Stainless Knife

[Ralph]

I have a beautiful SWC bushcraft knife, which is carbon steel, and I thought about what I use it for. I go on many wild day trips in which knives are used heavily and usually used in very, very wet conditions, often in saltwater environments. Having discovered a slight corroded patch a Frost's mora of mine, I decided to look for a stainless steel knife. Can anyone recommend anything between about £10-50?

 

[bushwacker bob]

Frosts Clipper in stainless.

 

[PWork]

Frosts Clipper in stainless.

860 Clipper.

 

[addyb]

I second (or third) that motion. It does everything that the carbon Mora does except that it's not quite as flexible when batonning and takes a bit more time to sharpen. As for edge retention, it's basically the same as the more traditional carbon model.

Go for either of the two, you just can't go wrong with a Mora blade.

Adam

 

[Angus Og]

Try this guy got from him a week ago, fast delivery.

ebay link

 

[alex905]

i rember hearing a bit afo that stainless steel kinives are either easy to sharpen and blunt easily. or they are near to imposible to sharpen. also that a good stainless is amazingly expensive, and im guessing that a carbon will do things alot better for a fraction of the cost.

my susgestion would be to keep a small container of cooking oil on you and when storing just cote it a bit more haevily in unsuded engine oil.

just my opinion as im tight.

 

[sxmolloy]

If you are looking at spending upto £50 then maybe a second hand Fallkniven F1 coould be the way to go. It's blade is made from VG10 steel, which I assume is stainless (some-one will know for sure). I own one and think it's a very good all-rounder for bushcraft.

If second hand isn't your thing maybe keeping an eye on E-bay auctions for a new one could be advantageous?

ATB....Stu

 

[addyb]

i rember hearing a bit afo that stainless steel kinives are either easy to sharpen and blunt easily. or they are near to imposible to sharpen. also that a good stainless is amazingly expensive, and im guessing that a carbon will do things alot better for a fraction of the cost.

my susgestion would be to keep a small container of cooking oil on you and when storing just cote it a bit more haevily in unsuded engine oil.

just my opinion as im tight.

Nah, that's just an old wives tale.

 

[Draven]

Stainless, as a general rule, is more expensive. However, not by anything very noticable when it comes to the mora clipper.

As for sharpening and holding an edge, my primary user is still my first clipper, which is stainless, and is very easy to sharpen and holds an awesome edge I guess it all depends on the steel and the maker.. but the clippers are incredible knives at an incredible price. I reckon that even if I move onto a more expensive knife, I'll carry around a clipper in the pack - a good backup, and it's not like it'll take up much space.

But like Alex said, oil your carbon knife regularly and it should be OK under normal use. But obviously not ideal for wet, particularly salty, conditions.

 

[Mike Ameling]

One thing to remember: " Stainless" is just a term used to identify a certain class of steels. IT WILL STAIN, and IT WILL RUST! It just takes longer to do it. Stainless is carbon steel that has various amounts of Nickel and/or Chromium mixed into it - to slow down the discoloration and rust.

You can get a good edge on a stainless steel knife blade, but how easy it is to do that and how long the edge will hold up depends upon the actual alloy used and the skill of the maker. It's just a lot easier to put a good edge on a carbon steel blade, and easier to maintain and touch up one.

The classic example of this are the Buck Knives. They hold that initial edge from the factory lasts a long time, but it is hard to sharpen it back up. Well, except for those professional knife makers with their buffing wheels.

In the end it all depends upon your personal choice. Some people prefer using a carbon steel knife, some prefer the stainless. I personnally prefer a carbon steel knife, and I don't worry about it staining. And I just clean/oil them to hold back the inevitable rust. I like a "working" blade, and try to maintain it like I would any of my working tools. (Well, I do tend to abuse said tools a little too much, but I try to maintain them well.)

Just my humble thoughts to share. Take them as such.

Mike Ameling