VG10 vs O/1 steel for bushcraft knife...

I actually polished mine up with some 600 wet dry paper. came out nice. But over time it will develop patina. I wouldnt bother to get it in mirror if youre going to use it in the woods. No point lol. Its like getting a brand new paint job to go rock crawling and mudding.
 
Any carbon steel is eventually going to patina. Rust is actually a form of patina. Alot depends on what and where you use your knife, plus your enviroment. This time of year when humidity is higher, I've had O1 blades get surface rust on the tang/handle waiting for me to put scales on but the blade didn't because the finsh was higher. If it got wet, then there would be surface rust which is easier to remove on a finer finish. So to answer your question, yes, if you keep it dry and oiled.
Scott
 
For the two steels mentioned here, I would go with the O1, though the only O1 I've ever used was mine. There is really nothing wrong w/ VG-10 for a bushcraft knife, and geometry and heat treatment will influence the performance more than the specific steel, unless you're trying to decide between these two steels offered in the same knife, i.e. your choice of O1 or VG-10 for model x. For knife use, I'd think VG-10 would be a fine choice for bushcraft.

FWIW, one of my BF pet peeves is the carbon vs. stainless question. The only thing that can be said for certain is carbon steel is less rust resistant. In every other category, toughness, strength, wear resistance, hardness, etc., the specific alloy must be known to make any meaningful statement. While it is true that M2 and other highly alloyed tool steels will rust, grouping them with carbon steels doesn't really do them justice. There is a world of different between M2 and 1095, the main one being the ability of the former to cut the latter while both are red hot. Now I'm off to hand polish the rust off my daughters M2 kitchen knife. See ya'll in July.
 
I prefer O1 for the heavier duty work. I occasionally experience some micro-chipping on the edge of a VG-10 Spyderco when using it for food prep. However, I think this is most likely because the edge is too thin. I've heard nothing but good stuff about Fallkniven as a bushcraft blade, and they use VG-10 extensively. So really, I don't think you could go too wrong.
 
frontline29 said:
In my experience carbon blades don't rust as fast as most people think.
As long as you don't neglect them you should be fine.
If you plan to store them for a while, wipe them down with some kinda oil.
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It does...It just depend where you live...
 
I do love the fallkniven F1. It's my favorite current user. I am however going for a scandi so from what I've heard and read O1 would be a much better option because I too have experienced some chipping with convexed VG10... Taking that into account I think that VG10 in a true scandi grind(no secondary bevel) would not work very well at all. O1 on the other hand, only time will tell. I'm very excited about having my first High carbon scandi bushcraft knife. I just can't decide which knifemaker to go with now!!! I'm chatting with 3 at the moment :) Who here has really enjoyed using an O1 blade from a specific custom knifemaker. Would appreciate some opinions because as I keep hearing the performance of any steel really just boils down to the heat treatment and edge geometry.
Gabriel.
 
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