Pocket knife suggestions to cut up cardboard

Tungsten carbide blade
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Such as the Sandrin Torino ($199 however)
Check out the Nick Shabazz youtube review
 
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I like plain jane steels for all my EDC tasks. I cut a lot of cardboard in general as well as other various materials of different resistances like rubber hose and hard plastic zip ties. I’ve used knives in a lot of different steels for my job and I always come back to the more “basic” ones for toughness and ease of sharpening. If you are going to use an EDC type knife as a utility blade then you really want toughness and ease of sharpening versus edge retention. I’ve accidentally slipped out of cutting a box into a concrete floor with my EDC, as well as pried thick boxes apart, pried open windows (house window, not car), scraped baked grease off a grill, and pried off the interior plastic of a car. Guess what steel I used? Plain old S30V.
 
A thin blade is going to help a lot. Even my VG-10 Spyderco Delicas last on cardboard for some time because the blade is so thin.

That being said, cardboard is very abrasive on any edge, so expect to sharpen your knife often regardless of the steel.

S110V will do noticeably better on cardboard than many other steels. It will keep a working edge for a good while. You might get a nick in the edge if you hit a staple, though
 
I’d like to add a knife to the list you initially posted that you might want to consider. It’s not in full release yet, but you should take a look at the Spartan Blades Talos. It has a lot of what you’re looking for with CTS-XHP steel, good carry size and handle shape, relatively thin blade for your cardboard cutting, and $115 to fit within your budget. Not sure when it will be available for purchase but I’m sure it will be in the next month or so
 
If you're looking for a knife dedicated to cutting cardboard, a box cutter makes the most sense.
 
Confractus said:
I've been reading a lot about knives and at first couldn't understand why a pocket knife should cost more than $30. Then I found this chart that quantifies the properties of different types of steels.

I am looking to get a pocket knife that will hold the longest edge while cutting up cardboard and the occasional wood slicing for creating tinder. Looking at the Edge retention rankings, it seems like I need one of the super steels (although not the CPM-S110V, S90V, or the M4 due to lack of toughness/corrosion resistance). Elmax and CTS-204P seem to be out as well as they are very expensive. This left me with CTS-XHP, CPM-20CV, and M390. Now I'd like to keep the budget below $100 ($150 max, if necessary). Based on that, I have come up with these models after a long search:

  1. Spyderco C152PGY Chaparral Knife - CTS-XHP, $96

  2. Kershaw 1812BLK Dividend Assisted Flipper Knife - M390, $77

  3. MKM Burnley Fara Slip Joint Folding Knife - M390, $95

  4. Boker Kalashnikov Automatic Knife - CTS-XHP, $70

  5. Kershaw 1776OLSW Link Drop Point Knife - CPM-20CV, $72
Now because choices 4 and 5 only come in crappy green color, I'm left with #1, 2, and 3. Of these, I prefer the style of #1 and #2. Since #2 is out of stock, that leaves me with the Spyderco. Yet, reading online, it seems that the M390 will hold the edge much better than the XHP, so I don't know if I should wait for #2 to come in stock...

Since I'm new to knives and only yesterday bought the Sharpmaker to try sharpening, I have two questions:

  1. Am I missing anything in the assessment of the steels when it comes to edge retention, given my use case? I read some comments where the CTS-XHP is essentially pretty much the same as the CPM-S30V in terms of edge retention

  2. Are the above choices really the best one can do for getting a high quality pocket knife these days? I was willing to get used, but eBay searches turn up pretty much the same prices as elsewhere. If by spending a bit more I'll get a much better knife (durable), that would be worth it. Wondering what the knife veterans have to say here.
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Of these, the Chaparrel has the advantage of the especially thin blade. The blade shape also lends itself nicely to draw cuts. If cutting cardboard is not a daily occurrence, you might enjoy this one the most simply because it'll glide through cardboard with less drag than the others (assuming they're equally sharp). The steel won't win any awards for edge retention, but if you're only occasionally cutting cardboard and you're not afraid of touching it up afterwards, ease of resharpening could be considered a boon in this instance compared to the difficulty of sharpening some other steels despite their more impressive edge retention.

