Sandvik Stainless or Sandvik Carbon steel?

I found the Carbon a bit easier to sharpen. But either is a simple 20 or so swipes on each side with the coarse and find rods of the Spyderco Sharpmaker. A basic wiping down and occasional wiping of mineral oil is more than enough maintenance. It's not like exposure to air will have the blade dissolve in your hand. If a forced patina is important to you then soak the blade tip down in vinegar, in a fluted wine glass or whatever. Leave it over night. Rinse the next day and wipe the water off. Don't over think all this. These knives are inexpensive and you will eventually end of with wayyyyyy more of them than you need, and semi tire of them. But there are great knives in and of themselves. I have a bunch of blaze orange stainless Companions in bags, a vehicle etc. I have a ratty and ugly carbon HD Companion that is my favorite Mora grab n, go. B.T.W., the H.D.s don't slice potatoes or whatever, as well as the standard version.
 
upnorth said:
If a forced patina is important to you then soak the blade tip down in vinegar, in a fluted wine glass or whatever
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Great advice, heat the vinegar first, use cider vinegar and most important is to remember that vinegar is a chemical. More specifically an acid, albeit a mild acid but an acid nonetheless so as such you need to stop the process once you're done etching the blade otherwise you get spotty results. Before you pull it out of the vinegar fill another wine glass with water and some baking soda to neutralize the acic then rinse it and pat it dry, don't rub it but pat it completely dry before you give it a light coat of oil, it'll set with time. If you want a patina the food method is best, apples, strawberries, relish, mustard all make for interesting patinas.

In my opinion a natural occurring patina is best. Just use your knife, keep it clean and dry and it'll build layer upon layer of a natural lasting patina. The one I have on my Case Swayback Jack is like anodizing it's so tough, I tried to polish it back up and I couldn't get it all off even using steel wool. There's lots of advise in maintenance and tinkering on forcing a patina. I'll see if I can find a couple for you.
 
Mora uses fine grained stainless steel and carbon steel. They equally take great edges very easily. I have both and don't feel any difference in the cutting I do. The only difference i notice is the staining which I consider irrelevant.
 
Don't worry so much about maintenance of the carbon steel blade. I've had a carbon steel Mora for 6+ years. I've forced patinas, removed them, used the knife and used it for sharpening practice, and the blade hasn't rusted away. If you're in the outdoors all you have to do is keep a rag handy and wipe the blade off before you put it back in the sheath. When you're at home, wash and dry the blade before storage. You can apply a thin coating of USP mineral oil with a rag before storage if you want. I store mine dry. It's not going to develop any serious rust without egregious prolonged neglect, such as putting it away bloody or leaving it in a field.

Moras are cheap. They're tools. The carbon one requires being wiped dry before being stored, although I'd wipe a stainless blade dry also. Pick the one with the color you like better and call it a day.
 
[Quote, post: 17343186, member: 481412"]My sharpening skills are absoulutely terrible if im going to be honest but i usually don't use knives enough to need to sharpen them ive had a benchmade 940 since Christmas of 2016 and ive used it almost everyday since then and it still razorsharp and thats probably becuae of the steel (s30v) which is a "super steel" and i recieved a ontario rat 1 (d2 steel) and it's still fantastically sharp (not as sharp as the 940) ive never had to sharpen these i own a 15$ sharpening stone from s&w which is well used and my enviroment is not in the middle of nowhere and i dont go out bushcrafting very much just common house tasks[/QUOTE]

First off, if you're impressed with S30V and want to geek out, check out Cedric and Ada's cut comparison list at the end of his videos. You might be surprised how it performs next to other steels.

I get the not wanting to sharpen thing. You have a tool, you want to use it. Why waste time sharpening when you could be doing other things or just using the tool?

Fair point.

There might even be a sharpening service somewhere near you that could do the work for you, if you wanted.

If you do get to a point you're willing to reconsider sharpening your own blades, these would be the videos worth watching.


You might not care right now, but come back later and check them out.

In a sea of knives, the one who can sharpen is king.

Plus, it can be quite meditative and rewarding.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
Great advice, heat the vinegar first, use cider vinegar and most important is to remember that vinegar is a chemical. More specifically an acid, albeit a mild acid but an acid nonetheless so as such you need to stop the process once you're done etching the blade otherwise you get spotty results. Before you pull it out of the vinegar fill another wine glass with water and some baking soda to neutralize the acic then rinse it and pat it dry, don't rub it but pat it completely dry before you give it a light coat of oil, it'll set with time. If you want a patina the food method is best, apples, strawberries, relish, mustard all make for interesting patinas.

