What stainless steel for larger everyday outdoor fixed blade?

ferider said:
Got it. How do these look ? They are all three 7“:

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The left and right are a bit above your budget, the middle is within (Excellent Knife). Left to right: 3V, K329 (=A8mod), and INFI.
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Dimension-wise, I like the left and right ones the best. The grey one speaks to me a little more just because I have smaller hands. It looks like it has a hollow-grind too which is nice.
 
Currawong said:
If toughness and general damage-resistance is the primary quality you're after, then you'd want either INFI or Delta 3V. They are semi-stainless, so they will only rust if you leave them wet overnight. D3V has better edge-holding than INFI, but INFI is easier to hand sharpen in the field. Both are bomb-proof.
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This statement actually helps a lot.

I don't have a lot of experience with steels other than stainless. In my OP, I linked to the knife steel nerds page on ratings of different steels. I only have experience with stainless (440C, 1.4116, and 420HC), which are all rated around 7.5/10. I have left these knives out overnight and they have been fine. I don't make a habit out of this, but it happens.

Now the rust resistance of the tool steels on that page sit around the 5/10 range. The problem is that I had no idea what 5/10 corrosion resistance looks like. I have no experience with tool steels, so I have no frame of reference of how quickly those steels will rust. Your statement above now gives me that. So basically I'll be okay with a tool steel as long as I'm more mindful of where I'm leaving the knife?
 
ScubaGearhead85 said:
Dimension-wise, I like the left and right ones the best. The grey one speaks to me a little more just because I have smaller hands. It looks like it has a hollow-grind too which is nice.
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That one (on the right) is a Busse SJTAC 7 in INFI; not a hollow but Sabre ground. There is one in the exchange for US 390 (?) and they were 375 new (coated) a few months ago.

Hollow grinds are hard to find in this size. The Buck 124 is hollow ground and a great knife, 6 1/4“ blade, a bit less than US 200. in fact, I’m carrying one today.

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I bought a custom sheath as I don’t like the stock one.

420HC Buck heat-treated is great and very tough.
 
ScubaGearhead85 said:
This statement actually helps a lot.

I don't have a lot of experience with steels other than stainless. In my OP, I linked to the knife steel nerds page on ratings of different steels. I only have experience with stainless (440C, 1.4116, and 420HC), which are all rated around 7.5/10. I have left these knives out overnight and they have been fine. I don't make a habit out of this, but it happens.

Now the rust resistance of the tool steels on that page sit around the 5/10 range. The problem is that I had no idea what 5/10 corrosion resistance looks like. I have no experience with tool steels, so I have no frame of reference of how quickly those steels will rust. Your statement above now gives me that. So basically I'll be okay with a tool steel as long as I'm more mindful of where I'm leaving the knife?
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Tool steels that are decent for corrosion resistance.....approx high to low
M2 will patina easy, and rust with neglect, but Very usable if you take care of it

Cruwear
D2
3v
A2
M2
 
Ive been wanting one for a while and just havent pulled that trigger yet.
 
Delta 3v (as used by carothers) is damn near stainless because of how the Delta heat treat affects the composition of the metal. You can go read up on the science if you want.

I have first hand experience with this. I took a trip to New Zealand. We were there for 3 weeks and it was during their wet season which happened to be one of the wettest in the last decade. NZ is a temperate rain forest, so that should tell you something.

During our first three days there I harvested a red stag, which I processed using a CPK Super Duty Field Knife (SDFK) made of delta 3v. After processing the animal in the rain, I didn't dry or clean the blade. This was deliberate. I put it in its sheath and it sat there for close to 2 weeks. There was not a single speck of rust or corrosion when I took it out and cleaned it.

You can read about other people's experiences with its stainless properties in the CPK forums.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't use it as a dive knife in the ocean and leave it wet for a few days, but I would be pretty comfortable using it for anything else.
 
ScubaGearhead85 said:
So with this in mind, which steel should I seek out? I have narrowed down the list to either Magnacut, S30V, S35VN, S45VN, or Vanax?
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MagnaCut is a great steel for this and other purposes.

Vanax is cool but very expensive and I don't see many knives using it (especially at the given price limit). As Currawong Currawong said, LC200N is a good alternative. You don't get quite as much edge retention but in my experience, LC200N still has decent edge retention. It's also pretty tough and practically impervious to corrosion.

I have not used S45VN. On paper, the properties are similar to Elmax. That's another steel you might want to have on your radar. Elmax has a good balance of properties. While it is less tough and less stainless than the above steels, you can get excellent edge retention while still being relatively tough and very stainless.

Of course, you'll want to learn how to sharpen on stones for any of these steels. Honestly, I'd recommend 14C28N for your needs. It's a step down in edge retention but still decent (closer to LC200N). More importantly, it is relatively easy to sharpen and very friendly for learning. It also has excellent corrosion resistance and the highest toughness among the steels I've mentioned so far. I really like 14C28N and I think it could be ideal for you. (While not as good on corrosion resistance, AEB-L has some of the same user-friendly properties and high toughness. Nitro-V also leans in this direction.)
 
OP is new and hasn’t been back in 15 days since posting. Good recommendations though. At this point I’d probably recommend the Tac-Force Magnacut/Infi Damascus Smatchet.
 
ScubaGearhead85 said:
Right now, I have a honing steel, a manual pull through sharpener, and a Work Sharp Ken Onion.
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I suggest you invest in a set of diamond stones as well. Sharpening teaches lots of things about the steels you like and dislike. And the pull through sharpener (if it is one with carbide blades), do yourself a favour and throw it away!

Mikel
 
There is no need to choose powdered metal for a large knife. A steel that is easily sharpened and has high toughness will be more practical. 8cr13mov, 420hc, 440c, n695, n690, aeb-l, aus8, vg10 I think these are both cheap and good choices.
 
Drop bear said:
I have been eyeing of the joker nomad 6.5 in broler something steel. Which is supposed to be a bit stainlessey.

Bohler N695

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This is a good choice but the new Nomad 6.5 seems hard to find these days. Out of stock everywhere. The Nomad 5 inch version is available everywhere and it’s a great knife, I have one. Extremely sharp and well done with a beautiful convex edge. Joker knives are very impressive for the price and the Nomad is the best of the line

Edit: The Joker Nomad 6.5 seems to be coming back in stock in several places. In fact, I just ordered one
 
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