Recommendation? Steel Suggestion

You might look for a knife with heavy blade geometry. Sharpen it to more than 40 degrees inclusive. Good tough steels are 3V, Elmax and ABE-L.
 
My exact form of work I used to use my knife for... since getting out of the industry I was in I needed a knife to preform like that... I picked up a zt0909 and that thing was and still is amazing... it just doesn't get used as much anymore... I was up tinkering on the ladder the other day and had a bad wood siding piece... no I didn't climb down get a pry bar or anything I whipped out ol zt and presto popped it right off no blade play nothing... it's sad it sits a lot but my s35vn is a trusty steel I just find with being in a warehouse something like a ritter grip might suit me better... lemme know if you want to try the zt out I'll let ya run a trial week with it
 
I would say get a multi-tool
Then for a pocket knife get Ontario Rat 1(AUS 8 is a good stainless)AUS 8 or D2. Spyderco Cru-Wear, Benchmade Griptilian in M4.

You definitely don't want to pry with a cutting tool. A multi tool has enough pry-able tools on it to be handy. Or get a little pry tool and a pocket knife for cutting. Multi tool would be much better for cutting wire as well.
 
Balls Deep said:
What in taking away from the ops post is he is wanting a 1 handed operating knife (which most all kershaws do). And that he just wants one tool, given that he probably knows multitools exist and he did not ask about them. I'm also getting the vibe he's ok with wearing out a knife and replacing it and that he would prefer to go a longer period of time without doing so.

With those criteria I would take a look at a bench made adamas, non assisted would be at the upper tier but you probably wouldn't break it doing what you describe. Also I would echo aus8 cold steels in the recon or voyager lines or a voyager in bd1 if you want to save on price.

Edit: since it's a homestead situation a fixed blade would also be pretty appropriate and an esee 4 is pretty bomb proof for the size.
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Exactly, great reply.

I have a multi tool, wire cutters, pry bars, etc... but needing something on me all the time to be tough as possible is also what I need, and why this thread was created. If you can walk 10' to the garage to get what you need and fix something that's awesome but often when you're 'out and about' it's either deal with it now and fix it or get back to what you're primarily doing and fix it later, maybe.

I had a SOG knife before in aus8 and it was used for all of these purposes and lasted a little longer, I have the same Kershaw in s30v but not sure about the hT and material specifically. The SOG was a bit too thick to comfortably use when wearing shorts too though.

I'm very much aware this isn't a all tool it's a knife, but maybe some more technical discussion on the material, blade thickness and offerings than a lecture on carrying more tools.

I'll get some pictures of what I've done to blades, oh and for the person who said the knife isn't to blame, you're right I did it.
 
ATJ999 said:
I would say get a multi-tool
Then for a pocket knife get Ontario Rat 1(AUS 8 is a good stainless)AUS 8 or D2. Spyderco Cru-Wear, Benchmade Griptilian in M4.

You definitely don't want to pry with a cutting tool. A multi tool has enough pry-able tools on it to be handy. Or get a little pry tool and a pocket knife for cutting. Multi tool would be much better for cutting wire as well.
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Thanks, I actually have that exact knife in my cart I was debating about checking out for the value alone!
 
ToddW said:
I daily carry a Kershaw with a 14c28n blade material, I'm finding the material to be too hard and snapping for my utility work. I have around 5 moon-shape chunks out of the blade. I use this blade around the homestead so it's for cutting rope, wire, prying out staples, digging out nails in wood to get to them with a hammer, and just general utility usage. I've had it since 2013 approx. so I've gotten a lot of life out of it.

Holding a razor sharp edge isn't as important to me as not breaking / chipping.

What kind of steel should I be looking for that fits my general utility need?

I'm looking for a folding knife. I'm not stuck on '1' brand. Ideally $150 or less since it will be 'abused' by most standards :)
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I am about to save you $1000s of dollars and time spent on a wild goose chase for magic indestructible steel.

It's not the steel, it's the geometry and what your doing with it. There is no magic steel.

Look at those cheap cold chisels at the hardware store. They aren't going to chip on you and can be used to break up rocks and stones. Do you think they are using high performance steel?

Hahaha no way.

