Talonite Opinions - worth the bucks????

A

akula57

Joined
Jul 24, 1999
Messages
198
What is it and is it worth the premium??? For example, one can pay more and get Talonite blade in the carnivour (by the way, how does the carnivour compare to the Kasper fighting folder???) Thanks.
 

I can't answer your question. But, I can tell you one thing is for certain: If you want a blade made out of Talonite, you will have to wait a while. First of all, there are not many people using it. Secondly, there isn't much of that stuff out there. Third, those who do make it have quite a backlog.

I spoke with Pat Crawford about two weeks ago regarding Talonite. He said that he was expecting a shipment of the stuff more than a month ago and still had not received it.

 
Pat should have his Talonite by now, there was a delay in some machining we had done. The stock is readily available. As for worth the extra? I will let folks who have Talonite knives answer that one..........

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www.simonichknives.com
 
Akula,

I really wish the search feature was working as there is a great deal already posted on this subject. Suffice it to say that if you're looking for a blade that won't corrode, isn't brittle, whose edge won't chip or roll, whose edge will stay sharp well beyond what conventional tool and stain resistant steels provide, etc., then you owe it to yourself to try Talonite. Cost more? Sure, but given the performance level it's absolutely worth it. I have two medium sized fixed blades made of it and other knives on the way. Nothing else I have owned compares period.

-=[Bob]=-
 
I was heavily considering getting a knife in Talonite until I read a quote in "Tek-Knives" from Simonick about how talonite doesn't cut rope well.

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I need a bigger bucket.
 
Akula57,
I was wondering about this myself. I recently ordered a fixed blade knife in Talonite and was disappointed. I returned it as the stock on this 5 1/4" blade was only .120" thick. Apparently it isn't available in thicker stock. Also the cost of this knife was over $600 and the same knife in steel and 1/4" stock is $400.

I noticed that REKAT is offering the Carnivor in Talonite too. I understand Talonite holds an edge very well, but would one rather own two ATS bladed knives or one Talonite for the same money? I would love to see a comparison of a Talonite carnivor with the standard. Have any of you purchased both and care to comment?

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Al




[This message has been edited by Biginboca (edited 16 August 1999).]
 
Stompy, while it's true Talonite won't cut rope as well as steel, it'll cut other things more efficiently than steel. This is due to the fact that it is "slicker" than steel, but it has less bite. All things have their tradeoffs.

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Johnny
[]xxxxxx[]=============>
 
Also, for the first ten or fifteen cuts, the steel knife will cut better. For the next twenty or thirty cuts, they will cut the same, for the next 500 or so cuts, the Talonite blade will cut better...until you stop to sharpen the steel blade.

Harv
 
Stompy,
You've taken Rob's comment out of context about rope cutting. I've also posted similar comments to Rob's before. Talonite doesn't "bite" into the rope like the carbides of conventional steels do. A bit more pressure on it cuts rope fine. Steve Harvey has it right above.

BiginBoca,

I don't know who made the knife you said you returned, but rest assured Talonite (r) comes in thicknesses much bigger than what you received. Hell my Wambli is made from 3/16" and my Chimera is from 1/8" stock.

I also have blades in a variety of steels from tools stuff like A2, O1, M2 and D2, to stain-resistant including ATS34, ATS55, CPM440V. Talonite simply is in a class by itself.



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-=[Bob]=-

I did NOT escape from the institution! They gave me a day pass!


 
I don't have as many examples to judge Talonite against as Bob does
wink.gif
, but I agree with his (and Steve's) assesment. I do have ATS34, VG10 and CPM440V to use as benchmarks tho; the Talonite seems to be on a whole different level, I'm very pleased with mine (one of Rob Simonich's Cetans).
 
Hmmmm, lets see here, Stompy, Talonite will cut rope just fine, I am not misquoted in the Tek-Knives but maybe I didnt explain enough, phone interviews are a bugger and sometimes it all dosen get said. Steve Harvey is spot on with his comment. Besides, I ask a lot of knife users how much rope they cut on a daily basis and most have to think long and hard when the last rope they cut was. The last I cut was some nylon rope while camping some about a month ago. Some cut more rope than others doing their daily chores. In an upcomming article in a knife magazine, the knife writer tested a Talonite Trail knife and part of the test is feild sharpening. He didnt dull the knife in his tests, (which include cutting a free hanging 1" hemp rope) To dull the knife enough for the feild sharpening test, he proceded to slice several feet of 1" manila rope............Seems he didnt have a problem cutting the rope.

John, right on.

Biginboca, Talonite come in 1/16th, 1/8th, 5/32, .200, and 1/4" on special order. Why were you unhappy with the knife? Was it the Talonite, or the knife? It isnt one of mine as I havent had any returned. Feel free to e-mail me if you like.

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www.simonichknives.com
 
Rob makes an excellent point. When was the last time I ever cut manila rope? or hemp rope? All the rope I ever cut is nylon, but I spend most my time with nylon straps and cardboard. Nylon straps are edge killers!

I`d love a small, plain edge folder with a ~3" blade or less. (Like the Boye folders) Anyone making small Talonite folders? Or even a small Talonite fixed blade? (about Stiff KISS size.) I think those might be affordable for the average Joe, and might help to spread the word on Talonite.
 
