Spyderco Forums

Hello everyone,
Please excuse my possibly bumpy English, as this is not my native language. Since I had cancelled my vacation trip, I was able to buy two new beautiful Spydercos. About the Province with its special steel I have a question for the experienced forum members here.
Before I had dealt more exactly with the CPM 4V steel, I cleaned the knife under running water and just put it on the sofa to dry until the next day without drying it off.
Fortunately I could not find any rust marks and treated the blade with Tuf Glide afterwards. Was I just lucky, or is the steel not so sensitive to rust?

Hi Taklev,

Welcome to our forum.

Your English s fine.

sal

Welcome. I think maybe you got lucky and the water dried relatively quickly and wasn't present long enough for any oxidation to occur. 4V will rust, but I think it is not as reactive as, say, a simple carbon steel.

You will get spotting if you leave it stored in its leather sheath for long periods of time.

Welcome to the forum, Taklev. :)

If you just put the blade under cold running water, without using detergents there might have been residual oil from the factory still left on the ground surface of the knife.

Water in different parts of the world can have different mineral contents, as well.

And as Jon said, the warmth of the air and ventilation around the knife may just have evaporated the water before it could cause oxidisation marks.

Sometimes carbon steel knives might behave the same way, especially if the blade is highly polished.

But cleaning and drying the knife after using it on wet or moist materials, and occasionally oiling the blade is generally the best habit to develop. Pay attention to the plungeline too, where the blade grind meets the ricasso.

Nice knife, have you had the opportunity to use it yet?

What was the other Spyderco you bought?

Welcome to the Forum, taklev! :)

What concerns me about wetting any carbon steel knife is not what I can see but what I can’t see like water getting between scales and blade stock.

I never run any knife under underwater if I can help it except for Salt series knives and I reckon it’s saved me heartbreak.

I just wipe the blade clean with a damp cloth or similar, dry it with paper towel and if I don’t intend using the knife for a while I give it a wipe over with Ballistol and don’t store it in its sheath.

Bloke wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 15, 2020 7:28 pm

Welcome to the Forum, taklev! :)

What concerns me about wetting any carbon steel knife is not what I can see but what I can’t see like water getting between scales and blade stock.

I never run any knife under underwater if I can help it except for Salt series knives and I reckon it’s saved me heartbreak.

I just wipe the blade clean with a damp cloth or similar, dry it with paper towel and if I don’t intend using the knife for a while I give it a wipe over with Ballistol and don’t store it in its sheath.

This is exactly what I do. I have a few tiny spots on mine but it’s from using it extensively in the woods without any care for about a week. Use, abuse and enjoy, it will take anything you throw at it! I have yet to check under my scales though :eek:

Larrin from Knife Steel Nerds scored 4V (vanadis 4E) a 4.2 out of 10 for corrosion resistance, 10 being essentially rust-proof. So it definitely requires a little bit of care and maintenance to avoid rust.

First of all thank you very much for your numerous answers and the friendly welcome here.

In fact, I already washed the knife in a tub with common household detergent and then under running water.
For a knife with this steel, this was certainly a somewhat amateurish procedure, especially because of the lack of drying at the end.

The second knife I bought is the "Respect", which I also like very much, because I rather love the big knives - although Spyderco is a specialist for folders.

taklev wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 16, 2020 11:40 am

First of all thank you very much for your numerous answers and the friendly welcome here.

In fact, I already washed the knife in a tub with common household detergent and then under running water.
For a knife with this steel, this was certainly a somewhat amateurish procedure, especially because of the lack of drying at the end.

The second knife I bought is the "Respect", which I also like very much, because I rather love the big knives - although Spyderco is a specialist for folders.

No worries, Taklev, you’re welcome.

One reason I like those tool steels with about 4-5% chromium is that, while they’re nowhere near a ‘true’ stainless in their corrosion resistance, they do allow a bit of leeway to continue working with them and give them a proper clean after you’ve finished.
I guess the moly content might have some benefit for pitting resistance too?

I find simple carbon steels can require that extra attention actually while you’re working with them.

When I’ve observed sushi itamae using their carbon steel yanagiba and deba knives, they pretty much wipe their blade dry after every time they use it.

Personally, I’m not so concerned about patina on the flats of the knife, it’s micro corrosion at the edge apex that I want to avoid.

And you certainly know how to choose some great knives. The Province amd Respect both seem like absolute classic takes on the modern Bowie style knife.

Thank you very much,
I really like Bowie knives and their modern interpretations. One knife I have always cherished is the "old" SOG Bowie knife made of carbon steel and made in Japan.

With this knife I would not have had the idea to clean it so thoughtlessly, because I knew it was prone to rust. :)

taklev wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:48 am

Thank you very much,
I really like Bowie knives and their modern interpretations. One knife I have always cherished is the "old" SOG Bowie knife made of carbon steel and made in Japan.

With this knife I would not have had the idea to clean it so thoughtlessly, because I knew it was prone to rust. :)

Yes, I recently thought I’d check out some modern Bowie renditions too.

The Becker BK7 is a pretty nice ‘improved’ version of the Mk. 2 ‘Ka Bar’.

And I was very pleased to be able to acquire a Bradley Bowie a while ago. That’s a really beautiful and practical modern Bowie design too. It has a wonderfully comfortable handle, and I like the negative blade angle and PSF27 steel very much in use.



An interesting bit of trivia: that SOG Bowie may have been produced by the same maker who does the SEKI-CITY stamped Spydercos.

I can’t be 100% sure, but the G. Sakai knife museum in Seki has a lot of knives they’ve made over the years including many SOGs, Al Mars and Spydercos and a good amount of lesser known stuff - even axes. :cool:

Enjoy those fine knives! :)

The Bradley Bowie is really a beautiful knife too. I also have 2 pieces of Becker Knives in my collection, from the time when this was an independent company.

One of my biggest Bowie knives is the Puma Bowie Model 6376 - made in Solingen, the neighboring town of where I live. :)

taklev wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 18, 2020 9:34 am

The Bradley Bowie is really a beautiful knife too. I also have 2 pieces of Becker Knives in my collection, from the time when this was an independent company.

One of my biggest Bowie knives is the Puma Bowie Model 6376 - made in Solingen, the neighboring town of where I live. :)

Thanks Taklev. Yes, the Bradley Bowie is a really great interpretation of the modern Bowie. I’m glad I have one.

It was quite thick behind the edge, which is fitting for harder use tasks, I guess. I want my knives to be good slicers though, with fine wood carving ability, so I thinned it out behind the edge a fair bit and now I’m very happy with the way it performs.

Spyderco have done really well lately with a great array of outstanding knives in the Bowie style.

I had a look at that Puma, and it also looks like a superb Bowie. Thanks for letting me know about it. :) :cool: