I carry a Cold Steel dagger daily. I suppose you could bend or snap it given enough force, but it's just a shank, all steel, no scales.

 

I have the same one…… Cold Steel “Drop Forged Boot Knife”

That’s 51200 steel….. VERY hard steel and good toughness. Those Cold Forged series knives come razor sharp too.

 

I have watched most of his videos and interestingly enough, most of the “High End” knives don’t last very long, Brands like Tops and Fallkniven tend break right away.

I've seen his videos. His torture to failure routine often goes beyond realistic expectations to the point of being irrelevant. But, I get it, there's a humor aspect that gets clicks.

I do agree with you on the high end comment. Hyperbole in the knife world seems to trump pragmatism these days.

 

I don't know about irrelevant. How many "one knife for SHTF" threads do we see? If you're seriously considering getting one or even just a few knives to last forever under really hard usage, seeing "beyond realistic" testing to failure might be informative. I don't personally ascribe to that mindset beyond it being a fun thought experiment, but I don't think such extreme testing is without value either.

Might as well have at least guy out there doing it.

 

Super useful channel if you want to know how tough a knife is before you buy it. He is rather amusing as well.

I have watched most of his videos and interestingly enough, most of the “High End” knives don’t last very long, Brands like Tops and Fallkniven tend break right away.

Conversely, much of the time he has to go over the top to destroy Cold Steel Knives. His videos have made me a believer in the CS brand.

His testing also shows how expensive “Super Steels” aren’t as super as they are made out to be.

check it out: JOE X

The difference is in what the knife is designed to be used for. A higher end knife is harder and more brittle, this leads to a longer lasting edge which is what most people want from a cutting tool- cutting performance.

Lower end knives aren't as hard or brittle and are usually much tougher (in additional they tend to be easier to sharpen) this is reflected in the cost and the need to sharpen more often vs the use. But most people want high edge retention AND corrosion resistance primarily- and very few people are using knives to chop through cars and such.

Think of it like this- a cro-bar would handle this guy's tests extremely well despite being inexpensive low quality steel- but would be a poor tool to butcher an animal or do any kind of fine carving onbviously. As far as survival is concerned I personally find ease of sharpening far outweighs the blade ability to keep an edge. Because of this I prefer a lower end steel for my survival knives- they take more sharpening but they can be sharpened (and more easily maintianed) using natural mediums which is an important trait to me. I own very few super steels- because my main fear with a knife is losing/wearing out my diamond stone.

If you use a knife correctly and even abuse the knife within the limits of its design it basically won't break. Enough force will (especially if misapplied) break any blade though. Not a big concern for me anymore now- it used to be when I first got started but I've since learned.

Recently ive been carring a simple (though modified) mora now... despite having spent thousands on other blades and sheaths- so take that fwiw.

 

I knew the "But that's not what you are supposed to do with your knife" comment was coming.

Obviously you don't stab car hoods with your knife unless you are trying to break it...... But even comparable steels of the high priced models vs the lower priced ones end up chipping and breaking first during his tests.....Pretty much every time.

Like you I would personally take a steel that I have to touch up more often that will survive the apocalypse for 100 bucks over some over priced brand that is supposed to hold an edge longer even though it will chip at the first hard surface (like bone) that it has to deal with.

If you watch his testing on the S35VN knives by cold steel the edge retention smokes the tops and other "Elite" brands "high grade, high retention" steels...... It's my opinion that people are paying for the name more than a good heat treat and a better knife..... Like how women pay 400 bucks for a vinyl gucci purse because it's a Gucci.

I say if you want edge retention over all other things and accept the chipping and snapping factor then go buy ceramic knives for 20-30 dollars and save some money. (I love ceramic utility blades, they rock..... But they do break like a rock sometimes too)

 

I imagine that if I were on the side of a cliff and had to arrest my self from falling driving my knife into the crack of some rock face, I'd like to know that it will stand up to my weight. While that scenario is extremely rare situations like that do exist. When there is a building collapse, say during an earthquake and some one is pinned an appendage in the materials and the only way to free them is to have a pry bar capable of the load, you use what you've got. Ideally one has tools for emergencies but I have assisted EMT crews and they had no knife or scissors to cut the safety belt. They are not allowed to carry in some places.

 

Never used a knife while rock climbing, I used a piton.

They work like a champ as they are purpose built for this task.

Need something for cutting rope? Pitons are worthless......

 

9mm VS 45acp, etc. Same productive argument. Better to have one or the other than neither.

 

Want a great knife that will hold an edge and not break?

TOPS SILENT HERO - DESTRUCTION TEST - UNTIL IT BREAKS - KNIFE TEST EXTREME - TIP DESTRUCTION TEST (youtube.com)
Amazon.com : Tops HERO-01 Silent Hero : Sports & Outdoors
Just had to give Tops a shout out because the OP said most of them can't handle abuse.

Tops and Kailash are both differentially heat treated for toughness and edge retention,
which is worth the extra money over Cold Steel which I also like.