Who likes stainless steel knives?

[R.H.Clark]

My thanks to everyone for all the input.

 

[desmobob]

This blade is 154CM, heat treated by D'Alton Holder. Easy to sharpen and only had to do it once in the field when on a 400-mile backpacking trip (takes seconds with a small diamond rod or stone. Stropping keeps it there). That is a file on the spine...not jimping.

I like that Bolden knife, Dannyboy.

He made a custom hunting knife for me with some of that D'Holder heat-treated 154CM and it's a wonderful blade. I seem to be able to get a much nicer edge on it than I can with my Benchmades in 154CM.

I don't have any good photos of it.... You can't tell from this photo, but the blade has a perfect mirror finish.

It's probably my favorite stainless steel blade.


Stay sharp,
desmobob

 

[GregY]

Sure I like stainless knives. I've had knives in 440A, 154CM, 12C27 and S30V. The last 2 are my favorites, but I like them all. Really.

The only time I've been able to directly compare carbon and stainless has been in my Moras- I have a 740 and a 760. Identical knives except one is 1095 and the other is 12C27. I like the 740 (in 1095) better, slightly. But that's not a knock on the 760, I use it in my kitchen regularly and I bought extra 760's as kit knives because I wanted the lower maintenance stainless in knives that were going to sit and be ignored for long periods in potentially damp environments.

I like S30V in my pocket knives, takes an excellent edge if you put some time into it (some may remember me posting about spending days reprofiling an S30V Leek on my Sharpmaker ), holds it and doesn't mind sitting in damp pockets. I sweat a fair amount, and if it's going to sit in my pocket then corrosion resistance is definitely desirable.

 

[Ebbtide]

I like that Bolden knife, Dannyboy.

He made a custom hunting knife for me with some of that D'Holder heat-treated 154CM and it's a wonderful blade. I seem to be able to get a much nicer edge on it than I can with my Benchmades in 154CM.

I don't have any good photos of it.... You can't tell from this photo, but the blade has a perfect mirror finish.

It's probably my favorite stainless steel blade.


Stay sharp,
desmobob

Another happy Joel Bolden (JCB) owner here.

His mirror finish is something.
Aint nothing wrong with good stainless

 

[brians]

IMO, 154CM is a great field steel that I turn to more and more - doesn't rust, sharpens easily to shaving, holds an edge well, great for food prep as well:

 

[SouthernCross]

What are your favorite stainless steels? what do you think of stainless blades in general?

I like the laminated VG10 & 3G steels used by Fallkniven.

I have been using both steels for a number of years now and am very satisfied with the performance of both :thumbup:



Kind regards
Mick

 

[midnight flyer]

I think that a lot of the D2 being brittle notion is often down to poor heat treat. I had a Ka-Bar D2 Impact point that I accidently dropped down some rocks at least 6ft high, other than a small scuff in the coating the blade was perfect, zero chips or dings !
I also saw years back where Swamprat knives tested one of their blades made from D2 and were beating on it with hammers and all kinds of crazy stuff and once again it came through with flying colours.

I am currently working over a larger D2 knife I just purchased a month ago, (name not mentioned to keep this from becoming a political thread) and so far so good. I purchased it with the agreement from the seller that I would be using the knife as intended, light chopping, light batoning (maybe... just to test the shock resistance) and lots of slicing. He agreed if he saw no "abuse" he would take the knife back if I didn't like it.

I reprofiled the edge when I got it. I chopped all the way through a very dry oak 2X4, a couple of pieces of old, hard 3" firewood, and dropped it point down from 5' into some old hard wood. Sometimes it stuck, sometimes it didn't. Under the magnifying glass, no damage of any kind to the blade or the point. After reading on this forum, I was nervous .

But after really wailing on more stuff after that, it would still slice thin curlies off a piece of copier paper.

It will be hitting the trail when the weather cools more here.

As for stainless, I love it. When our weather is hot and dry, I take my old carbon buddies out. I use them for camp chores as they have been used for years. But when it is rainy or a good chance of rain I always take stainless. If I am hunting and know I have stuff to properly clean my equipment after cleaning game, I still use my carbon.

If I will be out in iffy weather for a couple of days, I always take stainless. I can't tell you how thrilled I was the first time I took out my Browning folder in 440C (their answer to the Buck 110) hunting and even with guts on it for a few hours and no way to properly clean it for another 48 hours - it didn't rust! After a lot of game cleaning it was nasty filthy and I just tossed it in the truck under the seat so it would dry out. I was used to a major cleaning project after a trip like that, but I just washed off the blade and cleaned the inside the folder out with rag and clorox, washed the whole thing with soap and oiled. Done!

I would rather be hunting, shooting, and hiking than worrying about rust.

Still love my old carbon stuff, though.

Robert

 

[baldtaco-II]

Since the advent of 440C stainless is exclusively the route for me. Once I arrived at that standard [given it has been competently heat treated] design is more important to me than which stainless.

On knives, as opposed to big choppers, there is nothing about non-stainless that to me is worth the trade off for the way I use knives. I've got no interest in having my own personal pattern of patina, or having my name on it, or armchair musings over “what if” strength. None of those things matter to me. And the much abused observation that non-stainless tends to be a tad easier to sharpen is just laughable too. It is rather like saying “a coffee cup is easier to lift than a tin of beans”. Well yeah, but they are both so effortlessly within the range of the normally functioning person it isn't worth he head space to think the thought. It takes pedantic clawing to even make it an issue. Modern abrasives sharpen all steel knives easily – science fact.

