Favorite "HARD USE" Blade Steel

[Pelagic]

Survival probably has more to do with plant/fungi identification than anything (hunting/trapping a close second, or first depending on the area). To one person, an area of the forest may seem to have nothing to offer, while to another there could be food everywhere. Of course a knife is important though.

[JD Spydo]

Survival probably has more to do with plant/fungi identification than anything (hunting/trapping a close second, or first depending on the area). To one person, an area of the forest may seem to have nothing to offer, while to another there could be food everywhere. Of course a knife is important though.

Glad you brought up the subject of "survival">> because in a situation like that I would prefer to use one of my "hard use" blade steels over one of the Supersteels.

Using a set of edged tools for survival is truly a different game than using these new supersteel blades that would be a bear to sharpen in hard times and limited sharpening tools.

[bearfacedkiller]

Survival probably has more to do with plant/fungi identification than anything (hunting/trapping a close second, or first depending on the area). To one person, an area of the forest may seem to have nothing to offer, while to another there could be food everywhere. Of course a knife is important though.

Glad you brought up the subject of "survival">> because in a situation like that I would prefer to use one of my "hard use" blade steels over one of the Supersteels.

Using a set of edged tools for survival is truly a different game than using these new supersteel blades that would be a bear to sharpen in hard times and limited sharpening tools.

Survival is more about getting out of the woods than it is surviving in them. Surviving in them is a hobby. I have unexpectedly spent the night in the woods once and I didn’t need a knife but I certainly wished that the batteries in my flashlight weren’t dead. I would take a flashlight and a compass over a knife in most scenarios. After that I would take a way to boil water. If I am stuck in the woods long enough to need food or to need a substantial shelter then I messed up pretty bad.

I would always rather have a nice fixed blade when stuck in the woods but we as knife nuts over value it. Les Stroud has done a lot with just a Leatherman. As long as you have a sharp piece of metal the size of your index finger you can do a lot.

As far as a super steel in a survival situation goes, I don’t think you will care one bit what your knife is made out of at that point. I don’t think the decision between VG10 and S90V is going to be the decision that determines if you live to tell the story or not. :)

[Ankerson]

Survival probably has more to do with plant/fungi identification than anything (hunting/trapping a close second, or first depending on the area). To one person, an area of the forest may seem to have nothing to offer, while to another there could be food everywhere. Of course a knife is important though.

Glad you brought up the subject of "survival">> because in a situation like that I would prefer to use one of my "hard use" blade steels over one of the Supersteels.

Using a set of edged tools for survival is truly a different game than using these new supersteel blades that would be a bear to sharpen in hard times and limited sharpening tools.

Survival is more about getting out of the woods than it is surviving in them. Surviving in them is a hobby. I have unexpectedly spent the night in the woods once and I didn’t need a knife but I certainly wished that the batteries in my flashlight weren’t dead. I would take a flashlight and a compass over a knife in most scenarios. After that I would take a way to boil water. If I am stuck in the woods long enough to need food or to need a substantial shelter then I messed up pretty bad.

I would always rather have a nice fixed blade when stuck in the woods but we as knife nuts over value it. Les Stroud has done a lot with just a Leatherman. As long as you have a sharp piece of metal the size of your index finger you can do a lot.

As far as a super steel in a survival situation goes, I don’t think you will care one bit what your knife is made out of at that point. I don’t think the decision between VG10 and S90V is going to be the decision that determines if you live to tell the story or not. :)

Yeah, I have always found that survival topic amusing for a lot of reasons, the main one is that 99% of the time it's completely unrealistic.

It's all just marketing fueled to sell people stuff, mostly the survival/prepper types etc.

The likelihood of anyone really being in a real unexpected survival situation and actually have their knife and or other gear with them is so unlikely to impossible that one would have a better chance of flapping their arms and flying like a bird.

Like I said, amusing.

And yeah, the steel isn't going to matter one bit in this unrealistic, never going to happen situation.

