what is the best steel, is it 440? if not, how good is 440? i have an old hunting knife with 440 and i haven't seen any in the stores lately, it's all 420 and other stuff.
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what is the best steel, is it 440? if not, how good is 440? i have an old hunting knife with 440 and i haven't seen any in the stores lately, it's all 420 and other stuff.
...you just opened. There are all kinds of different types of steel. Many moons ago I did a series of posts on the differentt types of knife steel used & the properties that make them unique. Knife steel is not only about the type of steel used, but how it is tempered/treated in the heating process. Buck knives, for example, use a "high carbon" 420 steel that is just as good as 440.
Ka-bar uses 1095 carbon steel (which can rust easily & is best used in "dry" climates) in a lot of their fighting knives. Ontario knives use both 1095 steel & stainless D-2 steel in several of their models, including the high quality RAT series. The D-2 steel has a harder RH factor, making it harder to sharpen, but keeps an edge longer. My Ka-Bar "Bull Dozier" is made from "AUS-8" steel. Now that I've got you thoroughly confused you need to google for knife steel info & do some homework as your life may depend on what you know about the qualities of your knife. There is no substitute for studying. I'll try to find my old posts, but do some checking on your own, okay?:cool:
Yep - what Sarge said.
Asking what the best knife steel is a good question, but it's also like asking why another mans wife is better than his own!:D
At this time I've been unable to locate my old posts, perhaps our "Forum Historian" Rick might be able to locate them, I'm not sure, as the member's post section only lists the last 500 posts; however i got the following off of Google:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search
Enjoy!:D
wow, what a headache, all those types of steel to sort thru. but it looks like 440 is a rarity these days, so i'll hang on to mine. i wish i was rich though, cuz back in the day i was in a knife shop in of all places, a mall, and they had a japanese tanto that looks like a miniature samurai sword of about a foot long, which was made the samurai way, being folded upon itself roughly 400 times in its making. it was also several hundred bucks at the teime, waah! maybe it'd make a good investment now though.
Sorry, Sarge. I didn't find it.
Here's a great link on knive steels explained.
The Knife Steel FAQ by Joe Talmadge
http://www.knifeart.com/steelfaqbyjo.html
It all depends on the climate and use for it
For all we know your a scuba diver and need a rust proof knife.
Nice link GW. I was wondering why I hadn't run across it before, then I noticed the section titled "knives over $2000".
I've posted it here a couple of times before. I originally found it when I was looking for a birthday present for you. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by crashdive123
Couldn't find anything I'd like? Honest.....I'm not picky.
I think I found what you were looking for:
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...read.php?t=412
That's the one! It was almost a year ago, wow! Hey Rick, Nell beat you in the "History" dept; you owe her a dozen Twinkies.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by nell67
Nell beats me hands down but I'm not tellin' Trax about it. I sort of enjoy it.:D:eek:
Just remember,I prefer ding dongs to twinkies,and easy on the beatin' stuff,eh? You're gonna get me in trouble!:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Rick
Well, there was that rope and feather.....
And I don't know nuthin' 'bout no ding dongs and my twinkies have stayed in the box. Honest, Trax!
Rotflmao.....
This is probably the best "quick read" one page faq sheet on Knife steel. You'll find there are 3 different grades of 440 steel as well. It comes from the A.G. Russell site::cool:
http://www.agrussell.com/knife_infor...les/steel.html
Yea,but that is for Trax,not Rick!Quote:
Originally Posted by crashdive123
ah....must leave the whip.....
Sarge, Joe Talmadge was the author of that link too, the same guy who did the one I posted:Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarge47
The Knife Steel FAQ by Joe Talmadge
http://www.knifeart.com/steelfaqbyjo.html ;)
I like 440C stainless steel. BAsically because it has a high carbon content so it keeps a better edge than other stainless steels and is more flexible, but it's also more prone to corrosion. The carbon content si 0.95% to 1.20%. Then Chromium is 16% to 18%.
The 1095 Carbon steel that Ka-Bar uses for their fighting knives is pretty tough stuff as well.:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Blood Groove
Here's a site that puts knives through destruction tests. They put a special statement up in response to the Chris Reeve's Green Beret knife FAILING the test!
http://www.knifetests.com/
that's a neat site GW
Did you see where Chris Reeves says it was on the up and up, and was sending them a replacement!!!!
