Is there a "definitive" conclusion...

M

Moonw

Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Messages
1,985
...on the SK5 vs O1, as offered by Cold Steel in their products, from a user's perspective? I imagine the heat treatment should be "spot on", in order to squeeze more out of O1 compared to SK5, as always when adopting changes in one's technological processes.

I apologize if I missed something while searching, but it seems to me that, based on the # of threads, before the switch to O1 there were many excited folks, most considering this an upgrade, while after the switch, I found little to no feedback. Bummer.

Could you please add your personal experience / direct me towards relevant resources on this topic?

Thanks.
 
To be more specific, I am more curious about a comparison in larger blades used for chopping. Therefore, not so much about abrasion, but rather impact resistance and edge holding under this scenario.

I am looking at the Gurkha Kukri, so a comparison between the two in the aforementioned steels would be interesting. I am pretty much done with the traditional, dissapointingly "half-baked" blades, and I am willing to make compromises on pretty-much anything but steel and heat treat.
 
I've heard lots of good things about the taiwan-manufacture SK-5 gurkhas, I believe someone in the budget cs thread mentioned loving theirs the other day. I have a Taiwan Trailmaster in SK-5 and it's fantastic, and I've absolutely, admittedly, *abused* mine. I imagine the O1 blades are made in the same place as the Taiwan SK-5, so I imagine HT consistency would be similar. I don't remember where I read it, but very recently (last couple days) I read they run the O1 softer than they did the SK-5 for added toughness, but I can't verify that, and I find my trailmaster unbreakable by conventional means.

I'd say whatever steel you prefer, I think O1 has better edge retention, SK-5 tougher, but both slight. I've also heard O1 likes to rust, that may be a consideration. I seriously doubt, the difference would be very noticeable. That's my reasoning for why you likely don't hear much, it probably just slotted right in, no better nor worse. Could be wrong :D
 
Thanks for your input! Yeah, usually bad news travel faster, don't they? Therefore, nothing bad being written should mean all things are going fine.

Rust doesn't really scare me, it seems to me that the finish has quite an influence on the results. For "bad" cases, I just break the Rennaisance Decorroder and they are like new afterwards.

Anyone else?
 
You might want to consider this from a different angle. In my case I have a SK5 Gurkha Kukri and while I have the ability to get the San Mai III version I felt no need to since mine does everything well. It chops as well or better than my other Kukri that are dedicated chopping models, it handles better and feels lighter in hand than any other model and it performs light tasks with ease. So why spend twice as much for the San Mai III?

The same reasoning may hold true for the 01 version. Think about it, everyone that loves and/or wants a CS Kukri has had years to buy the SK5 version and from the reviews found on multiple forums, the vast majority love it. So again, why buy another one when it is almost exactly the same but has a different steel? Especially when that new steel is almost exactly the same?!?

It may take a year or two for enough hard core SK5 owners (and users) to pull the trigger on the 01 version and have time to give a valid useful comparison. For me, unless my SK5 breaks I have no plans to get the 01 version.
 
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