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What is the ultimate steel for knife?

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22K views 26 replies 22 participants last post by  wolf80  
E
#1 ·
For a knife that will be used in a survival situation. You will use the knife for chopping small trees down, batoning wood, wood carving, gutting/skinning animal, maybe cut through bone, etc. Just basic all around surivial camp duties. So maybe you wont baton with it that much, but if you needed too, it would be able to handle it. I think a knife used in a survival situation will separate the good knifes from the crappy wanna-be's. Also sharpness retention should be considered as well, as it would be harder to maintain and sharpen your knife (for avg joe/jane).

This video got me thinking about it. Its soo soo crazy sharp and could other knives do that without dulling and that easily?

http://youtu.be/XrACl_EBw1A
 
N
#3 ·
There is no "one size fits all" steel out there. Different areas need different types of steels. Like salt water environment needs a good stainless. Not so much for desert areas. Besides my "survival knife" does not baton or chop down trees. Haven't needed to for over sixty years. Don't expect to start now.
 
M
#4 ·
A lot could be said here...

Quality carbon steel is hard to beat, especially if you live in dry climates (easier to keep from rusting).

It won't chip like stainless, has a long sharp life, easily sharpens and will throw sparks if used with flint/quartz/etc.

It also costs much less than the exotic stainless that name brands sell for. And if batoning, carbon holds up.

Bottom line, it wins everywhere against stainless except with rusting... fat/oil/keeping the blade dry fixes this.
 
#5 ·
Been making knives for a while. I think 5160 is pretty darn good stuff. Easy to work with, hardens all the way through, hold a great edge for a long time, sharpens easily, near bomb proof. It only failing is salt water.

If I was going to be stranded on another planet with only one knife I would want it made from 5160 with a proper heat treat and cryo!

Busse used the stuff before INFI! But I would not take INFI to another planet...

If your a maker the secret is go from heat into 900 degree melted lead. Once normalized at 900 go to 200 degree tranny fluid then pack into dry ice until melted away. Then three temper cycles at 425 for two hours per cycle.
 
S
#6 ·
I'm positive I will never be on some other planet. Infi is great! Sr101 is great! The knife I use and abuse is made out of sr101. Every one on this sit well have a difference in opinion. There is no right steel, just right for you. I have found my knife by fire. Always looking, is the knife I love the best? It gets me home.
 
#9 ·
The only blades that have to be razor sharp are razors and scalpels anything else is usually better off not being that sharp...Why, you ask? A razor is super thin steel and sharpened at an extremely shallow bevel so that it will cut hair from your face but that means it will chip easier and will dull quicker plus unless you have the proper stones, strop and skill that edge will be very hard to put back.

You do not use a knife to chop with...If you want to fell a small tree it's better to actually cut wedges out of the circumference of the base...Batonning small branches to make fuzz sticks and kindling is common but so many want to baton cordword sized pieces and a sharp knife isn't needed in the prior and most certainly not in the latter...Also, an axe or a hatchet will do those chores more efficiently, safer and expending less energy,

No steel is perfect; Hell most steels aren't even close to being good let alone perfect as each has different properties striving to be better then some other steel but by adding X or Y and/or taking out Z from the mix usually makes the steel good for only a few of the desired benefits...You want a blade that sharpens easily, retains that sharpness for as long as possible, should be fairly corrosion resistant and not cost your left testicle...Unfortunately, there is no one steel that has all those attributes...Don't get me wrong, there are some that come close but to make one of those parameters by adding the specific mineral for it will usually lessen one of the others...A difference of 1% can alter the properties--sometimes drastically.

A good decision maker for steels is what do the custom (not commercial) makers use the most and then try finding it from a manufacture as it will then be far cheaper (bulk buying)--but it also may not perform the same due to the temper imparted to the blank/blade as part of the cost cutting process to make it a viable Alternative...Using this criteria, INFI doesn't have a chance since only one maker uses it and he does not hold any proprietary rights to it as any smith can buy it from the mill--I know of at least three who've tried it and AFAIK, none have used it again....What he does do to it is a super tempering job but it still isn't the greatest of steels.

A superb list of steels, their attributes and their composition menu:
Alligator's Steel Guide
 
R
#11 ·
Roselli UHC steel. UHC= Ultra High Carbon. This the most astounding metal I have seen. No knife holds an edge like it, I just keep cutting through everything.
I don't know what they do to manufacture it.

The way it is made is a highly guarded secret, so I'll never know.

I do know these knives are used a lot by laplanders though, and I use them to good effect.
 
#12 ·
Tons of great and/or perfectly useable steels out there, from D2, 1075, 1084, 1095, 5160, A2, W2, cpm154, 52100, SK5, S30V, ats34, 440C, 420HC, AUS-8, 12C27, 13C26, O1...

Basically, my point is many choices are great, and if properly heat treated any of the above would be perfectly fine for use as a bushcraft/"survival" knife. No sense in overthinking the steel aspect. Even the "pedestrian" 440C is excellent when heat treated right...same goes for 1075, a carbon steel many look down their nose at.

A "super" steel done poorly makes for a crap knife.
 
#14 ·
I'm not real up to date on all the name sand what not of all the different steels. But I can tell you one thing right now. There isn't a better blade on this planet than a Randall. They have two types, a high carbon steel and a stainless steel. I'm not sure their names but head over to Randall's website and they will fill you in.

There isn't a knife out their that has the history of being the ultimate workhorse of a knife. I know I wouldn't trade mine for the world. They are so popular, if you order one, its a couple years wait. The prices has also went thru the roof too. Almost so high that I have a hard time justifying using them. In truth, I only use two of mine and the rest of heirlooms of my house and will be passed down to my children, and hopefully many more generations. I know of atleast two people that have the Randalls that they grandparent purchase and it is still good to go after much use.

So, if I were you, I would see what the Randall's are made of.

Good luck!
 
#20 ·
No such thing as the ultimate knife steel, just the steel most suited for the job.

For EDC, S30v. It keeps its working edge very well, which is what matters for EDC.

For camping and my BOB, VG10. It's extremely rust resistant and easy to sharpen, yet retains a decent edge.

For working, M390. Incredible edge retention, which comes in handy since cardboard and zip ties tear up edges pretty quickly.
 
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