It's all about the geometry my friend. Those chisels just use cheap low carbon steel that is thick AF

Sounds like you need a thicker knife behind the edge with a very step edge.

It's just not going to cut very well but That's the caveat.

So unless you change how you use the knife it's going to need to be thicker and not cut very well so it doesn't break.

That's why you will hear everyone say, "use the right tool for the job"

Performance can be attained from specializing the tasks a tool is used for.

Otherwise if you use a tool or are looking for a tool for everything then it will suck at everything.
 
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ToddW said:
I daily carry a Kershaw with a 14c28n blade material, I'm finding the material to be too hard and snapping for my utility work. I have around 5 moon-shape chunks out of the blade. I use this blade around the homestead so it's for cutting rope, wire, prying out staples, digging out nails in wood to get to them with a hammer, and just general utility usage.
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No matter what the steel, cutting "wire" with a knife is just a bad idea.

Like asking what's the best knife for sculpting stone...
 
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Twindog said:
You might look for a knife with heavy blade geometry. Sharpen it to more than 40 degrees inclusive. Good tough steels are 3V, Elmax and ABE-L.
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Thought I'd add that 14c28n is in the AEB-l family of steels it's Sandvicks upgrade to 13c26 which a copy of Bohler Uddeholm AEB-L but with a slight carbon drop replaced with nitrogen added to improve the corrosion resistance. Might even be tougher.

I don't think any sharp edge can last no matter what the steel is if it's being used like a cold chisel especially not when chunks of steel are missing at the edge.
Yikes
 
I'd go for a knife with soft, easy to shape back steel.
If a SOG Multitool is not an option (excellent wire cutters, great prying implements) but you still want to go the SOG way, I'd recommend the SOG Fielder in AUS8 steel.

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I've found it very easy to resharpen, dulls quickly but bends instead of shipping, is excellently "plastic" for abusive cutting and can be brought back to shaving sharp in a breeze.
Inexpensive enough to replace if broken, and carries incredibly nice with that clip
 
Gerber center drive multi tool is one handed for the knife and pliers/wire cutter tools. great option for one hand function. its also got a prybar that's amazing on it as well as the best screw driver ever on a multi tool.
 
Those SOG wire cutters aren't all that good. They are OK for anything other than steel, bailing, or other harder wires. Copper, thin electrical, phone, are fine. Anything larger will bend the hell out of the jaws.

If you want a multitool, get one with replaceable hardened cutters. I think the OHT has them, as well as some other Leatherman's.
 
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NJBillK said:
Those SOG wire cutters aren't all that good. They are OK for anything other than steel, bailing, or other harder wires. Copper, thin electrical, phone, are fine. Anything larger will bend the hell put of the jaws.

If you want a multitool, get one with replaceable hardened cutters. I think the OHT has them, as well as some other Leatherman's.
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Neither are the Gerber's.
 
I would think a blade with a razel-style shape would be along the lines of what you are looking for. Either that or it might be that you should just get a handful of cheap knives from Home Depot or similar that you can toss when they get too beat up. I grabbed a 2 pack of knives for $10 there that I use so I can leave a knife at work I don't care about.

Medford's are stupid stout but $$$, there are some... um... similar knives sold out of the Far East.
 
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Deadbox suggested a knife with a blade thick between the shoulders and an obtuse blade angle. That's good advice.

It's difficult to find statistics for the edge width of the shoulders (behind the edge width), even though it's a key feature of how well the knife will cut and stand abuse (you get one or the other). You'll want an edge width of at least 0.0300. More is better. If you reprofile the blade to a more obtuse angle, you can also increase the shoulder width of the edge.

You could look for a blade at least 0.16 inches thick at the spine, with a saber grind, the lower the better. You also want a blade with late distal taper to protect the tip. Reprofile the edge to 50 degrees.

The Spyderco Tuff, which has been mentioned but is discontinued, has a 0.16 inch blade of 3V steel with an oversized pivot and a fuller in the blade to make it stronger.

The old ZT 0550 is incredibly tough. So is the old ZT 0200 and the newer ZT 0220 (but the 0200 is a beast). You might also try the ZT 0900, which is made of thick stock and has a short blade, which can help prevent damage from prying.

You can get an used 0550 pretty cheap. I'd try that first and see how it goes.
 
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