Why aren't there more folders with "carbon steel"?

Case xx still carries a pretty good line of "Vandium" carbon steel knives.Keep a thin coat of oil on them or let them turn brown.It's all good.
 
A lot of traditional knives use carbon steel. And there has been a lot of M4 used in popular production knives lately.
 
black mamba said:
Northfield UN-X-LD and Tidioute are the two brands of knives which Great Eastern Cutlery makes in 1095. Both brands make liner locks in both their 3-3/4" trapper and their 4-1/2" trapper (closed length). The Tidioute brand has also just released a 3-7/8" closed lockback trapper. Their 1095 runs between 57 and 59 HRc, and with thin flat ground blades they really cut.

Queen Cutlery also makes several lock backs and liner locks, from 3-3/4 to 4-1/2 inches, in excellent D2 steel at 60-62 HRc. They tend to come a little dull, but with diamond hones you can get terrific edges on them. Any of the above make a very nice EDC, and the 4-1/2" models can do almost anything.
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GEC knives tend to not be that sharp when you get them either. I had to work on my two to get them up to snuff. They get hair-popping sharp though! I would like to try the D2 folders
 
If you can live with the high maintenance you can buy any number of traditional slipjoint folders in carbon steel.

Personally I have no issues with stainless in a folder. If you are careless and forget to clean the knife after using it on food or anything with corrosive juices, you don't end up with a knife with pitting and ugly staining.
 
Chuck Gedraitis made me a A2 pinch blade. It's sharp as heck. I just wipe the blade down, no problems.
 
The problem with carbon steel maintenance is not the blade surface itself, it's actually the inside where the pivot is. I for one, would not want to take my folder apart to dry the pivot after every wash
 
Bro--- If you completely dry and lube your folder after the wash, there should be no problems.
 
^^ That's right, you will have to take the pivot and the blade out to COMPLETELY dry it after wash. I had a couple tool steel folders, I wash clean them pretty often and dry the blade surface sparkling clean and lube afterward every time. Couple of them developed lateral blade play over time but the locks were solid, I took all of them apart and find light rust between the blades and pivots. The rust "enlarged" the bore a little. I wouldn't even want to imagine if they were 1095 or 52100
 
It probably costs companies more in warranty claims too. Even though rust is not covered under warranty, if someone mails in a knife the company has to take the time to look at the knife and may end up paying the return postage.
 
Would it be possible/feasible for a knifemaker to make blades that fit common production folders and just sell them as a replacement for certain knives? I.E. Make a replacement blade for the Benchmade Mini Grip or Spyderco Endura, etc. and just have the user swap the blade out?
 
Depends on the steel. For actual carbon steels, 10xx, they are not air-quenching, so you need to pay for quench mediums, any hazardous material requirements along with them, and labor. The steels will rust, including the time they sit in inventory, more material loss and labor to clean them up. Some of them wouldn't be in inventory anyway, if they are only offered in round stock, or stock too thick for blades.

The end user has to deal with rust, which is not what 99% of people want to deal with in the 21st century with stainless knives of current edge retention & toughness (suitable for most people's needs) For high alloy tool steels, they can cost as much or more than commonly used stainlesses, sometimes by a huge margin. They also require austenizing temps similar to these stainlesses, so there is no cost saving there, but then they could possibly air/plate quench, depending on the alloy.
 
Stainless steel shouldn't be underestimated. I routinely use various types of stainless and have never had the least problem. The problems creep in with bad heat treat (which can just as easily happen with carbon steel), bad frame designs, poor locking mechanisms and bad tolerances.

My grandfather gave me a carbon steel folder and despite regular cleaning and oiling, the blade is blotchy and cuts no better than many of my stainless folders. I have a Spyderco Native that goes with me most places along with my larger knives, and it cuts just fine. Many knife companies are also offering beautiful Damascus patterns, consisting of many varying steels.

I have a couple of inexpensive...er...cheap...Böker knives (Magnum series) and both take a back seat to my cheap S&W knives. My regular carrying knife is a Cold Steel Gunsite with a 5-inch blade and it cuts like a demon and is gorgeous. It's light weight, strong, strong lock, has a nice polished blade (not bead blast) and has decent serrations. I like big folders and find that stainless works very well for my needs.

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My little Bear Damascus is polished, beautiful and cuts well.


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Of course, some people just like
whatever's available!

.
 
people like stainless better than carbon because of the corrosion resistance. corrosion isn't such a problem on fixed blades, because they can be cleaned with one swipe. folders cant water and other stuff gets inside and its harder to clean and really hard to dry.
just my$.002
 
Just picked this one up from Chuck, literally. It may take some extra maintenance but I think it's worth it. Gorgeous knife IMHO.
 

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Boker is doing some folders in C75 carbon steel.

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(Photo from AG Russell's website)
 
tuffthumbz said:
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/s...New Zealand Knives&srch=eqCATE CODEdatarq=svo
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The Svord Peasant knife is pretty cool looking, I have the wooden handled one, and opening/closing it is quite a chore. It's not the most refined mechanism, but obviously I was expecting that when I ordered it :P Anyone have better luck with the plastic handles? I've played with the screw setting on this, and it seems to go straight from waaay too tight, to way too loose, nothing inbetween.

I also wish there were more folders offered in high carbon, non stainless, even though I know nowadays it will mostly be "just because" instead of any performance gain. I doubt I'd notice much of a difference in a typical carbon blade, compared to my s30v and vg10 spydies, except for maybe a little more toughness, and less wear resistance...

That said, I can't wait for my m4 military to get here :cool:

Oh yeah, OP, if you don't have an Opinel or five by now, you should definitely pick a handful up, great little knives.
 
Sometimes my folders sweat a lot in pocket, wich would be problematic with carbon steel. Also the fact that it could rust "from inside" wich makes it pain in the ass to maintain... but maybe that's just me.

I do prefer my fixed knives "carbonated" though.
 
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