Serious questions about 4034 steel

LostCause said:
I'd not grab a folder for SHTF though.
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LostCause said:
I'd not grab a folder for SHTF though.
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Nor would I if I had a choice. But if the zombies come and for some reason i decide to also carry a folder, the SR1 would be that folder. If I were traveling some primitive environment that frowned on fixed blade knives, the SR1 Tanto would be a great choice.

The point of that knife was to pack as much size and strength as possible into a small ergonomic package. People looking to thin slice tomatoes should look elsewhere, but if you want a folder you can count on to never fail, the SR1 is it.
 
Chris_Texas said:
4034 is probably a fine steel for a fighting knife that will be reserved exclusively for slaughtering your foes. Unless you are a crusader you (or your squire) can probably find a moment between slayings to touch up that edge. You just need some kind of real knife for doing knifey things between battles.

Obviously, one would expect a 4034 weapon be appropriately priced, say thirty bucks or so. Cheap enough to leave sticking out of your fallen enemies if that is your preference. If you are reading this Sticky, consider doing a video on that. Girl in chainmail bikini, fallen foes, discarded weapons silhouetted brutally against the sky, and you there like Gandalf with your staff. If you are gonna go fantasy go all the way. well lyn have staff ⚕️ so role fits in
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I just mean 420 can keel ...i don't mean anyone should use 420 knives for ....by the way gerber and many others us that nowadays still
 
If all someone's criteria for a knife to be good is that the knife can "keel" someone, then a cheap boot knife made from a mystery steel would be good enough.

I'm assuming the actual word is "kill" and that no one is expecting a knife to actually keel a person.
 
A few weeks ago I purchased the Magnum Warcraft Tanto in 4034.

While I don't like that they got rid of the 3V version and replaced it with this one in cheap steel that costs almost as much, the store I bought it at had it on sale for under $80.00, which I think is a reasonable price for this knife.

If this price range becomes the normal price for this knife on discount knife sites then I don't see a problem with it since I consider the price reasonable. It is too expensive for what it is at the typical "discount" prices.

I'm not actually sure what the knife is for. The original seemed to be a large survival chopper. The change to a hollow grind makes it a less effective chopper, something they admitted to on the video that introduced it. I suppose it would be an inexpensive substitute for a Magnum Tanto XII for those wanting a fighter, but the Magnum Tanto XII is a far better weapon.
 
Benjamin Liu said:
A few weeks ago I purchased the Magnum Warcraft Tanto in 4034.

While I don't like that they got rid of the 3V version and replaced it with this one in cheap steel that costs almost as much, the store I bought it at had it on sale for under $80.00, which I think is a reasonable price for this knife.

If this price range becomes the normal price for this knife on discount knife sites then I don't see a problem with it since I consider the price reasonable. It is too expensive for what it is at the typical "discount" prices.

I'm not actually sure what the knife is for. The original seemed to be a large survival chopper. The change to a hollow grind makes it a less effective chopper, something they admitted to on the video that introduced it. I suppose it would be an inexpensive substitute for a Magnum Tanto XII for those wanting a fighter, but the Magnum Tanto XII is a far better weapon.
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I agree $80 is reasonable price for it. Still too much in my opinion. As 50€ is the max I'd give.
 
makio said:
Ok gonna agree he lacking but why they use that in 100$+ knives
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Going to war for mystery steel, Happy New Year, what a way to start it 😂
Notice we have a lot of SAK, Mora, Buck, Rough Ryder (440a) fans on the forum, the reason people are mad about this is because the knives were supposed to be in A2 or O1 steel. I do not think it is snobbish to sit and open your mouth to be fed whatever they tell you about steel. Why, nobody mind low alloy. A2 and O1 are not exactly high alloy supersteels...
 
Hashishiin said:
Going to war for mystery steel, Happy New Year, what a way to start it 😂
Notice we have a lot of SAK, Mora, Buck, Rough Ryder (440a) fans on the forum, the reason people are mad about this is because the knives were supposed to be in A2 or O1 steel. I do not think it is snobbish to sit and open your mouth to be fed whatever they tell you about steel. Why, nobody mind low alloy. A2 and O1 are not exactly high alloy supersteels...
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Not super steels, but are actually high carbon steels, unlike 4034 which is at best medium carbon steel. Second thing is edge retention. Then ironically - some still find it easier to sharpen those steels than 4034 and similar stuff, because of the burr and everything. Then resistance to rolls and so on...

