Talonite dive knife?

steve22595

steve22595

Joined
Jun 26, 2000
Messages
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One of my best friends just graduated from the fire academy. He is an avid diver and is in need of a new dive knife. I was wondering if anyone knows if:
a) Talonite would be a good blade material for this purpose.
b)a maker already has a dive design in this material.
c) If not, which maker(s) can do this for me.
d) Ballpark, what will this cost for a 4-5" blade riding in kydex.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Steve
 
Kit Carson makes what I consider to be the best dive knife available.He uses Stelite which is almost identical to Talonite.However,these blade materials do not come cheap and Kit does have a wait.But,if you want the best....Forgot to mention,the sheath he uses from Frank Sigmon is also the best designed I have seen.
Hope this helped,
John
ps.Kit makes this knife for members of the Navy EOD units.
 
Thanks for your help. I think I'll write Mr. Carson for some more info. You seldom go wrong when you buy the best!
wink.gif


Steve
 
Stellite 6K is very different from Talonite. While both have similar bases materials wise, 6K gains strength and wear resistance from additional carbon, Talonite uses an age hardening process.

David Boye makes dive knives out of cast Cobalt. Which like Stellite and Talonite will not rust :

http://www.boyeknivesgallery.com/diveknives.html


-Cliff
 
Kit Carson is the man in this type of knife.
He has a knife called the U2 made from talonite or stellite k6. He is also a great knifemaker and person. Give him a call.


------------------
Web Site At www.darrelralph.com

[This message has been edited by Darrel Ralph (edited 07-19-2000).]
 
Cliff,
To my knowledge, the only difference between 6K (Stellite) and 6BH (Talonite) is that 6k has 1% more carbon. The other materials are identical.
It is aged and hot rolled also.

Other than being misleading, what was the point of your post. I'm confused with your terms "very different" and "similiar base materials".

 
cliff,

i gotta ask.....have you ever used or tested stellite and talonite in real usage?
i didnt think the 2 were "very" different!
kit has used stellite and talonite for many years and talk with the maunufactures, so i would think he knows as much as anyone on them. he has tested them for reallife usage, not concrete carving.
 
Originally posted by Kit Carson:
To my knowledge, the only difference between 6K (Stellite) and 6BH (Talonite) is that 6k has 1% more carbon. The other materials are identical.
It is aged and hot rolled also.

Click to expand...

Kit--

From my reading of the carbon ranges in 6BH and 6K, it seems there's a difference of about one half of one percent carbon in the over-all alloy makeup; up to .9% of the alloy in 6BH and up to 1.4% in 6K. But to me that says the difference between the two alloys would be as much as 50% or more in the actual amount of carbon in the alloy. In blade steels, a difference of 50% in carbon content is potentially great in its effect, is it not? Wouldn't it hold that the difference in cobalt based alloys could be very significant to performance as well? From Cliff's testing with Talonite and 6K, this seems evident. (RE: his reviews of the MEUK in Talonite and Gerber in Stellite 6K)
Further, from my discussions with 6BH manufacturers, I've been told that the age hardening process is specific to the "H" in the description. I've not heard any reference from the Deloro Stellite reps I've talked with, to age hardening--just hot rolling to produce the "wrought" material. Have I missed something?

Thanks, Kit--Will

[This message has been edited by WILL YORK (edited 07-20-2000).]
 
Don't forget about Allen Blade's blades! He is in the Best Buy Hall of Fame for Knifemakers!

------------------
"Life's tough, it's tougher if you're stupid."
copfish@aol.com
 
A base material is just something that both have in common from which they can be derived along a simple path for a specific purpose. For example, comparing both to Stellite 6B (base material), Stellite 6K has more carbon and Talonite is age hardened. If you went further back you would get Stellite 6 which has the same composition of 6B but is not worked the same. 6K is not age hardened, I asked Deloro Stellite about this months ago.

I should clarify the above about David Boye's cast dendritic Cobalt. It is very different from Stellite 6K or Talonite. Whereas both of these materials are very ductile and tough, the cast Cobalt is not. It fractures very easily compared to them. It is also softer (39 RC) and much weaker from what I have seen. I would be curious to know what the Tensile strength and impact toughness are.

On the positive side Boye's cast cobalt has more bite at high polishes, which is the intended goal of the casting. As well, David Boye grinds some of the highest performance cutting edges I have seen, he is the equal of Phil Wilson and only out done by the no edge bevel makers like Martin and Schott.

One reservation about Boye's dive knife is that while it does make shallow cuts quite well because of the thin edge profile, it is very thick at the spine (.3") and thus the thick primary grind really makes deep cuts difficult. How significant this is obviously depends on what you want it to be able to do. The thickness would give it good prying strength, but the material used doesn't give me great confidence in that specific area.

Boye can also be reached by email (address is on his website).

-Cliff


[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 07-19-2000).]
 
Steve: I have a talonite Quicking in stock, set up as a dice knife with checkered scales and Kydex sheath set up for Thigh carry using 1" straps.
emial me if interested...

RJ Martin
 
Originally posted by rj martin:
dice knife
Click to expand...

Hope you don't cut yourself when you try to roll for a lucky seven!! LOL
biggrin.gif


Steve, you wouldn't go far wrong using either Stellite 6K or Talonite. They both have incredible corrosion resistance, which allow them to live in salt water without any noticable detrimental effects. And I would advise that you check out the custom makers mentioned. Their designs and workmanship are truly high quality as attested by many forumites.

But if price or waiting time is a factor, check out the Camillus Talon. It was designed by Rob Simonich, one of the pioneers in Talonite blades. It was not designed specifically as a dive knife, but a camp utility. However, the blade is about 4" and the sheath is kydex. And the Talonite doesn't care if that's blood or salt water you left on it.

Also, since Talonite comes age-hardened to the maker, he doesn't have to heat-treat it. So the personal touch of a custom-maker's heat-treat is taken out of the equation. The only thing left is attention to workmanship (especially on the grinds) and the fact that custom-makers can tailor a design specifically for you.

Congrats to your friend
Happy knife searching to you
smile.gif


 
The Camillus Talon would work great for this purpose or Robs knives anytime.
If your looking for a good design that is proven as a dive knife look to Kit . He designed the U2 as a dive knife. This knife has been used by pro divers and military personal. Kit uses the feeback from these testers to meet the requirements af real life use. After it is tested and proved out, Kit then puts the product on the market.
I feel for real life use Kit is still the man..Proven products are not a guess at what will work . They do work..


------------------
Web Site At www.darrelralph.com

[This message has been edited by Darrel Ralph (edited 07-20-2000).]
 
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