I guess I'm different from the neo-bushcrafter or the classic survivalist in that to me the best field survival / utility knife is the one I have on me. On that, one of the reasons I prefer stainless is similar to why modern pocket knives and next-to-the-skin knives like neckers are usually stainless. They can go for ages unused and unobserved in environments that are tough on non-stainless but when I do draw it out it is immaculate and ready to go. I don't need to keep fishing them out only to nanny them. If you get joy from a knife for it's own sake then an excuse to get it out and oil it and strop it whether you've used it or not is probably appealing. I'm not a knife fondler though so that “excuse” to me reads as “chore”.

As to which stainless, beyond a certain point I'm indifferent. Even 12C27 & 440A type stuff has it's uses to me on EKAs and SAKs. Fällknivens steels are simply brilliant. Mostly though I tend to use workhorse stuff in the middle such as 440C and ATS34 [similar to 154CM]. In fact my favorite field user is 440C. Easy to sharpen, plenty tough enough for me, stays sharp for a more than acceptable length of time, low maintenance over a wide range of conditions, and doesn't impart that bad taste / smell to food. It works every time without fuss whether I'm cutting up flesh -

or living under my left arm for hours on end -

.
or cutting up fresh food

.
or caked in crud digging up roots

.
or working in sticks

.
or out in the rain and rivers for days

.

In short, whilst I can appreciate there can be merits in non-stainless for certain very specific applications the consummate choice for my real world use rather than just armchair theory is a stainless of some ilk. I suppose it is a bit like the blade thickness/ required strength vs actual useful cutting performance thinness debate like that.

Just to keep my powder dry and the haters at bay – I'm not saying I think stainless is better, I'm saying it is better for me. I've seen enough posts here to know that many people here don't need to use knives like I do and accordingly the advantages of stainless could obviously be lost on them.

 

[MrCoffee]

I don't have a lot in the way of stainless fixed blades, but I have had some. As stated AUS-8 makes a good solid blade. I have great luck with my Kershaw 1005's, and my all time favorite beater, ultra cheap, great blade for the money Blackjack Grunt. One of those beat the crap out it now, clean it up later blades that just takes it and comes back smiling.

 

[philbro]

I always like to travel with a good fixed blade knife. In some countries its a lot easier to carry a stainless steel "diving knife" along with a mask & snorkel, than it is with a bushcraft knife. I don't have any proper diving knives as I consider the blade materials can be inferior ( or too expensive.) Depending on the length of the trip I carry either a SOG Pentagon or CRKT 7inch Ultima. I always use stainless when I'm home, because that is what I would have on me if I needed them for survival abroad.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Can't say as I've ever had any real beef with stainless as long as it was used in an appropriate design and given a good heat treatment.

 

[Diomedes Industries]

I have a CPM 154 knife by Koster. It sharpens easier then 3V and isn't as brittle. I like it a lot.

TF

 

[shangchi108]

The only steel I've ever met that I didn't like was AUS6, which doesn't hold an edge worth a damn. My current favorite is VG10. Good balance between easy to sharpen and edge holding ability. Mora's Sandvic 12C27 seems to be really good steel, too.

 

[longbow50]

I just got back from a 5 day bowhunting trip.It rained like pouring you know what out of a boot for 4 days and we had 40 mph winds the one day without rain.I carried a 1095 steel blade but could not prevent rust under the conditions no matter how many times I wiped it down.It was just too wet and impossible to keep either me or the knife dry all the time unless we both stayed in camp.

I think I am now much more open to stainless blades for extreme conditions.What are your favorite stainless steels? what do you think of stainless blades in general?

I really like the Stainless used with the Eriksson Mora 2000, which is 12c27med. It holds it's edge fairly well and is easily sharpened. BTW, the M2K is a real sweetheart of a knife when it comes to camp, bush and game detail.

 

[ms3902]

Hands down favorite has to be Benchmade's 154cm. Followed closely by VG10. I sing praise of Benchmade's 154 because of the abuse that I have put my "Grip" through. I have had it for three years and in that time I have used it for everything. And while it has been used and abused not once have I had to really work to get out any of the dented edges that it has incured.

 

[Senang]

I love stainless and non stainless...Depends on the job really...You know that a carbon steel blade can be treated with 3-4 coats of a mustard patina...then a coat of cooking spray on them...It really helps out with the carbon steel and rust problem....I usually do a minimum of tree coats on mine with no problems and mustard is cheap...And it looks cool...Jeff

 

[Toucan Oasis]

I only have one carbon knife left.It's a Hankins Tanto. It stays Land Cruiser with a thin coat of grease.
The rest are stainless. No problems. Stainless is fine as long as it's quality, properly hardened, and the owner knows how to sharpen.Human error is the most common "problem" with knives

 

[m]

The AUS8 blades I have had have been from Cold Steel and have been very tough but have dulled quickly and have taken a good while to sharpen for me. Is other manufacturers AUS 8 better than CS's?

 

[JTC3495]

I just can't see a need for a stainless blade unless I am in water(particularly ocean water). I have never had any issues with carbon blades rusting away. I just personally prefer the characteristics of carbon steel over stainless.

Carbon is easier to sharpen, looks better when aged from use and is usually tougher. Stainless is not bad just not my preference.

 

[BlackHills]

I've sold off most of the stainless blades I owned and have passed on several knives I like the design of simply because they are stainless. I'll take carbon any day....