whats up with talonite?

S

SIFU1A

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May 12, 2001
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i have a darrel ralph maxx w/a talonite blade i got back in '00 or '01, back in those days talonite was all the rage, mayo's TNT's, darrel made several models with talonite, etc etc, now ya hardly ever hear about it, whats up with that?

*did simonich have a patent/etc on it?
*is it too expensive now?
*or is everyone going to something else ie exotic steels like ZDP or S30V?

really like my maxx the talonite seems to hold an edge well, isnt really difficult to sharpen, i know it cant bend like other stuff, but was just wondering why it went from the top dog list to almost dissapearing.....?

greg
 
Actually I am still in the fad, being a paddler in whitewater and the ocean when I can, I love the stuff. It may not be the best for tough cutting chores, but it works for my needs of having a knife handy on my Life jacket with little to no care.
 
I think that the hype (even though it was perhaps well deserved) eventually gave way to superior (and cheaper) true steel alloys like S30V. The edge holding ability (although being a soft material, it was slick and therefore wear resistant) isn't any better than modern steels, and its rustlessness is perhaps giving way to far less expensive alternatives like Spyderco's Salt line in H1.

It's not that Talonite is a bad material, it just looks as though the market doesn't have much use for it anymore. Just because a new steel might sweep the world, that doesn't make your Talonite Mayo TNT a worthless piece of junk. Remember, customers decide the market as much as a manufacturer does. If nobody wants Talonite, you won't see much of it. I mean, when's the last new knife you've seen made in Stelite 6K?
 
I think it still has it's place among the steels and will continue to be a premium material.

My experience is minimal but I do know people that use EDCs made with Talonite/Stellite and they swear by it.

What would a TNT be without Talonite!

Win
 
I own and carry a Rekat talonite and love it ! I had the handles reshaped as the original looked to bulky. Carbon fiber handles and side lock. Hardly have to sharpen it. :thumbup:I think this is a Crawford Rekat before they went broke.
 
I have EDCed a Talonite blade for years now. It cuts better and wears slower than any other material I've tried. That said, I also carry a larger blade in D2 for when I need something tougher.

Talonite is no more of a universal solution than any other high-end steel. It offers a unique compromise of attributes that are excellent for some of us and poor for others. For me it works very well indeed.

--Bob Q
 
DaveH said:
it was a fad. Just like neck knives or duk duks.
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I have a Talonite Neck Knife I use all of the time, one of my favorite knives.

Never thought I'd be retro kind of guy ;)

The fact that it was made by Allen Blade, another relic of a long gone era probably makes it even more pathetic.

I've never owned a duk duk though so maybe all's not lost. :D
 
Mick Strider built me a custom SLCC in Talonite when I went to Panama for an extended trip. It was inside my waistband 24/7 and is perfect for that type of environment. I think it is a much better material than Ti for waterborne stuff, and seems to cut and perform much better than Ti for actual blade material.
 
I still use my talonite and stellite 6k knives [including "faddy" neckers :)]; they are very hard to beat in wet and salty environments. better in some respects than titanium, and on a hard trip on saltwater, every steel will rust.
But the stuff became ridiculously expensive. I originally bought a Simonich talonite to use but put it away years ago because it became very expensive to replace. Of course, now it is irreplacable.
Talonite and 6K are really great stuff. Still, the material is a little soft and you can roll the edge. For smaller knives, which is what I use it for, it's great stuff.
 
Talonite sales continue to go up. Every year sales are better than the last.

Talonite works best for specific applications. It makes a terrible camp knife but a wonderful skinning knife. Brad Zinker makes a wonderful folding fruit knife. The blade is .063 Talonite, the liners are titanium and the scales are carbon fiber. He said he sells them to citrus orchard owners and workers. This is a perfect application for the material. Citrus fruits are acidic and will rust steel bladed knives if they are not maintained. A Talonite fruit knife never rusts. It holds an edge for a long time. The people who buy them are happy with the performance. I bought my fruit knife from BladeArt. Brad also makes S30V fruit knives.

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I've commissioned a trout and bird knife from David Wesner. I think this is another perfect use for Talonite.

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As far as Talonite being a fad, Stellite 6K knives have been made and used for more than twenty years. At what point in time does a material become part of the knifemaker lexicon and not a fad?
 
I use a small talonite necker for use around the marine area. It the Camillus mini-talon designed by the incomparable Rob Simonich.
 
I use more Stellite, but use Talonite when requested.

Probably 20% or more of what I make in a year is one of those two. Been that way for 15 years or more. Expect it to stay that way for another 15 years.
 
The reason you don't see more advertising for knives in Stellite 6K or Talonite is the simple fact that it is expensive but it is in demand for folders in particular where cost is not as big a factor (smaller blades).

There will continue to be a strong market for it from knowledgable knife users because of corrosion resistance and edge holding.
 
Talonite and Stellite were never mainstream. I see as many knives in these materials now as I did a few years ago, but the thing I do notice is that it isn't brought up in the forums as much as it was then. In a few years you won't be reading near as much about S30V as you do now. There will be something else that is new and hot it will be the topic of conversation.
 
Camillus Talon + Simonich Mini talon are the best FB I have. Also Chimera by Munroe + EDC by Simonich + Ralph are great knives. The ultimate Talonite knife will be Torrent by Fraley (scheduled to arrive in 07/2007). IMO Talonite is expensive but worth the difference.

David
 
I've got a Talonite knife by Neil Blackwood on my belt right now. It holds an edge well, gets very sharp easily, and I don't worry about it being next to my skin on hot humid days.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
In a few years you won't be reading near as much about S30V as you do now. There will be something else that is new and hot it will be the topic of conversation.
Click to expand...

Exactly as S30V replaced CPM440V some time ago.


Jaime Orozco.
 
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