I do believe 4034 is tough - because low carbon and softer steel will no surprise have some toughness. But edge stability and other stuff... well that is where problems start.

If it wasn't like that - 4034 and similar steel would be way more popular and expensive. There is a reason why these steels are often marketed as mystery stainless or surgical stainless steel. And there's reason why 4034 is dirt cheap and usually not used in cutlery (at least not quality cutlery).

Sure, Cold Steel does have better HT on them, and sure that HT can do a lot for any steel, but there is the limit of how much it can do.
But in any case, their prices are outrageous for such steel, fit and finish and sheaths.
 
I remember the months past (or is it years already?) when the choice of 4034 caused quite the uproar here. Good times. 😅

Looking back, my biggest issue here is Cold Steel pricing a 4034 knife at neighborhoods where you could get a lot more bang for your buck. I dunno why anyone would grab a 4034 Cold Steel Gurkha at $189, when you can get a Becker BK9 at $133 or Esee Junglas at $175. It’s a similar business practice to fashion watch brands offering $250 watches with basic movements and mediocre case finishing. You can grab a well made Seiko, Citizen, or Orient at less than $250, but I digress.

Now if the 4034 Cold Steel offers similar performance to the Becker or Esee, I’d gladly change my position. Otherwise, it’s borderline dishonorable to charge those prices for an underwhelming steel.
 
DangerZone98 said:
I remember the months past (or is it years already?) when the choice of 4034 caused quite the uproar here. Good times. 😅

Looking back, my biggest issue here is Cold Steel pricing a 4034 knife at neighborhoods where you could get a lot more bang for your buck. I dunno why anyone would grab a 4034 Cold Steel Gurkha at $189, when you can get a Becker BK9 at $133 or Esee Junglas at $175. It’s a similar business practice to fashion watch brands offering $250 watches with basic movements and mediocre case finishing. You can grab a well made Seiko, Citizen, or Orient at less than $250, but I digress.

Now if the 4034 Cold Steel offers similar performance to the Becker or Esee, I’d gladly change my position. Otherwise, it’s borderline dishonorable to charge those prices for an underwhelming steel.
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Even if it performed exactly as well as some premium super-steel (and it objectively does not), 4034 remains a cheap bargain basement metal. 3V knives cost more because the metal costs more, and it is apparently much harder to work with. The same goes for all of the higher end steel knives. They cost more to make, and that cost is passed along to the customer.

4034 is cheap and apparently easy to work with. So, even if it performs like 3V, it should cost the same as any other flea market grade cutlery.
 
Chris_Texas said:
Even if it performed exactly as well as some premium super-steel (and it objectively does not), 4034 remains a cheap bargain basement metal. 3V knives cost more because the metal costs more, and it is apparently much harder to work with. The same goes for all of the higher end steel knives. They cost more to make, and that cost is passed along to the customer.

4034 is cheap and apparently easy to work with. So, even if it performs like 3V, it should cost the same as any other flea market grade cutlery.
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Agreed. If priced appropriately, I think the 4034 issue wouldn’t have made that big of a sh***storm. Imagine if Spyderco reissued the Para Military 2 in 8Cr and charged $189 for it.

Another related issue is that these blades are still being pushed as tool knives. If that 4034 blade breaks or chips while doing fairly hard use, I can’t imagine that the dude who spent $189 will be overjoyed.

Would have been better served by a Becker, Esee, or any custom knife from this site.
 
goldie said:
I got a Cold Steel Kiridashi 4034 steel real cheap (21.00) to try it out. Been using it at work, and im not too impressed by it. Cut some cardboard, plastic straps,nothing too heavy,The edge doesnt last too long,it resharpens pretty easy but like others say, its not really that great .I wouldnt break the doors down for it.Its neck and neck with 3cr13 which is another sock puppet steel. Had a Kershaw Diskin in that steel it dulled when the wind blew.I think for their AUS10 is light years ahead of this crap. They should use AUS10 instead of 4034 and 4116 as their minimum steel.
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What is sock puppet steel? I've never heard this expression before and I get that it has a negative connotation, but what makes it "sock puppet?" Simply a way of saying that it's of poor quality?
 
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