Blade type and manufacturer

[fnengel]

I am going to order some blades and make my own handles. I have done this on some plastic moras by removing the plastic and adding the wood. I have also used a few full tang blades in stainless I bought on a close out and one Kellam stainless.

I am requesting advice on which blade material is considered the best for duarability, sharpeniong and edge retention: full carbon, laminated or Stainless steel. Also, is there a manufacturer such as Frosts Mora, Kellam Etc that has a superior offering. I am looking for 3.5" to 4" full tang with flat Scandia Grind?

Also, What is considered the best all-around bushcraft knife with exposed tang and flat scandia grind that is currently available on the market? I expect it will cost a few hundred?

Best Regards,

Fred

 

[dtalbot]

I am going to order some blades and make my own handles. I have done this on some plastic moras by removing the plastic and adding the wood. I have also used a few full tang blades in stainless I bought on a close out and one Kellam stainless.

I am requesting advice on which blade material is considered the best for duarability, sharpeniong and edge retention: full carbon, laminated or Stainless steel. Also, is there a manufacturer such as Frosts Mora, Kellam Etc that has a superior offering. I am looking for 3.5" to 4" full tang with flat Scandia Grind?

Also, What is considered the best all-around bushcraft knife with exposed tang and flat scandia grind that is currently available on the market? I expect it will cost a few hundred?

Best Regards,

Fred

A very similar discussion is going on over on britishblades, go over there and you'll find any number of makers who will supply blades. or try www.brisa.fi or http://www.thegoodstuffshop.dk/default.asp?lang=uk for loads of blades, both top notch companies to deal with.
Other guys will produce yoy the best allround bushcraft knife you could imagine made to your spec for a hundred or two. Makers to look out for are Shing (think he sells on here sometimes), Guycep (not taking orders at the mo but may do again), StuartM spring to mind but there are plenty of others equally good.
Cheers
David

 

[ArkAngel]

Hi Fred, welcome to the site.

There will be other people on here who will be much better qualified to answer this than me, but a good knife blade will probably cost less than you think.

They are far too modest to plug their own gear but there are 3-4 folks on here that make blades that will rival or better any comercially available blade in my opinion.

01 tool steel (carbon or stainless) seems a very popular choice as does the Scandi grind you mention.

Sound like you want a "woodlore" style blade (a ray mears type clone) these are very popular and seem to be amongst the best designs available. There are variations to this design and again well worth checking out.

Enough of my rambling, welcome to the site, see you around and i'm sure it won't be long until someone more knowledgeable gives you more information.

 

[JBird]

Try Ragnar at Ragweed Forge, you can e-mail him annoying questions all day and he doesn't seem to mind (I know from experience), speedy delivery, and one shipping cost no matter how much you order (five bucks). He carries blanks from Helle, Brusleltto, Stromeng, Karesuando, Mora's from Frosts and Eriksson, and Roselli.
Ragnar's home page:
http://ragweedforge.com/

and Blade catalog:
http://ragweedforge.com/BladeCatalog.html

 

[Snufkin]

Try Ragnar at Ragweed Forge, you can e-mail him annoying questions all day and he doesn't seem to mind (I know from experience), speedy delivery, and one shipping cost no matter how much you order (five bucks). He carries blanks from Helle, Brusleltto, Stromeng, Karesuando, Mora's from Frosts and Eriksson, and Roselli.
Ragnar's home page:
http://ragweedforge.com/

and Blade catalog:
http://ragweedforge.com/BladeCatalog.html

Seeing as you are in the US I second Ragnar, he's a gent. But if you want a full tang knife then you might like to pm firemaker here at BCUK, he does some lovely looking hand forged blades (I'm trying to scratch together the money for one at the moment as I have one of his firestikers that is beautiful). His website is here .

 

[Longstrider]

Hi Fnengel, It seems strange to find someone from your side of the pond asking for blade suplliers when so often I find that the only places I can buy the stuff I want is in the US and I'm here in the UK !

For blades, both full tang and hidden tang, as well as just about anything else you will ever need for knife making try looking at http://www.texasknife.com/

I've ordered from them in the past and have had good service as well as things/materials that I simply could not find in the UK.

 

[C_Claycomb]

The only difficult thing is that there are fewer places to get single bevel full tang blades. Texas Knife Supply has some good blades, but none that are really what you are looking for.

Don't do anything daft like buying a knife from a UK maker, while you are in the US. There are hundreds of makers in the US who could make you a Woodlore style clone. Firemaker here would be a good start. I suppolse that you have gone looking at the Outdoor Survival Forum? They had an OSF knife made much like what you describe, there might be a few floating around for sale.

As for the best steel, that would depend on what you want to do and what you value in a knife. Its like asking what the best car is...that could be a Ferrari, or a HUMMVE, or a Smart, depending what you need

You can get knives made of stainless or carbon which are a harder to sharpen but hold the edge a long time, CPM steels, D2, and M2 spring to mind. Carbon is tougher, but does that matter on a little 4" blade? Laminates sharpen easier, but strike sparks less well from Ferrocerium rods. Finer carbides make for a finer edge for carving, but are less good for slicing. Its all about what you want the knife for.

What I may consider the best knife, someone else may only consider to be a runner up, or worse. Not becaue the knife is bad, just that our priorities are different. So, what exactly are you looking for this "best on the market" knife to do?