13Cr8MoV vs. H1 in Alaska

[clovisc]

had an interesting day not too long ago... someone lost a grate off a barge, and some folks from my organization and i had to use a grappling hook to try to get it off the bottom. we ended up pulling out all kinds of nets full of rusted metal and junk... had to use a crane to do it. as our organization's focus is directed in part towards wildlife safety, we decided to burn the nets in an incinerator, so birds wouldn't get entangled in them.

but before we could do that, we had to cut the metal out of the nets.

and guess who -- with their bevy of spydies -- got the job of doing it? :D

i had a new SE tenacious with me, along with a PE pacific salt. (shoulda brought the tasman!!) used them both... but used the tenacious more, as the serrations did well on the net.

i was absolutely amazed at the edge-retention of the SE 13Cr8MoV -- i was cutting for maybe 40 minutes... LOTS of cutting... hit metal, rocks, and junk by accident quite a few times, yet didn't notice too great a decline in sharpness. that SE 13Cr8MoV did a very surprisingly awesome job. the PE H1 steel lost its sharpness much quicker... no surprise, though. (were it SE, the H1 would likely have outdone the "byrdsteel")

in spite of all the slime, crud, mud covering my gloved hand, i never lost my grip on that G10. it was failproof. the FRN was a little slippy... not too bad, but man... i was reminded of just how awesome G10 truly is!

using the tenacious for repeated, difficult cutting tasks, i was hugely impressed by its ergos and strength. actually, no -- astonished. it's incredible that a $30 chinese knife can work so hard! even did some chopping on some extreme problem areas... it handled light chopping with ease.

(now if only spyderco could concoct an ultra-affordable incarnation of the manix, whether as a byrd, or a spyderchinaco.)

when i got done, the SE tenacious was just covered with orange rust/oxidation spots... looked pretty bad from all that contact with salt water. i was pretty surprised by how intense and widespread the discoloration was. the salt, however -- spotless. once again, H1 proves itself.

in conclusion...

-- serrated 13Cr8MoV (can we please rename this?! CrMoV, at least?) is really some awesome stuff. how about more fully-serrated CRMOV knives? wish my catbyrd was fully SE!!!!

-- G-10 -- i'm infatuated all over again!

-- if you own salts... don't bother bringing anything else to a saltwater environment!

-- a salt folder with G10 handles -- PLEASE?!!!!

-- and again, wishing H1 could somehow be flatground...

a tenacious salt -- man, that would be awesome!

[tonydahose]

-- a salt folder with G10 handles -- PLEASE?!!!!

-- and again, wishing H1 could somehow be flatground...

a tenacious salt -- man, that would be awesome!

glad to hear you and the knives are having fun out there....just so you know tom krien said he could grind down H1, it just seems to be a problem to do that in mass production, that's all. i'm sure the tasman would be great out there too, i used mine this morning in a pin-in/roll-over to cut some seat belts and wires to help get the guy out, it worked like a charm.

[Cliff Stamp]

-- serrated 13Cr8MoV (can we please rename this?! CrMoV, at least?)

There are a bunch of CrMoV stainless steels including a really nice 0.5 carbon one for large blades.

-- if you own salts... don't bother bringing anything else to a saltwater environment!

Are you seeing anything aside from cosmetic effects on the 13Cr8MoV knives.

-Cliff

[Manix Guy 2]

Welcome to the Inside as old timers say there , outside lower 48 states . You are learning quick take care , never think you are safe and come home someday without alot of bad scars . MG2

[dedguy]

This sort of brings up the quesion... why not some Salts in G-10?

[jaislandboy]

thanks for sharing the H1 experience in alaska clovisc....wow if your Tenacious got rusty after that salty encounter, imagine what the 52100 Mule Team would look like :rolleyes: :p stay safe out there :)

[SimpleIsGood229]

I would love a sort of G-10, H-1 Police (SE, FFG) with 14mm Spyderhole.

[foxquads]

Great report!!!
:)

[clovisc]

There are a bunch of CrMoV stainless steels including a really nice 0.5 carbon one for large blades.



Are you seeing anything aside from cosmetic effects on the 13Cr8MoV knives.

-Cliff

man -- too bad there are other CrMoV's... what else can we nickname the "byrd steel?"

and yea -- i've seen S30V and VG10 take serious saltwater beatings... and regularwater beatings, for that matter. S30V seems much easier to clean-up than VG10, somehow. i certainly wouldn't want to use anything other than H1 for serious cutting chores in salt water, unless i could help it!!! it would be choosing to drive a pontiac fiero in the snow while you've got a 4x4 jeep sitting at home. i mean, sure, you could... but probably not the better choice... :D

[Blackhair]

Yep, H1 certainly is an awesome steel...

...especially in the Tasman! :D

The main "problem" with H1 is that the edge gets harder as you use it, so if you have a new Salt knife, then it's not gonna work as well for the first several cutting jobs (but four or five cardboard box cutting marathons will take care of that ).


Glad to hear some praise for the Tenacious; 13Cr... Byrd Steel ( :p ) certainly is some surprisingly good stuff. I gave my dad my Cara Cara, and either he's not cutting much at all with it, or the steel is holding up really well; because every time I check it, it's still shaving sharp! :D


A Salt knife with a G-10 handle would be pretty cool; but I guess that I was, for some reason, under the impression that G-10 wouldn't work out too well if it were soaked in water for a long time. Maybe something to do with the woven nature of it? (I have no idea whatsoever) :confused:

Just looking at it from a practical standpoint, part of the appeal of Salt knives, I think, is the fact that they're not super expensive. G-10 would very likely hike the price of Salt knives into the $100 range.

Just my $0.02