Recommendation for my first carbon steel knife

J

Jessero

Joined
Jan 12, 2011
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168
Ive recently started whittling, using a buck 303 and a 301. While they are nice, comfortable, and do a fine job, ive read that many people swear by carbon steel for whittling.

For my birthday, I got a $50 gift card for the world largest online retailer, and have my eye on a Case CV medium stockman, with amber bone scales and a pen blade instead of spey. Based on the research ive done this would make a good knife for whittlin'. However, I thought id post here and get some more opinions and explore other options.

As far as preferences, I really like the sheepsfoot blade of the 301 and 303. Size-wise, the 301 truly is a little more comfortable in the hand, however, the pocket-ability of the 303 makes the 303 the winner IMO. So i guess im looking for something 303 sized or slightly larger, but not quite as big as the 301.
For budget im aiming to keep it $40 or under, and it has to be from the place where my gift card is from :)

Also, im not stuck on a Case knife... however, ive never owned one, and hear their CV steel gets nice and sharp.

Im not into plastic scales. Any opinions on the Amber bone? Looks like two other common CV options are dark red bone and chestnut bone, are they any good? I kind of recall someone saying their dark red bone knife (peanut maybe?) looked more like pink...
 
The Case 63032 is a great size (3 5/8"). Big enough to grip with good control, but not so big that you won't want to put it in your pocket. You can get them with CV steel in amber and chestnut bone. The "dark red" bone medium stockman is NOT the same knife. It's a 6344 (6=bone/jigged delrin, 3=blades, 44=pattern), and is a fairly small knife (same length as the 303, but much thinner) - and the bone probably won't be "darK" red.

The 3 5/8" 6318 pattern stockmans are good too. A bit heftier than the 63032, and with a spay blade instead of the pen.
 
I have a few knives that I use for whittling. A pocketknife's great virtue is portability. They are not all that comfortable during long whittling sessions.

If you are like me and spend a lot of time whittling at home, portability becomes less of a concern. If that's the case I'd suggest getting a couple of fixed blades. You can get a Mora 106 and 122 for ~ $40. They have laminated steel blades that are better than anything you'd find in a production slipjoint. Best of all, they come out of the box sharp and ready to use.

- Christian
 
kamagong said:
I have a few knives that I use for whittling. A pocketknife's great virtue is portability. They are not all that comfortable during long whittling sessions.

If you are like me and spend a lot of time whittling at home, portability becomes less of a concern. If that's the case I'd suggest getting a couple of fixed blades. You can get a Mora 106 and 122 for ~ $40. They have laminated steel blades that are better than anything you'd find in a production slipjoint. Best of all, they come out of the box sharp and ready to use.

- Christian
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+1:thumbup:
 
Jessero said:
Ive recently started whittling ... many people swear by carbon steel for whittling. ... have my eye on a Case CV medium stockman, with amber bone scales and a pen blade instead of spey. Based on the research ive done this would make a good knife for whittlin'. ...
Im not into plastic scales. Any opinions on the Amber bone? Looks like two other common CV options are dark red bone and chestnut bone, are they any good? I kind of recall someone saying their dark red bone knife (peanut maybe?) looked more like pink...
Click to expand...

Great knife. Personally, I'd choose either the amber bone or chestnut bone. Both look great on these Case knives.

Happy birthday,

-- Mark
 
Mooremaker made by Queen, as in their model 5301, 3 7/8" stockman. I've been carrying one of these since it came out in 2003. Excellent heat treatment, by far one of my best edge retention knives.
 
Case 63032 Medium Stockman in either Amber Bone CV or Chestnut Bone CV are great knives. The choice between them is based on your color preference. Otherwise they are nearly identical, except for a minor variation in the jigging pattern which also is more cosmetic than functional. The peach-seed jigging on the Amber bone may be a little bit more grippy, but it depends more on the individual knife.

I have no experience with whittling so can't begin to advise you on their suitability to the task.
 
jc57 said:
Case 63032 Medium Stockman in either Amber Bone CV or Chestnut Bone CV are great knives. The choice between them is based on your color preference. Otherwise they are nearly identical, except for a minor variation in the jigging pattern which also is more cosmetic than functional. The peach-seed jigging on the Amber bone may be a little bit more grippy, but it depends more on the individual knife.

I have no experience with whittling so can't begin to advise you on their suitability to the task.
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100 % agreed!

I have the Medium Stockman in Chestnut Bone and Yellow Delrin. The Chestnut Bone was my only knife for a period of about nine months - all the others were left in the drawer.

Handle material is your preference, but IMO you can´t wrong with a Medium Stockman.
 
I love case' cv steel, I think that would be a good choice. Myself, I love a congress for whittling. The sheepsfoot blades and the handle to blade ratio make for a very useful pocketable carving tool. This boker for instance, you could find one within your price range easily, and boker even does a 'carvers congress' knife (although, I don't own one.... yet)





Paul
 
Böker's Whittler is well worth looking into as well and I like their carbon, it is very keen.

Then there's Queen cutlery's Whittler in D2 which is exceptional stuff when it's tasted the diamonds....
 
Thanks for all the replies!

kamagong- i do like Mora's and im certain you are right that it is a better "tool for the job", but i do want the portability of a pocket knife, at least right now while the weather is nice and im outside alot. If my interest continues on in to the colder months i probably will get the two you are recommeding.


pmew- wow, that was such a good looking knife...i didnt know about Boker Tree Brand... ordered the congress knife in brown bone for $32 shipped. Hope its a good one!

And now i still need to get a case knife! :)
 
Jessero said:
pmew- wow, that was such a good looking knife...i didnt know about Boker Tree Brand... ordered the congress knife in brown bone for $32 shipped. Hope its a good one!
Click to expand...

Excellent choice my friend!

:)
 
A good starting point is the humble Opinel, the No. 8 is the most common and a great general purpose blade, but I really love the diminutive No. 6, it vanishes in the watch pocket of jeans, and it's so light you forget it's even there.

And the sheer cutting prowess of the Opinel carbon steel blade is unmatched, as a pure cutting tool, it performs well outside it's meager price range, embarrassing many other fancier, and more expensive knives.

Sure, it may not have the fanciest scale material, or nice shiny blade steel, but for under $20 (oftentimes WELL under $20) you can't beat it.

Besides, if you give carbon steel a try and hate it (unlikely), you're not out any real money, and the Opi can still serve well as a kitchen food prep or steak knife.

Once you're hooked, then you can get into the Peanuts and Sodbusters, Trappers, Stockmans, Canoes, Swaybacks and whatever else catches your fancy, but do yourself a favor, start with an Opinel, it's a true gateway knife for the carbon steel addiction.
 
Hi MacTech- i have an opinel number 6... forgot about it when posting this :) It is a good knife, i use it to slice up chicken and veggies and it works well. However, for whittling i find a small sheepsfoot blade is ideal.

Update: Got my Boker Congress on Monday. What a nice knife! Good looks, and it is slicing through the stick i am whittling like butter! Thanks again for the solid recommendations everyone.
 
Schrade's old USA made sawcut delrin knives with 1095 carbon steel are somewhat legendary for their great heat-treatment, i.e. they take and hold a terrific edge. You can find many available on the secondary market and at auction. Just make sure they have the carbon blades. The newer imported Schrades and any marked "Schrade +" have stainless blades.
 
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