Why does stainless even exist?

[GarageBoy]

Because some of us need to work in NASTY conditions

 

[allenC]

The real question is "why do non-stainless knives still exist"?

Today's stainless steel blades are BETTER than non-stainless IMHO.
Compare a nice VG-10 blade to a non-stainless blade and you might be very surprised with the results.

Besides, I don't like the metalic taste that my carbon-blades give to food.

Allen.

 

[Will P.]

Because when you are lying in your stomach covered in mud and it's raining, you aren't worried about what's happening to the edge of your knife. 154CM and other stainless steels can be treated to act in a similar fashion to non-stainless steels.

I think CCC's just give stainless steel a bad name.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Most of the world has gotten used to products made of stainless steel and aluminum. The only time they see rust is on cheap neglected yard tools. The public wishes that shovels and lawnmowers were stainless. If stainless performed as well as nonstainless in all performance properties and cost no more than non stainless, the non stainless would cease to be produced.

As it stands non stainless is used in what most of the public would consider novelty knives. For most uses the stainless is a preferable product. I remember an awful lot of scout knives that were slippery because of the oil required to keep them functioning properly. One reason that SAK's have largely displace scout knives is that SAK's came out early with all-stainless blades. They were prettier and a lot more convenient in actual use.

 

[Keith]

When good carbon or tool steel exists? Mabye it's because people are too lazy to take care of their knives... Only good reason I can think of is that it bends not breaks (most of it anyway).

Some people don't have the luxury of living in a climate that is conducive to keeping carbon steel blades rust free. I used to carry a carbon steel pocket knife a long time ago, but even with coating the entire knife with oil after about one day of carry in the summer it would have several places where the blade was starting to rust. And if I was doing something to cause me to sweat, almost the entire knife would be covered in rust. Keep in mind the area of Arkansas I'm from is covered in about 4 inches of water for about 6 months of a year. Combined with the fact that it's also former swamp land and the are several different swamps within an hour drive and that it's unusual for it to be less than 100% relative humidity or very near that in most of Arkansas during the summer, caused me to switch to stainless steel pocket knives.

For fixed blades I really don't care. Even when I do have a reason to carry one it gets used so little that any oil applied to a carbon steel blade would very likely only be removed in a small area and I have yet to sweat enough to have sweat soak through a kydex sheath.

 

[Danbo]

The real question is "why do non-stainless knives still exist"?

Today's stainless steel blades are BETTER than non-stainless IMHO.
Compare a nice VG-10 blade to a non-stainless blade and you might be very surprised with the results.

Besides, I don't like the metalic taste that my carbon-blades give to food.

Allen.

Well, I wouldn't quite go THAT far, but some stainless steels certainly approach a good tool steel. My preference will always be for a super high carbon tool steel, simply for the type of edge capabilities. But, stainless steels like BG42, VG10 and S30V certainly are not far behind in my book.