Talonite (r) is a cobalt alloy, similar to Stellite (r), but Talonite (r) is hot rolled and age hardened to make it more suitable for knives.

If a folder is what you are after, try Kit Carson. Here is a pic of a folder Kit made Kelly Yates:
http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002927.html

This site has some pics of the large (#18) folders Kit made me, as well as my Ti scaled Cetan, the Fossil Mammoth Ivory scaled Wambli I gave my daughter, my small U-2 Dive Knife, the prototype chef's knife, and some knives owned by other people:
http://www.carbideprocessors.com/knives.htp

There is also a wealth of information at the above site, which is the website of the Talonite (r) distributors, Carbide Processors.

Regarding the chef's knife: two professional chefs, Nick Blinoff and Michael Gettier, both posters here, are giving the prototype some real world use. Initial reports are extremely positive, and the only suggestions are minor changes to the ergonomics (rounding the spine, tapering the scales).

If someone charged $200 more for a 1/8" Talonite (r) knife compared to the same knife in steel, I would return it myself. Kit Carson charged me $60 more in labor for the #18 folders (I supplied the alloy), and Darrel Ralph charged me more for the custom folder he made me out of Talonite (r), but while I don't recall how much it was, it wasn't $200. Watch the forum for a review on this knife shortly from one of our SF Bay area posters/reviewers, BTW.

Ed Schott is making me a drop point hunter fixed blade out of Talonite (r), and is charging me very little more than he would for a steel knife (again, I supplied the alloy). IIRC, the knife will cost in the neighborhood of $200 total.

So, what good is Talonite (r)? Well, under real world conditions, it is corrosion proof. Toss one of Kit's dive knives in the ocean, and pull it out 20 years later, and it would not be corroded at all. Further, Talonite (r) holds an edge extremely well, yet is paradoxically very easy to resharpen (this could be due to the fact that it has a fairly low Rc, but is hard facing; that is, the alloy exposed by wear is just as hard as the alloy that was worn away).

It really doesn't cost that much more, and will last several lifetimes.

"If it's sharp and bright, it's Talonite (r)!" Hope this helps, Walt
 
What edge is put on the Talonite that does not "bite" well? Is is a very high polish? If that is the case there is nothing surprising about that.

AUS-8 is a fine grained steel and will take a very high polish very easily. Once this is obtained it has little bite and while it push cuts easily, it friction burns almost as fast as it slices.

Take the same poor slicer and leave it at 600 grit DMT and you will notice a significant improvement in slicing ability (easily 5 times as fast) while retaining the ability to push cut decently. You can even go to lower grits and give up push cutting ability while maximizing slicing ability. Rope pretty much starts to part like water then.

Take a thin Talonite blade and leave a coarse edge on it, I would be very surprised to see rope being anyway difficult.

-Cliff
 
Cliff,

Talonite (r) is so different from conventional steels that I'm afraid your notion of a thin coarse edge working well on rope is a non-starter. You don't get the kind of carbide structure carbon gives. It's rather difficult to explain and I think Walt has done it best in the past. Certainly his references above help. It seems shallow angle polished edges work best for this hard facing age hardened alloy and nothing but. But boy do they work
smile.gif
!!!

-=[Bob]=-
 
Bob and Cliff, you are both right actually. As an example, when I want the edge to bite, I take one pass on each side with a fine diamond hone, the edge will bit like crazy for a few cuts then it starts to polish. After awhile you end up with a sharp polished edge anyway!

I was inteviewed for the article some time ago and have learned much more about Talonite since then. i hope I continue to learn more as time goes on as well.

The next issue of Tactical Knives will have 2 articles and a side bar on Talonite of other peoples impressions of the material. Be sure to check it out.

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www.simonichknives.com
 
That is very interesting Rob. I would have guessed that since Talonite can hold a thin edge so well it would take to a decent coarse finish as well. I would really like to see what is happening to the edge with the wear.

I think Walt was loaning one of this Talonite knives to Joe and I am looking forward to his comments on its cutting ability and various other properties of the material.

-Cliff
 
Thanks to all. Is Talonite in any way similar to ceramic in it's cutting/ sharpening characteristics???? Is it brittle?
 
I've been working with one of Rob's Kanji's for just over six months now. We first used it extensively during our Jungle expedition (for over a month). Nothing seemed to phase the knife. Monkey guts, high acid fruits, high temps and humidity. We pried open turtles and alligators, scraped the hair from jungle rats, monkeys and other critters. I loaned it to the indians for a couple of days. When I got it back it had pretty much lost the edge it had when Rob sent it to me. 'cept for one weird thing, though it felt dull to my hand, it still cut like a razor. I've had to redefine my notion of what constitutes "sharp".

It came back to "feeling" sharp with a few strokes of the ceramic.

The knife has been my daily carry for half a year and it sees service every day. I don't baby it. Rather than showing the (ab)use I give it, it just seems "smoother" somehow. It sheds gunk like teflon.

We now have two Talonite Kanji's and a Talonite Cetan. I couldn't be happier.

Very strange metal. I think that it's worth the extra dollars especially in one of Rob's designs.

Ron
 
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