Stainless knives through time

Horsewright · Dec 14, 2018

I have numerous customers that were Special Forces members during Vietnam. To this day I can't sell them a stainless knife. Several of them have mentioned that they were taught never to have a stainless knife, that they just wern't as good as carbon steel. I've always kinda figured it was not the steel but the heat treat technique/recipe that made those knives poor.

ISKRA · Dec 14, 2018

Horsewright said:
I have numerous customers that were Special Forces members during Vietnam. To this day I can't sell them a stainless knife. Several of them have mentioned that they were taught never to have a stainless knife, that they just wern't as good as carbon steel. I've always kinda figured it was not the steel but the heat treat technique/recipe that made those knives poor.

Did they use gun blue on their knives in 'Nam? I imagine they'd rust otherwise, given the climate there.

kvaughn · Dec 14, 2018

ISKRA said:
Did they use gun blue on their knives in 'Nam? I imagine they'd rust otherwise, given the climate there.

Most of the military issue blades I can think of at the time were not stainless. I'm sure some one will come up with an example but it seems we just took care of them.--Just remembered the demo pocket knife was stainless but my TL-29 was carbon. The bayonets were Parkerized iirc.--KV

Buzzbait · Dec 14, 2018

Horsewright said:
I have numerous customers that were Special Forces members during Vietnam. To this day I can't sell them a stainless knife. Several of them have mentioned that they were taught never to have a stainless knife, that they just wern't as good as carbon steel. I've always kinda figured it was not the steel but the heat treat technique/recipe that made those knives poor.

Well....... From a Vietnam perspective, and most likely a Korean War viewpoint as well....... Their only issued stainless steel knife was probably a Camillus-made MIL-K knife, a scout pattern. It's probably the most produced US-made knife in history, made of all stainless steel. And the MIL-K knife had a terrible rumor of easily breaking.

kvaughn · Dec 14, 2018

Buzzbait said:
Well....... From a Vietnam perspective, and most likely a Korean War viewpoint as well....... Their only issued stainless steel knife was probably a Camillus-made MIL-K knife, a scout pattern. It's probably the most produced US-made knife in history, made of all stainless steel. And the MIL-K knife had a terrible rumor of easily breaking.

I think that is what we called a demo knife. Not sure why. Maybe because it was stainless and wouldn't spark? I preferred and carried a carbon TL-29. Camillus iirc.--KV

Buzzbait · Dec 14, 2018

kvaughn said:
I think that is what we called a demo knife. Not sure why. Maybe because it was stainless and wouldn't spark? I preferred and carried a carbon TL-29. Camillus iirc.--KV

My father-in-law was in the Korean War. He had both. He kept the TL-29 til the day he passed away a couple years ago. He used it through his service, and for another 30 years as a Craftsman mechanic. It's a rock solid model knife. He didn't take to the MIL-K knife.

JohnDF · Dec 14, 2018

This is the most civil and informative SS vs Carbon thread ever :thumbsup:

Pinemoon · Dec 14, 2018

Horsewright said:
I have numerous customers that were Special Forces members during Vietnam. To this day I can't sell them a stainless knife. Several of them have mentioned that they were taught never to have a stainless knife, that they just wern't as good as carbon steel. I've always kinda figured it was not the steel but the heat treat technique/recipe that made those knives poor.

Wondering if part of the reason "don't carry a stainless knife" was drilled into those special ops guys was for firestarting in a survival situation?

veitsi_poika · Dec 14, 2018

Ulster had a similar "all stainless" model to the Camillus that Buzz mentioned.

veitsi_poika · Dec 14, 2018

I always noticed the old Schrade Cut Co Catalogs tended to throw the stainless models in the back of the catalogs... here is probably my coolest all Stainless Steel knife, from the 1930's a Schrade Cut Co "Bos N' S' Mate" w/ etch on the huge SS sheepsfoot

veitsi_poika · Dec 14, 2018

Pinemoon · Dec 14, 2018

veitsi_poika said:
View attachment 1037895

View attachment 1037896

Very interesting.
Do you have a date for this write-up?

veitsi_poika · Dec 14, 2018

Pinemoon said:
Very interesting.
Do you have a date for this write-up?

That was in the 1926 Schrade Cut Co catalog :thumbsup:

John A. Larsen · Dec 15, 2018

I had a TL-29 in 1965 in Vietnam and it would rust if you looked at it, I literally would clean it and wipe it down with oil daily. We could not get "Demo" knives (they came in our Demo kits) until one day on the street of flowers in Saigon, sitting on the side walk an old Vietnamese lady was selling stuff and there were Demo Knives still in the wrapper, so I bought one, probably why we could not get issued one as they were stolen for the black market. I carried that Demo knife for the Rest of the tour, thru Ranger School and back to Vietnam. A friend borrowed it to cut leaflet bundles and I never saw it again. The next three Demo knives all had the blade springs break, just opening the blade. Then I saw a Swiss Army Knife that the recon teams from CCC, SOG were being issued and bought a SAK from Corrado Cutlery and never looked back. Not sure why Horsewright's customers will not buy stainless as I knew lots of men in SF that carried stainless steel knives, from Hibben's, Randalls, and most of all Buck's.
I also seem to remember adds by Schrade saying their stainless was so good that they did not have to mark their blades "Stainless' like everyone else did, just 'Schrade +". John

kvaughn · Dec 16, 2018

Reading my earlier posts, I don't want to mislead anyone. I was relating to my blade use in the Army on the Czech border-'72 to 76. Not 'Nam--KV