will my stainless steel case get character?

J

jimwalter

Joined
Oct 10, 2009
Messages
324
My CV's gain character beautifully fast. Will my stainless eventually obtain character; just more slowly?
Lets see pics of your older SS!
 
If you mean, "will my stainless steel blade develop patina?", the answer is "No."

If you mean, "will my stainless steel bladed knives show signs of wear?", the answer is, "probably."

The knife on the bottom got carried every day for better than 10 years. Holding it in my hand, the scales are worn. Looking at the blade, it shows signs of being sharpened a fair many times, especially at the tip.

100_2884.jpg
 
Oh yeah. And there's a stain on the other side of the spey blade from using it to cut unusual materials in the lab.
 
knarfeng said:
Oh yeah. And there's a stain on the other side of the spey blade from using it to cut unusual materials in the lab.
Click to expand...

In other words, stainless steel doesn't obtain character, but certain characters are known to obtain stainless steel.

~ P.
 
It "stains less". not "stains none". Even if the Germans do call it "Rostfrei".

But it took a very odd material to cause the staining.
 
I have a Buck 503 that spent 4 years in the frame tray under the radiator in my GMC S15. Found it there when the header on the radiator split and I had to put a new one in it. It has one rust freckle on it after riding there that long in a relatively hostile environment.

Ed J
 
Yes, just not the same. Like Frank said, your not going to get the grey/black patina, but you will have signs of wear. I don't have stainless traditionals that I carry so I can't post pictures. I do have an old dive knife that has a ton of character and other stainless moderns though. It takes a LOT more use for the character to build and a lot more abrasive materials.

Kevin

ETA- I always seem to forget about my henckels pearl whittler. 420 steel and the only character it ever obtained was from the blades rubbing. That is also gone from when I reground and refinished all the blades to a mirror polish. Whittling wood is not very abrasive work unless there is dirt and other crud in it.
 
Last edited:
It will scratch up with use but it will never be the same as good ol carbon steel. I remember watching a show on man made materials and it talked about stainless steels being around in a thousand years or more because of their high resistance to the environment.
 
Cardiackid said:
If you want character, I have a drawer full of old ties with gravy stains.
Click to expand...

Yanno it's better to keep those in the refrigerator. They won't smell as bad when you go to wear them. ;)
 
This blade has about the most "character" that I have ever seen on a stainless steel blade( 440C )
My only guess is that it had been used in a salt water environment and put away wet, salt crystals would explain the deep pits and peppering. A carbon steel knife would have been long gone under the same conditions.


IMG_3011.jpg
 
I have two knives that are stainless but have a bit of character (sorry at work and cant send pics at the moment) ill see if I can show you later today.
 
sitflyer said:
This blade has about the most "character" that I have ever seen on a stainless steel blade( 440C )
My only guess is that it had been used in a salt water environment and put away wet, salt crystals would explain the deep pits and peppering. A carbon steel knife would have been long gone under the same conditions.


IMG_3011.jpg
Click to expand...

That is just not the kind of character I look for with my stainless knives. To me the point of stainless is to AVOID the rust.
 
richstag said:
That is just not the kind of character I look for with my stainless knives. To me the point of stainless is to AVOID the rust.
Click to expand...

Agreed on that point richstag, but this one does demonstrate what extreme mis-use the SS will take, and still remain useable...
 
I have older Case knives with stainless blades. The steel while not necessarily corroded takes on a certain light patina...just looks old...hard to describe. Maybe its just how they ground the steel.
 
akadave2 said:
I have older Case knives with stainless blades. The steel while not necessarily corroded takes on a certain light patina...just looks old...hard to describe. Maybe its just how they ground the steel.
Click to expand...

I think that's most of it. The surface finish on older Case stainless knives ('70s and earlier, at least; maybe into the '80s) was more 'satin'. Most of their stainless blades since then were polished to mirror finish. The surface finish on stainless can really be deceptive, in making the blade look a little 'grey' and less 'bright', like a carbon blade. I've noticed this when comparing older Schrade Old Timer models in 1095, and similar vintage knives from Camillus in 440A. The surface finish on each, when 'new', can make them look virtually identical.
 
Blades get sharpened, bolsters get scratched, and handles get worn. Carried knives will always take on some character, stainless or not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top