[JD Spydo]

The point I was trying to make was that if I was in a bad situation ( survival or temporary disaster) that a blade that is relatively easy to sharpen would be preferable over a knife with one of those newer blade steels that almost takes diamond to sharpen it.

I do agree with your "Amusing" aspect of the subject however. Because of all the books and websites I've looked at on the subject I don't think even one of of 20 people even realize just how difficult that times will be in those types of conditions. There is a lot of survival type stuff that looks good on paper but putting it to work in a highly stressful situation is another subject all together.

But even if the grid is down for only a week or so it doesn't hurt to be prepared to that extent. But I do agree that most Americans who have never experienced a genuine hard time probably wouldn't last more than a month max. But the Amish people might do all right.

[Ankerson]

The point I was trying to make was that if I was in a bad situation ( survival or temporary disaster) that a blade that is relatively easy to sharpen would be preferable over a knife with one of those newer blade steels that almost takes diamond to sharpen it.

I do agree with your "Amusing" aspect of the subject however. Because of all the books and websites I've looked at on the subject I don't think even one of of 20 people even realize just how difficult that times will be in those types of conditions. There is a lot of survival type stuff that looks good on paper but putting it to work in a highly stressful situation is another subject all together.

But even if the grid is down for only a week or so it doesn't hurt to be prepared to that extent. But I do agree that most Americans who have never experienced a genuine hard time probably wouldn't last more than a month max. But the Amish people might do all right.

Like the grid being down for a week MOST people will still be in their homes and using the same knives they always use, like their kitchen knives.

I know because I was in the situation back in the 90's when Fran came through and we were down for over 11 days.

We just cooked everything on the grill (charcoal).

I like what some very smart guy said years ago in reference to camping etc.

"Some people will spend money to live like a hobo"

Most people normally have enough food etc in their house to last a month or more, unless they shop everyday like some do.

[JD Spydo]

The point I was trying to make was that if I was in a bad situation ( survival or temporary disaster) that a blade that is relatively easy to sharpen would be preferable over a knife with one of those newer blade steels that almost takes diamond to sharpen it.

I do agree with your "Amusing" aspect of the subject however. Because of all the books and websites I've looked at on the subject I don't think even one of of 20 people even realize just how difficult that times will be in those types of conditions. There is a lot of survival type stuff that looks good on paper but putting it to work in a highly stressful situation is another subject all together.

But even if the grid is down for only a week or so it doesn't hurt to be prepared to that extent. But I do agree that most Americans who have never experienced a genuine hard time probably wouldn't last more than a month max. But the Amish people might do all right.

Like the grid being down for a week MOST people will still be in their homes and using the same knives they always use, like their kitchen knives.

I know because I was in the situation back in the 90's when Fran came through and we were down for over 11 days.

We just cooked everything on the grill (charcoal).

I like what some very smart guy said years ago in reference to camping etc.

"Some people will spend money to live like a hobo"

Most people normally have enough food etc in their house to last a month or more, unless they shop everyday like some do.

Yeah a lot of people don't realize how much cooking you can do on a Weber Bar BQ grill or any other good Bar BQ grill too for that matter. I keep an old Coleman stove with two burners that runs on White Gas. And it will run quite a few days on only one gallon of white gas. I've even heard of people getting by on those little Hibachi grills too. Also you don't have to be confined to just using charcoal. Most hardwoods we have here in the USA can be used for cooking. I would definitely get to know your trees in the area you live in to know what is good and what is safe to cook with.

But back to the survival type knife>> it's most guys like us who use their pocketknives that will continue to use them during a crunch time. My vote still goes out to VG-10 because of it's above average edge holding in PE & SE both and relative ease of sharpening. Good information guys :)

[Ankerson]

The point I was trying to make was that if I was in a bad situation ( survival or temporary disaster) that a blade that is relatively easy to sharpen would be preferable over a knife with one of those newer blade steels that almost takes diamond to sharpen it.

