Knife you could rely on for survival

Taking pictures of your knife in snow with your hammock isnt survival.

Let's ignore the features of stainless steel that make it easier to break and harder to sharpen without diamond/ceramic sharpeners, I just want to address this comment:

When I am out in the snow with my hammock on a weekend camping trip, I use my knife for *everything* I can possibly use it for, to test it out for usefulness without being worried about my life depending on it; if I were actually in a long-term survival situation I would use my knife less than when I'm camping for fun. Your statement about it not being survival is only part of the story, that weekend camping trip is a better test of a knife's capabilities than a month in the field because the knife is not only being used but being tested the whole time; something you wouldn't be doing if you were actually surviving for an extended period of time.

My Becker and Fiddleback knives are not only carbon-steeled (1095cv and O1) but they have multiple years of use on each of them in one of the most humid forest environments you can get outside of a swamp (Snoqualmie national forest in WA), and rust has not once been an issue for me; even with the Fiddleback having a leather sheath and uncoated O1 and being used for food prep, it's stayed remarkably patina'd but rust-free even through weekend-long downpours.

Rust is inconsequential to survival, it's only a concern for those who own knives just to take pictures of them.

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As others have said, simply cleaning and drying after use, plus the friction of continuous use will prevent most rust. If that's not enough for you, there are plenty of natural rust preventing oils in nature, if you possess the knowledge.
 
Maybe it is a non-issue if your knife is Cerakoated...

Most people don't seem to be aware of how poorly "traditional" materials hold up when you are actually stuck out in the rain. For instance, they never mention how Randall's black dyed leather is about 50 X (yes, I meant that, fifty times) more water resistant than the regular brown sheaths: Could it be they don't know this because their owners never go out in the rain with those safe queens? My brown Randall sheaths sucked water in like starving sponges, and, without immediate care and covering, would have lost their shape, permanently, within 30-40 minutes of exposure to very light rain. Randall's black leather sheaths were pretty much like plastics in comparisons...

The same goes with the Carbon steel versus Stainless debate. Most here go on about "patina" or oils (or for the brown sheaths, wax), which all essentially amounts to putting a lot crap on your blades, directly or indirectly, which is why Carbon steel for knives is banned by food safety inspectors from all professional kitchens. And patina is no real protection from rain either, or even from being sheathed with humid air around... My father's 1940s Sabatier Jeune Boy Scout knife had a great greyish patina, and in the field it rusted inside its sheath just like any other carbon steel, even when hidden from the rain... And now I have a stainless similar vintage version, which indeed cut poorly initially, but with a full re-grind it is a better knife (with a black leather sheath) than the Carbon version in a brown sheath ever was.

If people really experienced rain in nature, not from the shelter of a cabin or a car, but instead went on with no shelter at all for short periods in the woods, they would recommend one of the many amazingly tough blade coatings that can at least make Carbon steel practical far from home. These are the same people who discuss steels endlessly, but somehow they never discuss the latest available coatings... Instead they pontificate on a computer about how the West was won with traditional steels. Or, better yet, how constant use will keep rust off a blade, because their own blades are kept unsheathed in circulating air, meaning not actually carried (lying inside a car, porch or shed)... In reality, carried inside a sheath, without coating, and exposed to rain, rust will form on Carbon in minutes. Minutes... Oh yes, carrying constantly a bottle of oil will fix that. Right.

Cerakoating has been superceeded by better coatings by now, but you'd never know it from people who still think brown leather is no different from black...

Gaston
 
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when, in reality, carried inside a sheath, without coating, and exposed to rain, rust will form on Carbon in minutes. Minutes...

Gaston

That is just plain wrong.

Check out this:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-bushcraft.1302950/

O1 tool steel.
No coating.
So much rain it flooded the entire surrounding county; lots of property damage.
No rust.

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My leather jacket didn't do so well though...took a lot of conditioning to get it back to working afterward.
 
Carbon steel will not rust the edge away in double-quick time.
Stainless steel blades will not shatter like knives made from inferior sandworm teeth (Dune reference :D).

Just buy or make a stout knife made from just about any decent steel.
That's it.

Stop overthinking things, people!
 
Carbon steel will not rust the edge away in double-quick time.
Stainless steel blades will not shatter like knives made from inferior sandworm teeth (Dune reference :D).

Just buy or make a stout knife made from just about any decent steel.
That's it.

Stop overthinking things, people!

For real! I take uncoated blades into the woods all the time. Anyone that knows my wife and I, know that we spend lots of time in the woods, whether camping, backpacking, hunting or fishing. 99% of the time, I have a large carbon steel blade with me. Never in my years and years of the outdoors, have I experienced any rust that was detrimental to the structural integrity of my knife.... Nothing that a wooden stick couldn't rub away.
 
For real! I take uncoated blades into the woods all the time. Anyone that knows my wife and I, know that we spend lots of time in the woods, whether camping, backpacking, hunting or fishing. 99% of the time, I have a large carbon steel blade with me. Never in my years and years of the outdoors, have I experienced any rust that was detrimental to the structural integrity of my knife.... Nothing that a wooden stick couldn't rub away.

Yep.

People need to just get out there and use their knives...they'll learn a lot about how knives work when they work with knives. :)
 
Maybe it is a non-issue if your knife is Cerakoated...

Most people don't seem to be aware of how poorly "traditional" materials hold up when you are actually stuck out in the rain. For instance, they never mention how Randall's black dyed leather is about 50 X (yes, I meant that, fifty times) more water resistant than the regular brown sheaths: Could it be they don't know this because their owners never go out in the rain with those safe queens? My brown Randall sheaths sucked water in like starving sponges, and, without immediate care and covering, would have lost their shape, permanently, within 30-40 minutes of exposure to very light rain. Randall's black leather sheaths were pretty much like plastics in comparisons...