I cut cardboard up with relative frequency at work (mostly just breaking down the occasional box or cutting the leafs off the top) and my new and all-time favorite is my K390 Delica. The Delica's blade is thinner than most (not as thin as the Chaparral though) and glides well through cardboard, and the K390 just cuts and cuts and cuts. I also have one in CTS-204P which holds an edge impressively for a stainless steel (M390 will be essentially the same if you find one).

On the opposite end of the spectrum I also use an Opinel No°6 pretty frequently. Cheap, easy to sharpen, and the blade is fantastic for cardboard cutting. The No°6 size is the smallest/thinnest Opinel with a lock, and the convex blade geometry not only glides through cardboard, the nearly "zero grind" means that it still cuts OK even when it's "dull".

Obviously, there's plenty to be said about a utility knife. Very thin blade, sharp as a mofo when new, and cheap to replace. Nothing wrong with resharpening them if you feel like it too. Not as fun as using a "real" knife though, and little pride of ownership unless you get a fancy custom one. I've used a Gerber EAB Lite in the past; the handle isn't exactly comfortable, but it's cheap, the blades are cheap, it takes up very little pocket space (I clipped it in a cargo pant pocket that otherwise didn't get used), and it's not a "weapon" in the eyes of the less enlightened. If I had to cut down pallets worth of cardboard every day, I'd go with some sort of replaceable utility blade knife.
 
Hello

I may be out of your budget but so far the Spyderco Gayle Bradley 2 is the best knife I have tried to process cardboard

M4 is a good steel for this kind of task, but steel is not everything. You shall also consider the blade geometry.
I had a PM2 in s110v and I sold it but kept the GB2
The PM2 in s110v was holding an edge much longer than the GB2 , but the geometry of the GB2 was (IMHO) better.

the GB2 is now my work knife, I use it for anything: cutting cardboard, plastic, paracord, cord or wood

so far i think it is the best slicer I have experimented

if you need a wheeler option I would search for a 12c27 or 14c28 blade.
I like those steels and they are usually not that expensive.
If the blade have a good geometry they perform very well.
The manly wasp was great , if you don’t mind a slipjoint

if you need something cheaper, I would try a manix 2 lw or PM2 in s110v... not cheap for sure but “best value” considering the edge retention and the price

if you go the s110v road, you will have to invest in a good sharpening system or to develop some skills ;)

another (not cheap option) is the para 3 in Maxamet. It is my choice and IMO the best steel/knife plateforme on the market for processing cardboard.
But is doesn’t have the blade length of the GB2 and it will be more chippy

the GB2 is just more versatile ... and if you don’t have the budget, just don’t mind and get a basic box cutter, it will be much cheaper
 
Confractus said:
Ok, maybe I should have provided more details so users here didn't think I'm getting a knife just to be cutting up cardboard boxes all day. My use is specifically for occasionally cutting up cardboard to burn in a fireplace. This might happen couple times a week or not at all in a given week. It's based on if I received any packages that week. I can understand the box cutter recommendation if I was cutting a lot of boxes and frequently.
I just want an all around knife that won't dull easily, including if I need to use it to trim a stick I might find outside for fetching with my dog. For automotive purposes, it's more for cutting off things if the need arises. I once had a piece of bumper detach and rub on my front wheel. I had to pull over on the freeway and was stuck because I couldn't cut off the offending piece and yet didn't want to have the car towed just for that reason (and no one to call to bring me a knife at that time). Embarrassingly, I had to borrow a knife from the police who had stopped to see what's up to cut off the damn thing.

If I really go down to it, I guess my concern is related to the apparent edge retention differences between the XHP and M390 steels. But I don't really see any sort of strong consensus in the replies here that one is better than the other. So maybe I'll just wait for few days to see if Kershaw M390 comes in stock and if not, I'll go with the Spyderco XHP steel. I guess the XHP is also nice in terms of being easier for a novice to sharpen.
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Don't let the downers get you. If you want a knife get a knife. The problem with asking a question online is that everyone will give you their opinion and rarely answer the question.

For occasional cardboard use, or anything else really, any of your choices will work. I would pick the one you like the look of most and just go with it. Get a strop and some compound for it and just touch it up as you need it. I would maybe stay away from s110v though.