I do agree with your "Amusing" aspect of the subject however. Because of all the books and websites I've looked at on the subject I don't think even one of of 20 people even realize just how difficult that times will be in those types of conditions. There is a lot of survival type stuff that looks good on paper but putting it to work in a highly stressful situation is another subject all together.

But even if the grid is down for only a week or so it doesn't hurt to be prepared to that extent. But I do agree that most Americans who have never experienced a genuine hard time probably wouldn't last more than a month max. But the Amish people might do all right.

Like the grid being down for a week MOST people will still be in their homes and using the same knives they always use, like their kitchen knives.

I know because I was in the situation back in the 90's when Fran came through and we were down for over 11 days.

We just cooked everything on the grill (charcoal).

I like what some very smart guy said years ago in reference to camping etc.

"Some people will spend money to live like a hobo"

Most people normally have enough food etc in their house to last a month or more, unless they shop everyday like some do.

Yeah a lot of people don't realize how much cooking you can do on a Weber Bar BQ grill or any other good Bar BQ grill too for that matter. I keep an old Coleman stove with two burners that runs on White Gas. And it will run quite a few days on only one gallon of white gas. I've even heard of people getting by on those little Hibachi grills too. Also you don't have to be confined to just using charcoal. Most hardwoods we have here in the USA can be used for cooking. I would definitely get to know your trees in the area you live in to know what is good and what is safe to cook with.

But back to the survival type knife>> it's most guys like us who use their pocketknives that will continue to use them during a crunch time. My vote still goes out to VG-10 because of it's above average edge holding in PE & SE both and relative ease of sharpening. Good information guys :)

I personally don't use my folders around the house for food etc.

I have kitchen knives for that. :spyder:

[bearfacedkiller]

I have gone 13 days without power. We are country folk so we are well prepared. Plus, it was winter so we just brought the chest freezer outside and had plenty of food. We also cooked with propane and heated with wood so power was not needed. All we were lacking was running water because without power the well pump doesn’t run. I didn’t need a survival knife and never thought about one.

We burned lots of candles, melted lots of snow on the wood stove, played lots of scrabble and ate and drank like kings. I actually love power outages. In the busy world we live in today it forces some much needed family time. :)

Also, while I appreciate ease of sharpening in the field I don’t think that in a real emergency that it matters at all. Either you have a knife or you don’t. The other details are trivial.

[murphjd25]

Very well said Darby. I actually like power outages too. Longest I’ve ever gone though is only 5 days. We survived just fine and had lots of fun!

I don’t want to get off topic from “Spyderco” but I am absolutely amazed by Nathan’s (CPK) Delta 3V. He’s got the heat treat down on these suckers and they can take one heck of a beating. I am impressed even more with this steel everytime I use it.

[blues]

I've been using a small 3V fixed blade from Ed Schott as my go-to utility knife around home and property for years. Just a great, rugged little beast.

[Pelagic]

I have gone 13 days without power. We are country folk so we are well prepared. Plus, it was winter so we just brought the chest freezer outside and had plenty of food. We also cooked with propane and heated with wood so power was not needed. All we were lacking was running water because without power the well pump doesn’t run. I didn’t need a survival knife and never thought about one.

We burned lots of candles, melted lots of snow on the wood stove, played lots of scrabble and ate and drank like kings. I actually love power outages. In the busy world we live in today it forces some much needed family time. :)

Also, while I appreciate ease of sharpening in the field I don’t think that in a real emergency that it matters at all. Either you have a knife or you don’t. The other details are trivial.

I too know what it's like to s*** in the woods, lol. A lot of people don't know that in the country, no power means no water.

[JD Spydo]

I've been using a small 3V fixed blade from Ed Schott as my go-to utility knife around home and property for years. Just a great, rugged little beast.

