Rigging Knife Steel

Jonathans

Jonathans

Joined
Jan 9, 2008
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I have an extensive background as a commercial fisherman and would like to impart some of my experience to make excellent rigging knives. When cutting the hard poly lines and heavy netting on a trawler a smoothly sharpened blade does not work well. One of the favorites amongst the crew are the victorinox serrated paring blades. I have found that putting a fine edge on a good blade, and then a micro bevel with a coarser stone places a toothy edge on the knife which works well. The problem is that a typical crewman will not take the time to put a sophisticated edge on a blade.
So, I am looking for a corrosion resistant steel that will take a long lasting, sharp, toothy edge, using some simple sharpening method on the boat.
Any suggestions?
 
D2 is a semi-stainless steel that has a toothy edge to it. It has large carbides in it that allows the toothy edge, while offering some corrosion resistance.

440c would be my choice for a fishing vessel due to its high corrosion resistance and relative ease of sharpening. It's definitely a finer edge than D2 though.
 
You put two somewhat contrasting needs in your list.

Long lasting edge and easy sharpening are opposites. The harder and tougher the edge, the more resistant it is to abrasion...which is what sharpening is. Simple sharpening is a difficult term to pin down.


I would suggest a hard stainless steel sharpened with a diamond plate. A duo-sharp plate with a coarse and medium side would work fast and well.
For the steel, CPM-S35VN would be very tough and cuts well. It is a bit more difficult to sharpen to a pretty edge for kitchen users, but with a diamond plate it would sharpen quickly for boat use. That would leave a very aggressive toothy edge which should cut rigging well.

Other common steels that would be tough would be CPM-S90, D-2, and 440C.
 
154 CM is a nice choice for rigging knives. I find it to be a good balance of rust resistance and a toothy long lasting edge.

It can be hard getting everyone to keep their knives sharp... or teaching sharpening. I'd consider having one person do the maintenance or making it part of a weekly routine. This has worked well in the commercial kitchens and boats I have worked on. One well known Chef I worked with used inexpensive (but well made) serrated bread knives in the kitchen for just about everything and would just steel them until they were unusable then buy another. I'd catch him using my knife though... :D
 
I used to work on an Platform Supply Vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. I know all about cutting Poly line because we used 2" Poly lines for Dock lines, 3" & 4" Poly lines for Standby/Backdown buoys, & 6"-8" Nylon lines when tying up to the rigs. That stuff is HARD to cut evenly. I always found that wrapping with Duct tape before beginning always helped. We tried everthing from hacksaws to hatchets and the company even tested a tool that used a heated wire to melt through the line.
I wound up carrying one knife for everyday chores and another (serrated Spyderco) specifically for cutting heavy line. The aggressive serrations cut that stuff better than anything I ever tried. That is the ONLY use I've ever had for a serrated blade.
Having said all that, I don't think steel type would matter very much. As long as you use a decent steel and the H/T is done correctly they should all cut about the same on these materials. I think a toothy edge or more importantly, serrations would make a bigger difference that steel type.
I would definitely be interested to hear what you find works best. Good luck on your endeavor.
 
I think a serrated edge made of M390, hardened to Rc 60, sharpened to 600 grit, will give you the best combination of wear resistance and corrosion resistance.

Tim
 
Thanks for all the input and recommendations. I personally had good performance from a Spyderco Police Model that was fully serrated, and I sharpened it on a Sharpmaker set. Most guys either do not know how to sharpen a knife, or do not have the patience to do so. A lot of deck crew prefer to use carbide sharpeners. Some will step up to a Sharpmaker or similar type sharpener, and a few are adept with a stone, diamond or otherwise. I'll experiment a bit with some of the steels recommended. Might try some Cruforge V as well and parkerize it.
 
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+1 for cpm s35vn , poly propylene is a bugger on blades, with a good heat treat including cryo , i have found s35vn sharpened with a worn 400gt belt and paper wheel to be the best solution on deck knives , ropes above 36mm diameter i use a cheap victory full serrated dive knife
 
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I am surprised nobody has mentioned David Boye's dendritic cobalt or Stellite.

FWIW I prefer a plain edge knife when doing rope work, granted I am well equipped to sharpen my knives, but just a 600 grit diamond stone and a crock stick will do the job quickly if the knife's not too dull.

If all the deck crew use a cheap carbide "pull through" sharpener to sharpen, you may as well just give them 420 stainless kitchen knives, that's about all I have found that will get reasonably sharp using one of those. The Sharpmaker works well, but takes a lot of patience if the knife is really dull
 
image.jpgThis is the commercial trawlers deck knife of preference. A 4" serrated Victorinox paring knife. It's all I used and issued when I used to run a net loft. Cuts poly netting and line like butter. Sharpens on a Sharpmaker. They cost 8 bucks. My goal is to make a higher end blade with equal performance but longer lasting edge. Something a guy with pride would want to carry.
How thin do you think I can forge cpm s35vn down to and retain strength/flexibility?
 
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Why would you forge S35VN. It's a particle metal!! I would start with .125" and stock remove to an edge of about .007". Then sharpen at about a 30* inclusive edge. Or, better yet, put a serrated edge on for cutting polypro line. For about $365 you can get a grinder wheel from on of the knife supply stores which puts on an edge that looks like the Spyderco edge.

Tim
 
Thanks Tim,
I have no experience or knowledge regarding this type of steel, having only made some knives from 1084, 1095, 52100, and W1. All being forged. I appreciate everyone's patience with me. It may take a while, but I will post my work and results.
 
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