Having a knife you want to have on you most of the time and do things with is great. Knives are tools and while yes you should choose the right tool for the job, a knife is made to cut and even if it isn't the most optimal tool for cutting one specific medium it will still cut.

Pick the one you think you will carry most and get that one. Learn to sharpen, make memories and have fun.
 
As others have said, Cardboard is hard on any steel because of the silica and other nasty impurities it contains.
Don't matter what the blade steel is, cut cardboard all day, you will need to sharpen every day, possibly more than once a day.
Get and use the right tool for the Threrebladesjob. They may not be "sexy", and they may not "impress" folks with the brand name or how much you paid for it. A box/utility knife is what you need. Why spend a hundred plus, gor a nice knife, and sharpen the blade down to a toothpick inside a year, making the knife unusable.
Use the box cutter/utility knife on cardboard, replace the blade as needed. Get a nice knife for everything else.
"The right tool for the job/task at hand."
Stanley 10-499.
Tooless quick change blades, has a storage compartment in the handle for 5 spare blades. Under $10. If your employer don't supply them, you can get 200 blades in a dispenser for $19.95 or less. A couple companies even make ceramic blades for box cutters. (they cost a bit more than Carbon V blades though)
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Silvanus said:
I like plain jane steels for all my EDC tasks. I cut a lot of cardboard in general as well as other various materials of different resistances like rubber hose and hard plastic zip ties. I’ve used knives in a lot of different steels for my job and I always come back to the more “basic” ones for toughness and ease of sharpening. If you are going to use an EDC type knife as a utility blade then you really want toughness and ease of sharpening versus edge retention. I’ve accidentally slipped out of cutting a box into a concrete floor with my EDC, as well as pried thick boxes apart, pried open windows (house window, not car), scraped baked grease off a grill, and pried off the interior plastic of a car. Guess what steel I used? Plain old S30V.
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I actually noticed some people mention similar ideas. I'm curious - if you had the option to get the knife for about the same price, would you still choose S30V over M390 (or even the XHP) for everyday use? If so, is it only because S30V is easier to sharpen? Because in terms of toughness and corrosion resistance M390 is ranked higher or the same as S30V. If the choice is mostly due to the ease of sharpening, then I'm assuming for the same price XHP would be preferable since it's also ranked similarly to S30V for ease of sharpening. When looking around, I see S30V knives that are sometimes even more expensive that the supersteels, and I am not sure why would the super steel not be always the winner in those cases, especially if the toughness/corrosion rankings are not any worse than S30V.

This is probably splitting hair at this point. What sucks is that I really like the black anodized knifes. I've seen black knives on Amazon that look absolutely amazing, but almost none that come in the super steels. I saw maybe a couple black ones that still didn't look that great but the price was already breaking $200-$300 dollars.

The carbide knife suggested above also looks great, although it's expensive and I wonder if it is suffering from the same fragality that the S110V has, which is the reason why I'm avoiding the S110V as well.

As a side note, when I worked in a lab, the sharpest blade that we used to cut very soft brain tissue was a sapphire blade. Of course, if you just dropped it even for a few inches, it could just shatter. That was one reason that you wouldn't see a lot of sapphire blades being used. If you broke one, thats several hundred $$$ down the drain for a blade the size of a razor blade.
 
[QUOTE="Confractus,

The carbide knife suggested above also looks great, although it's expensive and I wonder if it is suffering from the same fragality that the S110V has, which is the reason why I'm avoiding the S110V as well.

As a side note, when I worked in a lab, the sharpest blade that we used to cut very soft brain tissue was a sapphire blade. Of course, if you just dropped it even for a few inches, it could just shatter. That was one reason that you wouldn't see a lot of sapphire blades being used. If you broke one, thats several hundred $$$ down the drain for a blade the size of a razor blade.[/QUOTE]

The Sandrin website does show them dropping their blade onto a concrete floor from some height, compared to dropping a similar piece of ordinary tungsten carbide, their blade survives, while the standard piece breaks
 
Confractus said:
I actually noticed some people mention similar ideas. I'm curious - if you had the option to get the knife for about the same price, would you still choose S30V over M390 (or even the XHP) for everyday use?
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The S30V I use in my main carry knife (a very old Strider SMF) is bead blasted. It has not so great corrosion resistance because of the blasting so it spots with surface rust when it gets wet for long periods of time. To be honest I don’t care about steel specs and which one holds a better edge or which one has more corrosion resistance. I like steel that won’t chip and that’s easy to sharpen. S30V just works for me and I will choose that as well as 154CM, S35VN, and D2 over Vanax, M390, and 204-P any day.

