ZDP for hiking/backpacking

I took a William Henry Tom Brown Quest "survival" knife on a recent summer bicycle camping trip. I was out for two weeks in very hot humid weather. The blade was ZDP-189 sandwiched between two layers of 420 stainless. The 420 rusted more than the ZDP. I would characterize the rust on both as light surface rust that can easily be wiped off. I have experienced similar rust on S30V, S60V, S90V, BG42, and CM154/ATS34. I wouldn't be concerned about the propensity of ZDP to rust since it outperforms 420 which is noted for its rust resistance.
 
This doesn't directly address your question, but I like taking a small piece of sandpaper with me- next to no weight or room and works really nice for touch ups when needed. Keeps the edge much more useful for much longer- but I've never tried it on ZDP.
 
MVF said:
This doesn't directly address your question, but I like taking a small piece of sandpaper with me- next to no weight or room and works really nice for touch ups when needed. Keeps the edge much more useful for much longer- but I've never tried it on ZDP.
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I really like that idea. My idea for keeping things light is to fuss over it now, get my gear list sorted out and then not worry about it again. When I've looked at ultralight backpacking sites they do go to extremes suggesting the smallest Swiss army keyring knives.

But it is wasy to fall into the trap of thinking of "It doesn't weigh much so I'll take it along" is what makes a pack heavy! Self discipline needed.
 
Queen Cutlery makes carbon folders in D2 and 1095. They are slipjoints though. If you looks around you could probably find a cmpd2 spyderco military or para.
 
Huge fan of ZDP....I've got an Endura, and it has yet to rust or stain at all...A quick wipe tends to be all I need, and the edge lasts almost literally for ever.
 
Sounds like an awesome trip buddy... One that I hope to get some time off soon and do as well. Off the top of my head I think the best combination for someone in your situation would be a medium sized folder and a 4-5 inch fixed blade. For the folder I would bring a Kershaw Shallot in s110v. Dave (Kershawguy) has them for $65 right now in the dealer section. S110v is the best of both worlds, it holds an edge FOREVER and it is a true stainless so you don't have to worry about staining or surface rust. I have also never heard of any chipping or anything else that a few people have associated with ZDP.
For a fixed blade I personally would probably bring a Bark River Bravo 1 or a ESEE (RAT) Cutlery RC-4. Both of which are very strong fixed blades that will be able to handle all the big jobs you may have to do like splitting kindling and making tent stakes. I don't know how much knife knowledge you have but make sure that whatever fixed blade you get is full tang.
 
Thanks nevermind35. I'll look into s110v some more. And yes, it's going to be great to get some long adventures in this year.

How is the grip on the shallot? I suppose I could glue some thin EVA foam on the sides for grip. That's probably sacrilege to a lot of people here! Any lighter knives using s110v?
 
Alright, I have to update a little: my ZDP D4 might actually have some staining. When I was wiping it down with WD-40, I could see what looked like the outline of orange juice when I cut oranges in the film of oil. I can't see it otherwise, though. Does that count as staining?
 
Wow this is a tough call because there are so many options. If you can find something made from S90V it might be better than ZDP189 if you plan on not wiping it down from time to time. I remember there was a S90V Manix 2 that would probably be good but there not that common anymore. A S90V Spyderco Mule isn't that heavy and you can get g10 handles from halpern titanium online for about $20. But both those choices are discontinued and would require some looking on the exhange and probably feebay.
 
So it seems that ZDP-189 is stainless in all respects except staining :D.

Just out of curiosity. What would happen if you used a ZDP-189 for saltwater fishing got fish guts all over it and didn't clean it? Anyone done something like this?

Aside from ugly staining would the edge be destroyed? If you wiped it off and used it for food preparation would you taste the rust?
 
ZDP-189 is by far my favorite steel, its performance is simply untouchable by an other SS. Well, except the rust part. My Kershaw ZDP Leek pitted, the first time I cut lemon slices and forgot to wash the blade after one night. I purposely left my VG-10 and S30V with lemon juice on, the VG-10 has some ever so slightly light surface rust, while the S30V has no rust what so ever. Usually I would pick ZDP over ANY steel in most task, but in your situation, S90V or S110V is your best bet for the longest lasting edge and superior rust resistance
 
the endura zdp doe'st chip or rust for myself. working as a carpet cleaner i scrape gum & cut frayed nylon which has been presprayed with enzymes & other powerful prep products all day long. all i do is wipe the blade off & it has'nt seen any oil in weeks, no corrosion. also i've cut thru mud & hit metal [no chips] i do'nt understand where the urban legend started about rust & brtttleness.for a liteweight champ the endura is 1st choice.
 
It was nothing "urban legend" about the rust issue, it's my first hand experience, mind you, I'm one of those guys who loves ZDP over any other steel exist. But rust resistance is not a strong point for ZDP-189. I always treat my ZDP collection like any other tool steel, keep dry and clean at all time. I wouldn't use ZDP near salt water either, but I've also heard ppl using 1095 in salt water "no problem" :rolleyes:
 
LowTEC said:
ZDP-189 is by far my favorite steel, its performance is simply untouchable by an other SS. Well, except the rust part. My Kershaw ZDP Leek pitted, the first time I cut lemon slices and forgot to wash the blade after one night. I purposely left my VG-10 and S30V with lemon juice on, the VG-10 has some ever so slightly light surface rust, while the S30V has no rust what so ever. Usually I would pick ZDP over ANY steel in most task, but in your situation, S90V or S110V is your best bet for the longest lasting edge and superior rust resistance
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Hi LowTEC, that's interesting. Was the pitting enough to really mess up the edge by, say, blunting it a lot or making it a nightmare job to sharpen away edge damage?

I'm getting the impression that the pitting is more of a cosmetic issue than a performance issue. Is that about right?
 
Thalestin said:
Id suggest a small fixed blade. When hiking, grime can be a real problems with all the food prep and such. Also a fixed blade can take a real beating in a bad situation.
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Exactly, I wouldn't waste my time with a folding knife in the field given the choice. :)

However if one has to carry a folder then carry a heavy duty one like a ZT 0300 series.
 
any high wear resistance blade will definitely need longer time to sharpen, I personally use belt sander to sharpen and strop therefore I never have a problem. You will definitely need diamond rods or some sort to sharpen a ZDP blade as it is one of the hardest if not THE hardest steel exists (Rc68), other wise it will take you a looooong time with normal stones. The light pitting with my leek was both on the blade body and on the edge, it took me a while to restore it with diamond rods by hand. If you can treat the ZDP as any tool steel, better yet, as carbon steel, then you won't have a problem with rusting. With your application, you don't plan to wipe clean the blade throughly, then you should get some other high wear resistance steel instead. Although the pitting with my leek didn't affect performance much but why risk of ruining a high performance blade while you can pick some S90V blade (supposedly even more wear resistance than ZDP) and do the same job without worries?

I also agree with others, you should pick a fixed blade instead, no locks, pivot and liner rust to worry about; cleaning is one wipe away and have a much stronger blade. I have to admit, there ain't many high wear resistance SS fixed blade on the market, Spyderco S90V mule would be the best choice if you can find one. and no, you won't need to bring a sharpener with a S90V blade :)

H1 is the only steel that is 100% rust proof on the market right now, but the retention is not even close to other super steels, and the so call work hardening never happened in my experience, I kept trying with all kinda sharpening method with my Tasman and Pacific salt, neither of them can keep the edge for any period of time for their dear life. Therefore I don't think H1 would be the one you are looking for
 
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