the way the blade is tempered affect the hardness? Is it possible for a blade made of ATS-34 to have a hardness of 55 and another to have a hardness of 61? Some folks have suggested that I should get a knife with a hardness of about 58-61 for best results. If I can get a Gerber with an ATS-34 blade with a hardness of 59 would that be as good as a $1000 custom blade with ATS-34 at a hardness of 59? The other aspect is how the blade is sharpened. Does Gerber know how to sharpen a blade? Do they properly sharpen them or do they cut corners in order to keep cost down? If I were to buy a $1000 custom knife that was properly tempered and sharpened would it always be better than a $50 knife as far as sharpness goes assuming that I would be resharpening it the same way I would be resharpening the $50 knife. I should say that I realize that I will need to learn about how to keep these blades sharp since they are a harder steel and therefore more difficult to sharpen than what I am used to. However I doubt that I will ever be able to sharpen a blade like the custom guys can do it. So all in all I wonder if the $1000 knife would only be better (if it were ever better in the aspect of sharpness) until I resharpened it and then it would only be as good as the $50 knife.
I will appreciate your comments, Rufous.
I bought a Kershaw a few years back after having used a Schrade for several years. I like the Kershaw better because it is smaller and lighter and has rubber grips. It is 4 long when folded and 7.2 long when open. It weighs 2.7 ounces. I like the rubber grips bcs they do not slip in my bloody hand. I am interested in getting a knife similar to the Kershaw as far as design, weight and size goes but with better steel that will hold its edge longer. I also want the new knife to have rubber or a similar grip.
I saw a Kershaw today that had a Compressed Powdered Metal blade. I was told that it is harder than ATS-34 and that it will stay sharp longer but that it will be harder to resharpen. I have also been looking at the ceramic bladed knives. I understand that they are even harder and sharper and rarely need to be resharpened, but if they do then they need to be sent back to the factory. I also understand that they really should only be used as a skinning knife and that they are fairly brittle so no prying.
Another question I have is why would a hunter buy a $1000 knife rather than a $50 knife if both knives were made of the same steel and were the right size, shape, weight etc? Would the $1000 custom knife be any sharper? Would it hold its edge any longer? If so why/how? If they were made of the same steel I would expect them to be the same in edge holding ability. I understand that tempering is a very important aspect. Does the way the blade is tempered affect the hardness? Is it possible for a blade made of ATS-34 to have a hardness of 55 and another to have a hardness of 61? Some folks have suggested that I should get a knife with a hardness of about 58-61 for best results. If I can get a Gerber with an ATS-34 blade with a hardness of 59 would that be as good as a $1000 custom blade with ATS-34 at a hardness of 59? The other aspect is how the blade is sharpened. Does Gerber know how to sharpen a blade? Do they properly sharpen them or do they cut corners in order to keep cost down? If I were to buy a $1000 custom knife that was properly tempered and sharpened would it always be better than a $50 knife as far as sharpness goes assuming that I would be resharpening it the same way I would be resharpening the $50 knife. I should say that I realize that I will need to learn about how to keep these blades sharp since they are a harder steel and therefore more difficult to sharpen than what I am used to. However I doubt that I will ever be able to sharpen a blade like the custom guys can do it. So all in all I wonder if the $1000 knife would only be better (if it were ever better in the aspect of sharpness) until I resharpened it and then it would only be as good as the $50 knife.
I will appreciate your comments, Rufous.
