various types of steel

StealthAndCamo

StealthAndCamo

Joined
Oct 1, 2003
Messages
22
hey there. might anybody have any idea as to what would be the best steel choice in a knife that would be primarily used for cutting ropes? i'm thinkin of buying a tac. folder maybe serrated edge, but isn't it harder to keep sharp?
 
My choice would be a none stainless high carbon steel like O-1, W-2 or 52100, but you won't find many tactical folders have these for their blade steel. In a stainless, though these may no longer be the in steels, I would consider ATS-34/154CM. These keep and edge well and a relatively easy to sharpen. I also really like the somewhat stainless D-2.

I don't like serrations and do not find them necessary, even for cutting rope. Lots of people find serrations do a better job on rope cutting, I don't.

Serrations are not hard to sharpen. You just have to have the right sharpener. Even though I do not care for serrations, I have a serrated Spyderco Police that I got as a gift. I have no problem keeping this knife sharp. By the way, this blade does a nice job on rope and it is made from GIN-1/G-2. I actually really like this steel, but I don't think many manufacturers use it.

Edited to change the word makers to manufacturers.
 
I would use D2 alloy and sharpen the blade on a medium fine diamond hone. I would get a non-serrated blade for ease in sharpening. If I was using a sheath knife I would get a Deer Hunter with D2 alloy blade from agrussell.com.
 
For a D2 alloy folding knife that would fit the bill you could do a Google search for a "Bob Lum Encounter" from places like knifecenter.com. This is one of the Seki Cut products.

If D2 is too expensive you could try one of the knives from Spyderco that has a VG-10 alloy blade.
 
The Deerhunter is an excellent knife and in D2 will cut rope for a very long time. However the Boye serrated boat knife would outlast it many times to one (and so would the plain edge version due to the much thinner edge). Some of the serrated Spydercos would do well also, but the serrations are not as fluid as Boyes look to be, the Calypso Jr. is probably the closest in terms of edge geometry, Boye grinds very thin.


[I have not used a Boye boat knife, but have worked with several other knives by him]

-Cliff
 
Cold Steel's Land & Sea Rescue knife, while not being one of the steels you mentioned, would suit the needs of a rope-cutting folder quite perfectly. When their VHS tape, "Proof", came out a few years back, that was the only knife whose demonstations really impressed me. The demonstrator shot through a marine rope of almost 6" in diamater with the 4" sheepsfoot blade.

If you do choose a serrated folder, such as a Boye, Spyderco, or Cold Steel, a Spyderco Sharpmaker can go a long ways to help when the serrations finally dull. Lansky also makes a few croc stick sharpeners to help sharpen between the teeth which makes a good companion to the Sharpmaker and helps maintain the original serrations.
 
I have never used a Boye dendritic cobalt knife, but I have one made from dendritic 440C on my belt right now. What a great little cutter it is. It only has a 2 1/2" blade, so I have never used it to cut rope.
 
The Boye blades are ground so thin that it takes very little draw to cut even thick rope, it is almost a pure push cut.

-Cliff
 
StealthAndCamo,

There's a bigger picture to look at than the type of steel. The tactical folder that fits your uses best might not use your favorite steel. My favorite steel is "M2", but it's not used in my favorite folders. There are some highly useful folders out there in AUS-6M, 420HC, and 440A (good steels, but often snubbed by knife buyers who want either better or much, much better) and dogs in 154CM and ATS-34.

If you're looking to use a knife for self-protection, anything, steel or not, will work. If you find yourself in so much trouble that edge retention matters for a self-defense folder, stop acting in a way that makes so many deadly enemies.

For peaceful uses, you'll find S30V, VG10, D2, and 154CM/ATS-34 at the top of the list, but that won't matter if the thickness or shape aren't suited to your needs.
 
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