Question - Why so few Stainless Bushcrafters??

W

woodsman313

Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Messages
15
It's all in the title - why are there so few stainless bushcrafting knives out there?

I don't really like having to oil blades and I've never liked the look of powder coats.

Why does it seem like all the high-end bushcraft knives are in either 1095, D2, A2, O1, etc.?? The ones that are in stainless are almost always in some kind of exotic supersteel that'll almost certainly be a huge pain to sharpen.

Anyone know if there are well-made, good-looking bushcraft knives out there in pedestrian, relatively easy-to-sharpen stainless steels that I may have missed?

I'm a newbie here - this is my first post. Maybe I'm asking a stupid question, but please be polite in your answers. Thanks in advance!
 
1) Rust isn't that big a deal. Kinda why all the folks living in the rain forest survive without Stainless Steel machetes.
2) What do you consider easy to sharpen?
 
Good point about rust not actually ruining a knife.

I guess I'd say I find Sandvik 14C28N to be strike a good enough balance between sharpenability and edge retention.

How hard is it to sharpen CPM 154 by comparison?
 
I am starting to see more and more stainless options in the Bushcraft world. Cmp 154, Nitro V, Aeb-L and of course the Sandvik Steels to name a few. 3v is considered a semi stainless and is also being offered by some makers.
 
There are plenty of good bushcrafting knives in stainless, as others have said. A good number of models in the Mora line are stainless, including the 'high end' Mora, the Garberg. Also check out some newer brands using Sandvik, coming out of China but good quality knives in the under $100 price point: the Ruike Jager for example, or the Real Steel bushcraft knives, in Sandvik. You will also find some more expensive options out there in S35vn, Elmax, etc. Bark River has production bushcraft knives in some of these steels. TOPS has the BOB in 154. There are plenty of stainless options, if you want one.

Also, D2 is an outstanding choice for bushcraft blades, and it is so 'near stainless' (with around 12% to 13% chromium content), that if you take reasonable care of it, you'll never be able to tell the difference. It'll act stainless, but have high edge retention and the toughness of a tool steel. D2 to me is like high performance steel at a budget price, perfect for bushcraft knives provided the maker has done their part and give you a good grind, good blade geometry, and a good handle design.
 
A lot of good comparisons on here over that first steel which was kind of an entry level steel used by Kershaw vs. the second which is a very hard super steel. Just do a google search in a new tab while still logged in.

I'd look at Euro makers for a SS Bushcraft knife. You should find lots choice around the $200 mark.
 
I am a big fan of 14C28N, with a good HT. Great steel. As is Aeb L, Nitro V, CPM 154CM, 154CM, Elmax, S35VN, CPM D2(semi stainless).
There are a lot of great options. That being said, I do love the high chromium carbon steels like CPM 3V, Spectrumwear, K340, K360, CPM Cru-Wear/PD#1/Z-Wear. They are a perfect balance of attributes. IMO But those stainless options are all great, and perform VERY well in a woods knife.
Lots of choices though!! But none will disappoint with good heat treat and blade geometry.
 
Great tips. Super helpful!

I love Mora knives. The steel, the grind, the size, etc. all just perfect for bushcraft, I've found. It's just... they're not exactly pretty. Looking for wood handle or possibly micarta.. something that won't look out of place in a leather sheath.

I'm in the market for a custom blade... Lon Humphrey's Scout in CPM 154 looks amazing. My only concern being the grind (always used scandi bushcraft, no experience with flat grind) and the sharpenability of the steel..
 
woodsman313 said:
Anyone know if there are well-made, good-looking bushcraft knives out there in pedestrian, relatively easy-to-sharpen stainless steels that I may have missed?
Click to expand...
Terävä 110 Puukko.

Pedestrian, well made and cheap as chips.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
 
woodsman313 said:
I'm in the market for a custom blade... Lon Humphrey's Scout in CPM 154 looks amazing. My only concern being the grind (always used scandi bushcraft, no experience with flat grind) and the sharpenability of the steel..
Click to expand...
Lon H makes nice knives.