In my opinion a natural occurring patina is best. Just use your knife, keep it clean and dry and it'll build layer upon layer of a natural lasting patina. The one I have on my Case Swayback Jack is like anodizing it's so tough, I tried to polish it back up and I couldn't get it all off even using steel wool. There's lots of advise in maintenance and tinkering on forcing a patina. I'll see if I can find a couple for you.
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I've heard that you should also rub the knife down a little with steel wool before you soak in the vinegar why is that?
 
Logan_lemaire said:
I've heard that you should also rub the knife down a little with steel wool before you soak in the vinegar why is that?
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HCS blades usually come highly polished because when polished, the surface of the steel has a less irregularities on the surface for rust to start on. By scuffing the surface with fine scratches you create surface irregularities which makes it easier to begin the etch/patina.
 
I can't quite work out what the advantage of carbon steel is with these particular knives?
 
I would love to see a comparison test between an mora pro-c and an mora pro-s, Both knives are identical apart from one uses card and one uses stainless.

I prefer stainless myself, I love shiny steel.

John.

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An alternative to forcing a patina is to use cold bluing, either liquid or paste. I did that with my cheap ($10) Mora and it looks fantastic. I followed the instructions on the bottle and treated it three times to get a nice, deep blue. (This idea was inspired by a couple of Western G46-6 "shark" knives that I inherited from my father.)
 
Ace Rimmer said:
An alternative to forcing a patina is to use cold bluing, either liquid or paste. I did that with my cheap ($10) Mora and it looks fantastic. I followed the instructions on the bottle and treated it three times to get a nice, deep blue. (This idea was inspired by a couple of Western G46-6 "shark" knives that I inherited from my father.)
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Can you post a photo?

John.
 
Pomsbz said:
By how much?
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I own both and can't tell the difference.

OP, get a standard stainless companion. Don't bother spending extra to get "125" on the blade and don't bother with the 1/8 inch thick carbon. Get the standard stainless and try sharpening again. Mora's are a cinch to sharpen because you just lay the wide bevel flat on the stone. Easiest sharpening for a knife there is.
 
Logan_lemaire said:
which is which?
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The Stainless is the one that really doesn't require much or any maintenance beyond sharpening as needed vs Carbon which to prevent rusting you should do some extra maintenance such as light coat of oil or putting a patina on it or both in addition to basics like sharpening. The Carbon steel generally holds up better over time if you can keep it properly maintained.
 
carbon steel can give food a bad taste, stainless does not have this problem, also with carbon steel you should avoid cutting acidic fruits as it can rust/patina your knife in seconds.

John.
 
John Stubley said:
carbon steel can give food a bad taste, stainless does not have this problem, also with carbon steel you should avoid cutting acidic fruits as it can rust/patina your knife in seconds.

John.
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When you experience this taste is it a knife you have oiled and if so what kind of oil and do you wipe it down? People intentional use acidic fruits to force patina on carbon steel and a patina is good unless you are OCD on the aesthetics of your knife but it isn't some super fast patina/rusting unless you take hours to finish a meal and/or don't wipe down your blade after use or clean it either.
 
PirateSeulb said:
When you experience this taste is it a knife you have oiled and if so what kind of oil and do you wipe it down? People intentional use acidic fruits to force patina on carbon steel and a patina is good unless you are OCD on the aesthetics of your knife but it isn't some super fast patina/rusting unless you take hours to finish a meal and/or don't wipe down your blade after use or clean it either.
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Sorry i always use stainless for processing food, though i have read many times that carbon steel knives can impart a bad taste.

I did a vinegar forced patena on an Mora Pro-C while it did the job, I was a bit upset as i like to see my knives blades so you can see your face in them, I use my Pro-S in the kitchen all the time.

I just bought a couple Mora Bushcraft Force while i could as they are not made any more, my Mora collection is coming together, I want an Mora 2080 Triflex while i can still find stock on one website.

John.
 
John Stubley said:
Sorry i always use stainless for processing food, though i have read many times that carbon steel knives can impart a bad taste.

I did a vinegar forced patena on an Mora Pro-C while it did the job, I was a bit upset as i like to see my knives blades so you can see your face in them, I use my Pro-S in the kitchen all the time.

I just bought a couple Mora Bushcraft Force while i could as they are not made any more, my Mora collection is coming together, I want an Mora 2080 Triflex while i can still find stock on one website.

John.
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I hadn't heard the bit about imparting taste other than in reference to what some people use to coat their Carbon Steel and likely all there is too it I haven't noticed with my one Carbon Steel Opinel No. 6 and I use Mineral Oil on it. I get have a preference for no patina personally how I am which is why I keep my blade clean, dry, and well oiled.
 
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