What is the best stainless for a bushcraft knife?

B

baliodude

Joined
Apr 18, 2009
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Hi guys.

Have a few bushcraft knives in carbon steel but I am kinda sick of the maintenance. Hope I am not selling out. :) I am not planning on selling my carbon yet but...

I would like to hear your nomination of the best stainless steel for bushcraft.

Thanks
 
What about a Grohmann #3?
Its not scandi, but easily converted, but it doesnt need it.
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Batons fine as well.
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12C27, S30V, VG10, 3G, ZDP189, 440C, ATS34/154CM.
Those are steels that i`ve got experience with anyway, best for bushcraft?
I`d recommend something in the softer scale of these, like 12C27, or 440C. This will ease the sharpening.
Harder steels, meaning that they should hold their edge for a longer period of use, VG10, is pretty good, while still not too hard to sharpen.
Steels like S30V, ATS34/154CM, are also pretty good, but may be prone to chipping, depending on how refined/polished your edge is, and what geometry it has. Also, may be harder to sharpen.
3G and ZDP189, are even harder still. This means that they hold their edge for a very long time, but are relatively hard to sharpen. May also be prone to chipping, if the edge is too thin, or not refined/polished enough.

Also, ofcourse, it depends on what you`re going to do with your knife.
Battoning, whittling, food prep, chopping, splitting, butchering.
The use will be important to take into consideration, as it will dictate thickness and angle of edge, which again can have an impact on what steel you`d want in a knife.

I hope i didn`t throw too many wrenches into the cogs, cause i sure find it difficult to recommend any steel, for any specific task, as there are so many things that count in, other than the steel.
 
Although many say it's not technically stainless, I like Dozier D2. Never had maintenance issues with mine.

DancesWithKnives
 
Heres my choices.

US steels:
420HC for fair toughness and ease of sharpening.
CPM154 for excellent edge retention and fair toughness. (I have not used this steel but RWL-34 is very similar)
D2 for excellent edge retention and fair toughness, not stainless but close. Very good hunter's blade steel
INFI for extreme toughness and good edge retention. Pick a Busse model you like :)


Euro steels:
12C27 for fair toughness, ease of sharpening and very popular with scandi grind.
RWL-34 for excellent edge retention, fair toughness, popular in higher end european scandis
 
I'd be very interested in experiences with VG-10 in bushcraft oriented knives usage. It looks as if it could be very good in such use.
 
I believe vg-10 was originally developed in Japan as a horticultural steel for grafting knives. It takes a very high polish...I don't remember where I read it, but I believe this is so.

Cheers, Shane
 
My current favorite is an SDS Nessmuk, which is in 154 CM. It holds an edge for a long time and touches up easily on a ceramic dogbone. Normally I'm a carbon guy, but I'm perfectly happy with this flavor of stainless.
 
BarberFobic1992 said:
they use cpm 154.
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Most of the Bark River stainless knives are 12c27. Cpm 154 has only been used for a couple of models.


baliodude said:
I would like to keep it about the steel rather than knife brands.
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That's a mistake. Different makers use different heat treatments. The heat treatment of a steel is in most cases more important that which specific kind of stainless was used. Differences in blade and edge geometry also have a huge effect on the performance of a knife. Also different companies have different ergonomics; this effects not only comfort but also the efficiency with which the knife is used. This can have a big effect on the perceived qualities of the blade.


Maintenance of high carbon steel has never been a problem for me. If keeping it lightly oiled with mineral oil and keeping it dry doesn't work for you then you must live somewhere that's crazy humid.
 
AfterTFD said:
Different makers use different heat treatments. The heat treatment of a steel is in most cases more important that which specific kind of stainless was used. Differences in blade and edge geometry also have a huge effect on the performance of a knife.
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That’s the key right there.

Balancing Blade Geometry and Heat Treatment with the chosen steel is the key to a great blade.

Too many people focus on steel, thinking that’s all it takes to make a good blade; even the best steel won’t perform unless the other factors are in balance.

Focusing on makers is a better strategy then looking for a certain steel.



There are plenty of knifemakers discussed on this forum that do a great job with the stainless steels they choose to use.




Like I always say, buy a knife from a quality maker that was designed for the tasks you have in mind.

That, my friend, is the best way to get a great knife. :cool:




Big Mike

"Scaring the Tree Huggers."

Forest & Stream
 
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So... I think the question was about blade steel, and it's ability to resist corrosion, yet be effective in the woods, type of business....
and even though the smarts has been dropped about some handles and geometry and stuff. I think I'll actually help with answering the QUESTION, and agree with the post above. S30V and VG-10, if heat treated properly, are great outdoor STEELS
 
All I can say is I've been happy with
Mora stainless (A2C27)
and Fallkniven VG10
I've also used Fallkniven 3G. I lack some experience with this one but it is good but felt somehow weird on occasions (sometimes it hold edge for long time, sometimes not so much).
 
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