Which Para 3 for a saltwater environment?

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wave1911

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Nov 13, 2013
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Im looking for a PARA 3 to carry but will also be using it on the boat. Wondering which options are the most corrosion resistant.

Thanks
 
Spyderco just needs to put some black & yellow striped G-10 on the PM3 along with some LC200N steel to make a Caribbean Junior...
Other than that & H1, it looks like S110V is the best, according to this Spyderco thread from 4-16-2017:

https://forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.php?t=74221

Re: Corrosion Resistance Ranking of Stainless Steels
Postby PayneTrain » Sun Apr 16, 2017 6:07 pm

My subjective rankings from another post a little while ago:
10: H1, LC200N (based on Surfingringo's report), glass. These things can't rust. Go ahead and try.
9:
8: S110V (really stainless, only managed to get rust spots by leaving joint compound on it to dry, and even then it wiped right off)
7: S90V/CTS-20CP, CTS-XHP, CTS-204P/CPM 20CV/M390
6: VG-10, S30V/S35VN, 440C, Elmax, CTS-B70P, GIN-1, 440A, 12C27, 154CM
5: AUS-8, Cruwear, ZDP-189
4: D2, PSF27, Sleipner
3: M4, 1095, 5160
2: Super Blue (rusts in humid weather if not protected)
1: My car (results possibly skewed by New England's liberal use of super-salts on the roads
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)

I may split the 7's and put the M390 variants above the S90V variants based on super scientific sweat testing, but I think it's largely splitting hairs. Other than that, these are still my opinions/absolute truths.
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Last edited by PayneTrain on Mon Apr 17, 2017 3:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Be the person your dog thinks you are."
 
I would use the lightweight.
Cheapest Para so far.
Or a S30V. Easy to sharpen.
Hopefully we get a Salt version this or next year.
 
S35VN has been the most corrosion resistant steel I’ve come across other than H1. (I’ve not used lc200n) I have snorkeled in the Caribbean for literally hundreds of hours with a Native lightweight in S35VN. Never took the knife apart until a year later with zero signs of rust inside. I just gave it a freshwater rinse after a trip and scraped any small rust spots off with a stick. No problems. So I would choose that knife over a Para 3. I would, however, try out a Para 3 Lightweight snorkeling. The BD1N is reported to be extremely corrosion resistant.
 
archieblue said:
S35VN has been the most corrosion resistant steel I’ve come across other than H1. (I’ve not used lc200n) I have snorkeled in the Caribbean for literally hundreds of hours with a Native lightweight in S35VN. Never took the knife apart until a year later with zero signs of rust inside. I just gave it a freshwater rinse after a trip and scraped any small rust spots off with a stick. No problems. So I would choose that knife over a Para 3. I would, however, try out a Para 3 Lightweight snorkeling. The BD1N is reported to be extremely corrosion resistant.
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My P3LW has actually shown pretty poor corrosion resistance.
 
You may want to just get a model that's full corrosion resistant. Even if you go with s110v the hardware is not corrosion resistant.

m390/20cv/204p are hard to find and expensive for no reason.

H1 would be idea. But also is lc200n in the salt line or the Spydiechef but that's also hard to find currently iirc.

Otherwise just use proper maintenance and oil and you'll be fine.
 
I'm in saltwater at least 3 times a week.

Get something in H1 or LC200N.

My 52100 PM2 stays in the car.

The Atlantic Salt is in the surf with me all the time. Never rinsed. No rust.

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Cscotttsss said:
Please elaborate? They have only been out a few weeks..........
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It has shown rust spotting every time I have gotten it wet and let it air dry, similar to what D2 does. On the grinds as well as the edge. I still like the steel, it sharpens and holds an edge well, but to call it “highly stainless” is definitely not accurate.
 
John_0917 said:
It has shown rust spotting every time I have gotten it wet and let it air dry, similar to what D2 does. On the grinds as well as the edge. I still like the steel, it sharpens and holds an edge well, but to call it “highly stainless” is definitely not accurate.
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Does it stain or just clean right off
 
Mo2 said:
Does it stain or just clean right off
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It stains, not terrible and will come off with a vigorous rub with isopropyl alcohol, not pitting but definitely brown staining.

I’m not trying to criticize BD1N at all, I think it’s a very good steel and like it a lot, but I do want to correct (what I see as) bad info out there portraying BD1N as this side of LC200 as far as corrosion resistance, it’s just not true.
 
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Something in Vanax Superclean like the Quiet Carry Waypoint or Drift won't rust! Spyderco Native 5 Salt in LC200N will not rust. Paramilitary 2 or Para 3 Salt in magnacut will not rust! Spyderco Spydiechef (LC200N blade) titanium handle and furniture will not rust. Paramilitary 2 or Para 3 in S110V should also be pretty rust resistant. These are some good choices for trips around saltwater or where you know your knife will get wet and cannot be dried immediately. There are a few more now with either LC200N blades or magnacut blades. Those should also be pretty rust resistant.
 
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