When it comes to 3V and 10V both on fixed blade knives I've heard nothing but good about those two blade steels. I've wondered how some of those exotic Crucible steels would perform with Spyderedges or other serrated edge patterns. I've heard that both of those have a nice toughness aspect to them.

[knivesandbooks]

I've had good luck with H1, A2, 3V, and M4 in my hard users / mild abusers. 3V is probably my favorite, but I have a soft spot for A2-- so much so that I recently purchased a knife in A2 when I could have bought the same one in 3V for negligibly more. I have a hunch that Elmax would be a great steel for knives of said description, I just haven't had one that I could take out and beat on.

Anyway, a 3v knife with a convexed edge will take you far.

[ferider]

Anyway, a 3v knife with a convexed edge will take you far.

Why the convexed edge ? Serious question ...

[JD Spydo]

I just watched one video yesterday where a knifemaker listed his top three hard use steels as "W-2" and "RWL-34" and his very favorite being "3V". I must admit that those are two that I have not yet ever test driven. Now he did go on to say that "RWL-34" was very close to ATS-34 and 154-CM>> so from that perspective I guess I have had some experience with that one.

You know we are so spoiled to be fans of the Great Spyder Factory that has flooded us with so many top notch blade steels that we've forgotten a lot of the old standbys that still aren't all that bad for everyday use to this very day. It's been a few years ago for sure but back in the late 90s/early 2000s where ATS-34 & ATS-55 were both considered some of the best blade steels you could get on the commercial knife market. Isn't it amazing how fast all of that landscape has changed.

I still consider ATS-55 a great user steel for Spyderedges and still EDC a late 90s era Spyderco stainless RESCUE model with that blade steel. And I've put that ATS-55 Stainless RESCUE through some literal hellish use. And I just sharpened that model last night and I'm here to tell you that it's not the easiest serrated blade steel to sharpen even to this day. It took me close to an hour to get it to my desired specs.

Oh and by the way that knifemaker listed "3V" as his very favorite of the three he listed. I thought that was a most interesting list of hard use blade steels. I would love to try this "W-2" tool steel he talked about. I bet that "W-2" would make a great "Bushcraft" fixed blade from what he described.

[TomAiello]

I just watched one video yesterday where a knifemaker listed his top two hard use steels as "W-2" and "RWL-34". I must admit that those are two that I have not yet ever test driven. Now he did go on to say that "RWL-34" was very close to ATS-34 and 154-CM>> so from that perspective I guess I have had some experience with that one.

RWL-34 is very similar to CPM-154.

[MacLaren]

Anyway, a 3v knife with a convexed edge will take you far.

Why the convexed edge ? Serious question ...

Better for blunt force trauma /hard impact so to speak.
Jerry Busse's INFI & Nathan Carrothers Delta 3V are incredible.
Dan Keffler's steel is as well from what I understand.
I have a Busee Foresaken Battle Mistress, but would love to also have a Carrothers, Behemoth Chopper and a Keffler Sasquatch.
Btw, anyone else see that Busse Chuckette listed for 7 Grand?
It's the biggest chopper Busse ever made ( INFI )

[Ankerson]

Anyway, a 3v knife with a convexed edge will take you far.

Why the convexed edge ? Serious question ...

No reason really, it's a myth started by someone years ago for marketing and then was parroted so many times since that people actually believe it. :rolleyes:

In reality there is no difference as far as use goes in choppers using the same knife with both the convex or V edge.

It's been proven many times over the years, but the myth is still believed. :rolleyes:

If anything the V edge actually bites deeper than the convex.

[MacLaren]

Anyway, a 3v knife with a convexed edge will take you far.

Why the convexed edge ? Serious question ...

No reason really, it's a myth started by someone years ago for marketing and then was parroted so many times since that people actually believe it. :rolleyes:

In reality there is no difference as far as use goes in choppers using the same knife with both the convex or V edge.

It's been proven many times over the years, but the myth is still believed. :rolleyes:

Well I'll be darned lol, evidently I believed it too lol!!