Need Knife

Are you thinking to buy a knife ?

 

I'm always thinking about a new knife. I got one in the mail today.

 

I have various knives for different purposes. One is a Swiss Army champ in sapphire blue. Wanted to be different. Another is kinda cool. A knock off Rambo knife. I wouldn't mid having a KA-Bar though.

 

Have several K bars...Marine Knives...good knife for the monies though the price for them has gone up over the years.

Recently got in a smaller version of the K bar by Ontario Knife Company ...sort of the smaller version issued to pilots....with the little sharpening stone in the sheath.

Good steel in those knives...for the monies.

I am not much for "Bling" in a knife. I prefer a knife that works well for what intended..and skip the bling.

But at the same time..I am aware that good knife steel costs good monies.


Understand the practicality of stainless steel ..but overall not impressed with a lot of the stainless varieties of knives out there.

I do however get a stainless knife for work and keep my good knives at home. For work I use a knife I can afford to get damaged or lost.

Also keep a stainless Mora Knife in my daily BOB for which I take to and fro work ..in addition to my folder in my pocket daily.



To many boneheads at work who are too stupid to buy their own knife and do not take care of the ones they borrow.
Hell ....many of them are too stupid and lazy to bring a ball point pen.

To me these folks...... they are just "High Maintenance.."

And most of them cannot even sharpen an knife much less take care of one.
And sharpening/honing stones are not difficult to come by in this shipyard....the two sided versions..round or rectangular....for working metal...surfaces. The two sided coarse or fine on the other side...Norton Stones....even gear stones of various grits .... can be found here at this yard.


A knife ..in like manner to a screwdriver..is one of the most abused and misused tools out there.

And that is my .02,

Watcherchris

Not an Ishmaelite.

 

I prefer carbon steel for knives that I am going to use a lot. On the other hand stainless is nice for a carry knife that doesn't get used every day and won't rust in your pocket if you get wet. I also like stainless steels for on my boat.

There are some good stainless steels out there now. I like the 420HC that Buck uses pretty well. The thing about any steel but more especially stainless is that the heat treat makes all the difference in the world. If you make stainless too hard it gets so brittle that the edge breaks off and sharpening them is a chore. I have a belt grinder that I use to make and sharpen knives and that helps a lot but if you have to rub it on a rock it just isn't good.

The thing about steel is that you need to match the steel to the job you are going to expect the knife to do. I like 1095 a lot but if I'm going to use it as a part time ax batoning wood and hacking limbs I want something s little softer like a 1055 or 1060. The W1 and W2c steels are great but in my opinion they are not a lot better for general use than the 1095.

The one place where stainless just doesn't cut it for me is in my wood carving tools and my butcher tools. I want a razor edge and in general stainless even if you get it there won't last long because the edge is thin and chips to easily. I work with a good steel at hand and on my wood carving knives a strop. I can maintain that super fine razor edge on carbon steel for about 10 times as long as on stainless.

My boot knives are almost always stainless as are the belt knives I use when fishing. Between sweat and rain they need to be tougher. I was raised close to the coast and rust is a real problem when you have brackish water and 100% humidity all the time.

I really like the older carbon steel case and old timer knives. I turn them into special use knives that make super high quality whittlers.

For those jerks that always want to borrow my knife I have a box full of those dollar knives that I "loan" them. MY pocket knife never leaves my sight. That said I am pretty good about just giving a knife to someone that I know will treat them right. I gave away an Openel #8 Walnut to a lady that had lost her knife at work the other night. The women that I hang with all carry knives and they bring them to me for sharpening. I like the weight of the Openel knives and for 15 or 20 dollars I can get another one if I want to. I have a half dozen of them in various sizes. They like Mora have a very good stainless steel and like Mora you can get it in either stainless or carbon.

I also carry a lot of Kershaw assisted opening pocket knives. I LIKE knives and have a just obscene number of them according to my wife. Nonetheless she gets me one nearly every Christmas!!!

 

Kershaw assisted opening pocket knives are just the best. I buy the made in America knives.

There's a model I've set my mind to purchase.

I like how flat they are in that they are unobtrusive resting in a pants pocket. I use these constantly and have actually used them until they break from my abuse.

 

I have knives from all over the world. In general I don't like the pay a bunch for a knife just for the sake of having an expensive knife. I like Kershaw a lot, Buck, KaBar and Cold Steel. After that I really like the craft type knives from all over the place. Mora makes a great knife. Victorinox is great and well made. Openel for the money is hard to beat and best of all they offer in carbon and stainless. A little company in Portugal called MAM makes a nice inexpensive locking blade folder that is well made light and a great knife for using if not impressing. Honestly I have some beautiful knives that came from China at an incredibly good price. Schrade isn't what it used to be but it is still a good knife for the cost. About the only place that makes knives that I can't say much good about is Pakistan. Even when the steel seems to have been decent they don't seem to know how to properly heat treat and temper a blade. I have seen several of the pakistan made kukries that shattered on wood. I suspect that they quench in water. I even had a hatchet from there break into pieces on a piece of oak. I have a couple of Japanese knives that are very well made.

 

Ahhhhh...Thanks Texdanm.....apparently I'm not the only one who has thought this very thing..

Thanks,
Watcherchris

Not an Ishmaelite

 

I sort of collect Schrade Old Timers from the old all the way through the current. This is a good example. It is a lovely beast. I got one from Academy for "drum roll" under 20 dollars! This thing is huge and I honestly can't imagine how they can make them and sell them for so little. I feared that it would be too brittle for heavy use but so far it has rocked whatever I've asked of it.

 

I always carry a CRKT M16 stainless steel folder knife with aluminum handle. The 3.25 inch blade cuz that's all that's legal here.

 

Here are the four cool knives you purchase:

• Chef's Knife (8” or 10”)
• Paring Knife (3”)
• Long Serrated Bread Knife.
• Slicing/Carving Knife (10”)

Use this coupon code to get more than 15% off!!

 

I use cheap chinese folders mainly
Most hold a good edge and if they are lost or stolen no great loss.
And After I have carefully profiled them on my belt sander I use a cheap tungsten sharpener to keep them sharp.

I used to buy expensive quality knives and spend hours on a stone to get them just right only to loose them or worse,
I still have a few high quality knives but they are backups not daily users.

 

I need another knife like a turtle needs a brassiere. But if you have one for sale, I am probably interested. I don't even try to keep count of how many I have.

TexasDanm: I love the Schrade Old Timer, and you got that for $20.00?!?!