You can ask him to make one to your specs.

I did, as I needed a knife for pig sticking.

It worked just fine.

k93xfBB.jpg


Wsg7bRS.jpg
 
As pointed out, there are stainless options and there are more and more coming.

From what I've read and heard in discussions with other knife or outdoors people, simple steels are easier to sharpen and you can get a spark from the steel if you needed to. With modern sharpening abrasives, I personally think the sharpening thing is over-dramatic but if you want to carry a couple pieces of sand paper or sharpen off of a rock, harder to sharpen steels won't treat you well.

I have a camp/bushcraft knife made of CPM-M4, because I wanted one, and I carry a diamond stick sharpener. I haven't had to sharpen it in the field though because the edge retention is pretty incredible. CPM-M4, vs the non CPM variant, is supposed to be pretty decent for toughness even at a high hardness. I haven't batoned with it, per cautions from the knife maker, but I have chopped with it a bit and pried out square notches without issue.

Small one is a B&T from Crawford knives from AEB-L and the bigger one is the camp knife from Hardedge knives in CPM-M4
cfJSZ0wl.jpg


Building a wood processing area way back in the woods and trying out various tool combinations. My hudson bay axe is somewhere just off screen.
4YS4meql.jpg
 
The Blackbird is definitely along the lines of what I'm looking for. Again, I'd actually prefer a softer stainless but CPM 154 is probably reasonably sharpenable.

Really, I'd just like to support custom makers rather than a company, even if it means spending more. You know, I'm basically looking for a Helle Knife (beautiful wood handle, Sandvik 14C28N steel, Scandi grind), except made by a self-employed American craftsman in a workshop somewhere...
 
Ah there it is
emDXWLIl.jpg


I believe nitro-v is supposed to be somewhat stainless. Nick has been making a bunch of stuff from nitro-v lately but he was making a bunch from AEB-L. He had some kepharts recently as well that may still be listed; can't remember if they were nitro-v or aeb-l.
https://bladeforums.com/threads/3-woodlore-style-bushcrafters-in-nitro-v.1562803/

Edit: I wanted to add that, like others, the mora stainless options are good. I'm not really a fan of simple carbon steels but they do pretty decent if you keep em dry. I don't like them in winter though and that's when I do more playing in the woods as I like to ride the bicycling during the sunnier seasons. Keeping the sheath snow and ice-free is often my challenge when working with snow covered wood. Especially the machete if I'm clearing trails or an area. Frozen swamps are a blast in the winter as there are a lot of places you can't get to in the summer.
 
Last edited:
The Mora's in Sandvick are great bush crafters ... LT Wright has some great offerings in AEB-L now and I can say they perform great and sharpening is as easy as it gets and the AEB-L takes an amazing edge ...

Benchmade Bushcrafter I believe is in S30V ... not sure how it performs as I have never used one ...

there are several others in stainless steels just maybe not in the newer super steels but that would make them a much bigger pain to sharpen if they were ...

and unless you're in a very wet climate or near salt water it's not so hard to keep non stainless steels from rusting ... a small amount of maintenance drying them off well sortaging outside the sheaths and yes a thin wipe of mineral oil or froglube will keep them in good shape.

JJ
 
It's because carbon steel are traditional, old school, and awesome.
Woodcrafting is very much about a connection to the past with a lot of people.

They knew how to keep knives rust free back then and it's not too hard today, just a light coat of mineral oil.

If you want stainless steel though, mora has options as does Buck.
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
The Mora's in Sandvick are great bush crafters ... LT Wright has some great offerings in AEB-L now and I can say they perform great and sharpening is as easy as it gets and the AEB-L takes an amazing edge ...

and unless you're in a very wet climate or near salt water it's not so hard to keep non stainless steels from rusting ... a small amount of maintenance drying them off well sortaging outside the sheaths and yes a thin wipe of mineral oil or froglube will keep them in good shape.

JJ
Click to expand...

Thing is, I do live in a wet climate next to an ocean... :-/

I like those LT Wrights in AEB-L btw. Thx for the recommendation!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top