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I'm curious about Camilus Beckers. It must have been giving customers a pretty good value if it went out of business in the process. Was the steel better than that used in the newer Kabars?
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Were Camilus Beckers better than Kabars?
- Thread starter taiChiFighter
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i am pretty sure the newer steel is better
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By all accounts the Ka-bar's 1095 Cro-van is superior.
It' all the same steel actually.
It's the Old Sharon 0176-6c which was a slightly tweaked cutlery grade of 1095 with some Chromium and Vanadium added.
It's what the old Case Vanadium Carbon blades are made from.
The heat treatment and QC is any real difference between them. The Martempering Heat treat protocol that Kabar uses seems to be pretty darn good.
It's the Old Sharon 0176-6c which was a slightly tweaked cutlery grade of 1095 with some Chromium and Vanadium added.
It's what the old Case Vanadium Carbon blades are made from.
The heat treatment and QC is any real difference between them. The Martempering Heat treat protocol that Kabar uses seems to be pretty darn good.
The particular type of 1095 Camillus used was what Cold Steel called Carbon V. It's good stuff.
Most of my Beckers so far are Camillus. I've never found them lacking in the performance area but towards the end Camillus was producing some really sloppy merchandise. My brother's BK-7 has terrible grind lines. It looks like it was ground by a drunken circus monkey. But it performs well.
KaBar's production - at least aesthetically - is typical of what I'd expect from KaBar: virtually perfect grinds, fit and finish, and the heat treat seems to be very good.
My observation is they are equally sharp but the sharpness is different. Camillus Beckers take a very fine and smooth edge; good for shaving. KaBar Beckers have a noticeably more "bitey" edge; better for slicing through tougher and more fibrous materials. I haven't seen much a difference between the two for edge retention. I think the KaBars will probably be shown to marginally tougher as they are not quite as hard as the Camillus blades, but not really by a lot.
Most of my Beckers so far are Camillus. I've never found them lacking in the performance area but towards the end Camillus was producing some really sloppy merchandise. My brother's BK-7 has terrible grind lines. It looks like it was ground by a drunken circus monkey. But it performs well.
KaBar's production - at least aesthetically - is typical of what I'd expect from KaBar: virtually perfect grinds, fit and finish, and the heat treat seems to be very good.
My observation is they are equally sharp but the sharpness is different. Camillus Beckers take a very fine and smooth edge; good for shaving. KaBar Beckers have a noticeably more "bitey" edge; better for slicing through tougher and more fibrous materials. I haven't seen much a difference between the two for edge retention. I think the KaBars will probably be shown to marginally tougher as they are not quite as hard as the Camillus blades, but not really by a lot.
Pug-butter
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I was just going to ask about that. Thanks. :thumbup:
The one Camillus knife I have is an old Scout knife. It's been very slow to rust and it seems about impossible to sharpen just on a stone. I've heard the same thing about their pilot knives too.