The same goes with the Carbon steel versus Stainless debate. Most here go on about "patina" or oils (or for the brown sheaths, wax), which all essentially amounts to putting a lot crap on your blades, directly or indirectly, which is why Carbon steel for knives is banned by food safety inspectors from all professional kitchens. And patina is no real protection from rain either, or even from being sheathed with humid air around... My father's 1940s Sabatier Jeune Boy Scout knife had a great greyish patina, and in the field it rusted inside its sheath just like any other carbon steel, even when hidden from the rain... And now I have a stainless similar vintage version, which indeed cut poorly initially, but with a full re-grind it is a better knife (with a black leather sheath) than the Carbon version in a brown sheath ever was.

If people really experienced rain in nature, not from the shelter of a cabin or a car, but instead went on with no shelter at all for short periods in the woods, they would recommend one of the many amazingly tough blade coatings that can at least make Carbon steel practical far from home. These are the same people who discuss steels endlessly, but somehow they never discuss the latest available coatings... Instead they pontificate on a computer about how the West was won with traditional steels. Or, better yet, how constant use will keep rust off a blade, because their own blades are kept unsheathed in circulating air, meaning not actually carried (lying inside a car, porch or shed)... In reality, carried inside a sheath, without coating, and exposed to rain, rust will form on Carbon in minutes. Minutes... Oh yes, carrying constantly a bottle of oil will fix that. Right.

Cerakoating has been superceeded by better coatings by now, but you'd never know it from people who still think brown leather is no different from black...

Gaston
That is a complete load of horse manure, Gaston. You are plain wrong. Go out there and do it for real, please.
 
Yes black is the best colour. More waterproof on a sheath, more pleasing to the eye, more tactical to the blade, lighter in weight yet with more authority to chop while boasting increased edge retention and legundary increased strength and toughness.

It is the most desirable bar none. Many members here will only wield the black blade.
 
Nice pics... You definitely proved your point.

The pictures were to show that we not only owned carbon-steeled blades but also had used them enough to know what we’re talking about so our opinion were backed up by picture proof.

Having an opinion and sharing it is more than fine, it is part of a forum atmosphere; you however are making claims that simply don’t have sound logic and won’t admit it when others have shown you may be mistaken in the logic of some of your statements.

P.S. as my pictures show, my black blade came that way but I couldn’t care less if it has a coating of not, and my other blade is not black. You are taking sarcasm as opinion on that topic.
 
I’ve been using carbon steel in the outdoors for 45yrs. All kinds of weather. Processed many animals for meat or pelts. Never had a problem. Wipe it off when I’m finished, like I do with any tool. Never once wished I had a stainless blade.
I do prefer kydex sheaths if possible.
 
Maybe it is a non-issue if your knife is Cerakoated...

Most people don't seem to be aware of how poorly "traditional" materials hold up when you are actually stuck out in the rain. For instance, they never mention how Randall's black dyed leather is about 50 X (yes, I meant that, fifty times) more water resistant than the regular brown sheaths: Could it be they don't know this because their owners never go out in the rain with those safe queens? My brown Randall sheaths sucked water in like starving sponges, and, without immediate care and covering, would have lost their shape, permanently, within 30-40 minutes of exposure to very light rain. Randall's black leather sheaths were pretty much like plastics in comparisons...

The same goes with the Carbon steel versus Stainless debate. Most here go on about "patina" or oils (or for the brown sheaths, wax), which all essentially amounts to putting a lot crap on your blades, directly or indirectly, which is why Carbon steel for knives is banned by food safety inspectors from all professional kitchens. And patina is no real protection from rain either, or even from being sheathed with humid air around... My father's 1940s Sabatier Jeune Boy Scout knife had a great greyish patina, and in the field it rusted inside its sheath just like any other carbon steel, even when hidden from the rain... And now I have a stainless similar vintage version, which indeed cut poorly initially, but with a full re-grind it is a better knife (with a black leather sheath) than the Carbon version in a brown sheath ever was.

If people really experienced rain in nature, not from the shelter of a cabin or a car, but instead went on with no shelter at all for short periods in the woods, they would recommend one of the many amazingly tough blade coatings that can at least make Carbon steel practical far from home. These are the same people who discuss steels endlessly, but somehow they never discuss the latest available coatings... Instead they pontificate on a computer about how the West was won with traditional steels. Or, better yet, how constant use will keep rust off a blade, because their own blades are kept unsheathed in circulating air, meaning not actually carried (lying inside a car, porch or shed)... In reality, carried inside a sheath, without coating, and exposed to rain, rust will form on Carbon in minutes. Minutes... Oh yes, carrying constantly a bottle of oil will fix that. Right.

Cerakoating has been superceeded by better coatings by now, but you'd never know it from people who still think brown leather is no different from black...

Gaston
Preach it brother! That's why I make sure to only use black leather in combination with a tactical tube stock sheath for the ultimate protection! I don't know where we'd be without the wealth of knowledge you provide.
 
For millennia, up until about 70 years ago, give or take, homo sapiens have been cutting things....building shelters, villages, complex cities, pyramids and cathedrals, constructing huge sailing ships that efficiently ply the oceans, plowing up the earth, felling enormous trees, hewing gigantic stone slabs from mountain sides, harvesting multi-ton creatures from both land and sea....and done so quite efficiently with only carbon steel, iron, bronze and stone tools. Stainless steel is a great development...but not necessary to thrive.
 
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