If you want a super steel, get a super steel. It sounds like that’s what you want so you should just get a knife with a super steel. If it doesn’t work for you, there’s always the option to sell it in the exchange and get something else that works better.
 
This is what I use. The pocket clip is so handy.
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I vote box cutter, it is less physical work and safer.

I would still get a decent knife with s30v or similar for daily carry. Super steel is awesome but it is also a curse if you don't spend $100 on diamond stones...
 
Confractus said:
I actually noticed some people mention similar ideas. I'm curious - if you had the option to get the knife for about the same price, would you still choose S30V over M390 (or even the XHP) for everyday use? If so, is it only because S30V is easier to sharpen? Because in terms of toughness and corrosion resistance M390 is ranked higher or the same as S30V. If the choice is mostly due to the ease of sharpening, then I'm assuming for the same price XHP would be preferable since it's also ranked similarly to S30V for ease of sharpening. When looking around, I see S30V knives that are sometimes even more expensive that the supersteels, and I am not sure why would the super steel not be always the winner in those cases, especially if the toughness/corrosion rankings are not any worse than S30V.
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I can't speak for XHP, and to be honest I haven't really used S30V all that much either. Nothing against the steel really, it just happens that I've never really used an S30V knife for any extended amount of time. Not that I can recall, anyway. I will say though that I like M390 and CTS-204P much better; or at least that I like the knives I have in that steel (a Kershaw Bareknuckle and Spyderco Delica, respectively). It holds an edge very well and is easy for me to sharpen with the tools and skills I possess. I find it easier for me to maintain a sharp edge with those steels than I ever did with S30V. Actually, I can get a sharper edge, but that maybe could be attributed to improvements in skill and not just the steel (probably both).

Remember and/or realize that S30V at once was a supersteel. Heck, for a while it was the supersteel. It was one of the most significant advancements in knife steels since ATS-34/154CM, which were the kings of steels for quite a long time.

This is probably splitting hair at this point. What sucks is that I really like the black anodized knifes. I've seen black knives on Amazon that look absolutely amazing, but almost none that come in the super steels. I saw maybe a couple black ones that still didn't look that great but the price was already breaking $200-$300 dollars.

The carbide knife suggested above also looks great, although it's expensive and I wonder if it is suffering from the same fragality that the S110V has, which is the reason why I'm avoiding the S110V as well.
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S110V is not for the casual or the novice user. A lot of big, hard, vanadium carbides. You're gonna need diamonds to sharpen it, and S110V "prefers" a coarser edge, which does work well for cardboard. I touched upon this in my previous post, although I wasn't talking about S110V.

Extreme edge holding is useless if you can't maintain it, whether by lack of equipment, skills, or both. Maxamet or S110V might take a hell of a long time to dull, but it eventually will and if you can't resharpen it, it'll be an expensive, useless knife shaped object rather than a knife. Of course, on the opposite end of the spectrum you have knives that are easy to sharpen but don't hold an edge worth a shit.

What you need to find is what works best for you. For example, I've been a big fan of VG-10 for a long time. Once upon a time it was a higher-end steel, a bit below 154CM/ATS-34, but is generally considered a a not-quite-low-end steel these days; it ain't great, but it's much better than 8Cr13MoVWtFBBQ and the like. But for my purposes, it has served fantastically. It holds an edge for as long as I usually need it to, and with my skills and equipment I can easily touch it up. Plus there's just something about VG-10 combined with my tools and skills that I can get it sharper than just about anything else I've used, with only a few very new exceptions (the aforementioned M390/204P and K390). I know my limitations and needs, and S110V or Maxamet would be a bad choice for me.
 
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