I was thinking that it's cool that they're backing their warranty and sent those guys a new knife too, but a warranty doesn't do you a heck of a lot of good if you're out in the bush with a broken knife. Still, those guys are a lot harder on a knife than I would beQuote:
Originally Posted by Gray Wolf
For what that knife costs I hope so, for what that knife costs it shouldn't break!
Good site. Thanks. Maybe we should add it to the knife sticky.
They're getting (the site) more & more visitors, they're completely independent, and buy the knives they test, so they're not obligated to do any favors. They do the same tests with each knife, machete, axe etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by crashdive123
I'm going to have to spend some more time on it as the vids are a bit long. Probably a great link for the next time the question is asked "What knife should I buy".
Check out how well the COLD STEEL BUSHMAN & the COLD STEEL BUSHMAN EXTREME SPEAR TEST did. That's the knife that's being passed around now, well......
Pretty sturdy little bugger. Liked the air cannon too.
I've been carrying a K-Bar D-2 Extreme for a couple of years now. I knew it was a tough knife but after watching that video I'm doubly convinced its a tough knife. However it is not one of my favorite knives.
I was a little surprised about how poorly the Ka-Bar USMC did.
Also surprised how well the Scrap Yard Scrapper 6 did. It's under $100 ($90), but still not sure about using that metal for a knife (SR-77). Must be hard to sharpen in the field.
Fallkniven is a very well-respected knife maker that uses a laminate steel process that sandwiches VG10 carbon steel between 420J2 stainless steel.
That site is pretty unpopular amongst some knifemakers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray Wolf
Mike Stewart, the head of Bark River Knives (considered by many to be one of the best makers out there) had this to say (I'll post a link to the thread if more appropriate). I found his comments interesting and informative:
Mike Stewart of Bark River Knives, from knifeforums.com
"The Responses here show how misleading and how wrong most people are in drawing Conclusions from those videos.
First--You are Confusing Strong with Tough.
The Stronger the knife--The FASTER is will break.
The Tougher the knife the longer it takes to break it.
That is Carved in Stone.
It does not require any test ..It is Fact.
Extra Strong knives have less flex and are usually harder--the harder blade holds it's edge longer.
A Softer Knife is Tougher--It will not hold it's edge as long but acts more like a Spring.
A Cheap - Soft Knife will take Far more silly abuse than a real knife that is made to take and hold an edge.
It is obvious to me that Most people truly don't have a grasp of this -- at all.
You can take a cheap--soft import knife and beat the heck out of it without breaking it.
It is a terrible knife but you can't break it.
That is because it has all of the attributes of a Truck Spring--not a knife.
Any good maker--that understands this-- can make a thing--shaped like a knife that the hockey mask guy can't break.
It will look like a knife but it will not cut like a knife.
You can even make it cut--for a short time--just long enough for the duration of the silly cutting things he does in the beginning of the videos.
If you don't know what I have just posted above--you will think that "Cheaper Than Dirt" thing is actually a better knife than other knives that Broke before it did.
Your responses have proven my point.
By you thinking that they have any validity or value you are showing how misleading this sort of thing is.
His tests are pointless.
When he broke the Reeve knife--it was 100% predictable.
Once the blade was firmly stuck in the wood--the continued hitting of the spine was causing a shock wave in both direction out the Blade from the point of impact.
If he was NOT holding the knife--the knife would have stayed together.
His Own hand--on the handle--was dampening the shockwave and not allowing the blade to flex freely from the impact.
The knife Broke right in front of the Dampener (his hand) that was preventing the blade from flexing to the end of the knife.
This is not something that is a great revelation.
It was NORMAL.
You probably didn't know what I just posted so..........You thought it was a problem with the knife.
Something You saw-- with Your own eyes --showed you what a BAD knife this was---When--In Fact--The knife was broken by gross abuse and a lack of any understanding of what he was doing from a Structural Basis.
If he had allowed the knife to full length Flex from the shockwave--it probably would not have broken.
Regardless--once he hit it with a metal hammmer--it was no longer a legitimate test.
I'm not going to go point by point through all of the things he has done to all of the knives but most of them are 100% predictable in final result.
Again--if you are a novice and don't know what you are looking at--you will assume that the knife is bad.
What he does is pointless.
Some of us work very hard--every day-- to make the very best products we can.
Seeing crap like this--and knowing it will be totally misunderstood by potential customers is very disconcerting.
You may find it amusing--A lot of us don't."
Hmmm. Learned another new thing today. Thank you.