Review Request for Boye Dendritic Cobalt Folder

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I seem to remember reading good things about them in the past and I wanted to see if there was any feedback on these knives or if there is an old review thread-I went back 45 days in the reviews.
Thanks, Cappy
 
I carried a Dendritic Cobalt folder for a short time, until somebody bought it out of my pocket. I cut a lot of cardboard with it, because I was told it could to that and keep and cutting, and sure enough it did that and kept on cutting. No, I didn't keep a log of X feet of cutting through Y-ply of cardboard. And it still cut shrink wrap satisfactorily after a lot of cardboard.

The conventional wisdom seems to be that Boye Dendritic Cobalt is very good for a "biting" sort of edge, while Talonite, another cobalt mix, is very good for a polished razor sort of edge.


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
In my humble opinion BDS beats ATS-34,
CPM440V, ATS-55, GIN-1, VG-10 and numerous others in edge retention and ease of sharpening.
Blade geometry is outstanding and handle is comfortable on both folder and fixed blade.
The only thing I would like to see is a 4 inch blade folder.
 
Uh oh, we better get our terms square right away! BDC is Boye Dendritic Cobalt, which was the subject of this string. It is not steel, it is a cobalt alloy. BDS is Boye Dendritic STEEL, 440-C made according to Boye's process. BDC - cobalt. BDS - steel.

Joe
 
I've got one.

It's pretty cool. Guess I'll keep it.

It's pretty basic. The clip is positioned so that a lot of the knife sticks out of my pocket. I prefer a low rider.

The clip is made out of some kind of plastic.

I got the one with the whale on the thumb indent area. The blade is real wide (top to bottom) to make room for the whale.

I'd say it would be real good for a saltwater utility. Maybe in a tool or tackle box. I keep mine in my desk drawer and use it to open envelopes and such.

Edge holding....well I have not abused it but it keeps a good edge.

Laters,

Dave

 
Get one, If you like cutting stuff and not having the edge slip on the material. I have one of the blade casts that will not be continued, the primitive archer, as they are scaling their sales more towards saltwater locations. The handle is comfortable but could be thicker, the scales are zytel and the hardware won't corrode in salt water either. The blade sharpens easily and it really cuts, I have a bunch of other knives but recently, since it's new I guess, I grab the Boye to cut stuff and it has kept it's edge. I spoke with David about the Cobalt and he said that it's meant for cutting fiberous type material extremely well, but not for cutting into hard material like knots in wood might, he said might, cause edge deformation. With that in mind I'm more carefull about what I cut with it. But plastics, cardboard, leather or rope it's a very good cutter!

my .02 worth,
G2

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It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me,
it is the parts that I do understand.
Mark Twain
 
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The Cobalt folders are nice for light utility. They do hold an edge a good long time. They also sharpen up pretty nicely. Based on the comments I have heard, I expected only mediocre edges, but I was able to get a good shaving sharpness without any more trouble than a steel edge. It will only get so sharp though. The Cobalt is pretty brittle. Don't get one if you plan to do any prying or metal cutting at all. For cutting soft materials though, it is hard to beat. Completely corrosion proof as far as I can tell. Used one for trimming tackle for two days on a saltwater fishing trip to Alaska this summer and never bothered to rinse it in fresh water. Still looks like new.

Comparing BDC to BDS, I think I would pick BDS if I could only have one or the other. I never use such a small knife too hard anyway, so the steel blade never goes dull on me in the middle of a job, and I always know it is getting dull in time to give it a few strokes on the sharpener. The Cobalt saves me about 5 minutes of sharpening every other week and that's about the extent of its advantages for me.

I like BDS a lot. It holds an edge better than ATS-34, on a par with a good tool steel like D-2 if you ask me, and it is very stain resistant. It is reasonably tough too, maybe tougher than ATS-34. 440C is supposed to be potentially tougher than ATS-34, and BDS is cast 440C. David Boye used one of his 7" kitchen knives to cut half way around a 50 gallon oil drum one time. I saw the knife afterwards, one tiny chip. Great stuff. My Boye 4" drop point is my favorite knife of all time. Very sharp, very strong.

Harv
 
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