H1 vs Dendritic cobalt?

[gijoe945]

Does anyone know how dendritic cobalt steel stacks up against H1? Just curious.

[Drkknight614]

Never heard of it. Ive had great experience with H1 though.

[sal]

Hi Joe,

In corrosion resistance (Q-Fog testing) both H1 and Dendritic Cobalt did not rust at all. Excellent results, at the top of the charts.

In CATRA testing, as I remember, they also did well, though I don't remember the details in numbers. That was on the plain edge tests.

We've never tested Dendritic Cobalt with a serrateed edge, so I have no info. I can say that the serrated H1 will hold an edge (in CATRA testing) longer than any other material tested.

David Boye (Boye dent) pioneered Dendritic Cobalt. David Boye and Stuart Ackerman (Zackerty) have also done a great deal of work with Dendritic 440C with very good results.

sal

[xavierdoc]

H1 is much, much easier to type, spell and fit on a blade. Dendritic cobalt is not suitable for use around radioactive material.

Sorry I can't offer any useful advice. I do like H1, though.

[michaelm466]

Its from Boye knives, same maker where spyderco gets the boye dent I believe. As far as I've read, the people who have tried boye knives like them, they're on my list to try, it would be interesting to see a in-depth test/comparison of the two, rust resistance, edge rentention, etc.

[gijoe945]

Thank you all. Love my H1 Dragonfly 2.

[JNewell]

My younger son (20 YO) has one of the Boye knives. It's a nice knife, nicely designed and made. I would not say it is at the top of the edge retention group, though we've never tried any "scientific" comparisons. H1 typically does not do all that well in that regard, either, IIRC. My general impression of the Boye knife that is similar to the Salts is that they're probably just about a coin-toss.

[2cha]

I have a few Boye knives and also gave one as a gift to a guy who captains a large cabined cat for my in-laws in Hawaii. He also captains a charter fishing boat. He's used the knife for 6-7 years now and has had nothing but positive things to say about it. I'll ask him about edge retention. What makes the boye knife stand out is it's integral titanium marlinspike.

I use a pacific salt and aqua salt when in Hawaii (based on input from forum members). Absolutely no corrosion issues whatsoever. Doesn't hold an edge like steel, but I can always make it sharp and I'll trade that bit of effort to prevent rust pitting--which I can't fix--any time.

[thelock]

Up lol

I just found out about this steel, very interesting. I guess it could be used for some USA made spydies?? Maybe a sprint run Para 2 with it?

[Blerv]

Up lol

I just found out about this steel, very interesting. I guess it could be used for some USA made spydies?? Maybe a sprint run Para 2 with it?

There is a new H1 auto in the works with a rescue type blade. It will come out of Golden, Co I recall because auto laws wouldn't allow it in Japan.

A Para2 is unlikely unless they figured a way to provide rust-proof the other components (including the comp lock), hollow-ground, and made it auto (to bypass the standard "Japan only" H1 tendency).

Good thread bump though! A nice mention from Sal regarding H1's other attributes.

[tobii3]

I carry a BDC Winged Prophet....As I understood it, BDC is cast into shape first...not cut.

[thelock]

There is a new H1 auto in the works with a rescue type blade. It will come out of Golden, Co I recall because auto laws wouldn't allow it in Japan.

A Para2 is unlikely unless they figured a way to provide rust-proof the other components (including the comp lock), hollow-ground, and made it auto (to bypass the standard "Japan only" H1 tendency).

Good thread bump though! A nice mention from Sal regarding H1's other attributes.

Yes I saw that one, can't remember the name, really cool design, but I don't like sheepsfoot blades and auto knives in general, mostly because they are illegal in most places. As for the rust proof components, I would say titanium? I would really like to see a rust-proof para 2, it would a perfect EDC.

[JD Spydo]

Its from Boye knives, same maker where spyderco gets the boye dent I believe. As far as I've read, the people who have tried boye knives like them, they're on my list to try, it would be interesting to see a in-depth test/comparison of the two, rust resistance, edge rentention, etc.

I remember when Boye Knives was marketing that DC alloy very heavily in 2 of the big knife magazines. It was around the late 90s/early 2000s when I was seeing a lot of adds especially with one of Boye's folders having a blade made from it. It was marketed similar to the claims they make about H-1 but I never heard many people talking about it so at the time I figured it must have a lot of problems or just wasn't as good as they said it was. It seems like Camillus also had a special alloy they were marketing as well around the mid 2000s>> I forget the name of that one but one of their fixed blades was made with it that I do remember.

None of those "non-rust" alloys made it as big as H-1 did. It's kind of funny in a way because Benchmade had a dive knife 100S H20 made with H-1 and I owned one for a while. But after that Benchmade dropped the H-1 steel from it's line up and started making that same blade with X-15 TN stainless instead. It led me to believe that they didn't have as good of luck with H-1 steel that Spyderco obviously had going.

But Spyderco has truly done a great job seeking out all of the positive selling points of H-1 and the Salt Series has not only been a success but gives the knife users a great alternative to conventional cutlery. I look for the Salt Series to do well in the future and I also look forward to further development of those "non-carbon" based steels.

I don't know if Boye Knives still sells those DC blades or not. But the popularity of DC sure seemed to die out all of a sudden.

[RedRunner]

I am content with H1, I don't think I'd really be interested in the Dendritic Cobalt, if at best it equalled H1. Nothing about it stands out as being something so special it's worth having over H1.

[thelock]

My point was to find a rust proof steel that spyderco could use in Golden or Taiwan, because from what I heard Japan likes to keep their steels inside the borders so we only have a limited number of knives in H1, if they could somehow extend it to other models it would be awesome.

[JD Spydo]

I am content with H1, I don't think I'd really be interested in the Dendritic Cobalt, if at best it equalled H1. Nothing about it stands out as being something so special it's worth having over H1.

Yeah like I was more or less saying in my previous post I don't really remember anyone raving about it>> I don't even remember anyone writing any articles about it specifically >> they may have written something about it but I don't recall anything. The only big selling point I remember them bragging about was it's salt water resistance. I never heard anything about edge holding ability or anything else special as far as that goes.

I guess Boye Knife company saw something good in it>> or maybe they were just trying to market something for fisherman, sailors and longshoremen. Because during that time period there was nobody big marketing H-1 that I can remember. Benchmade didn't come out with that diving knife of theirs with H-1 until about 2002 or 2003 I think it was. And H-1 didn't really take off until Spyderco started their Salt Series.

[Sequimite]

My point was to find a rust proof steel that spyderco could use in Golden or Taiwan, because from what I heard Japan likes to keep their steels inside the borders so we only have a limited number of knives in H1, if they could somehow extend it to other models it would be awesome.

I hope the H-1 for the Coast Guard rescue blade is coming into Golden in bar form. That would open the door more H-1 models.

[JD Spydo]

I hope the H-1 for the Coast Guard rescue blade is coming into Golden in bar form. That would open the door more H-1 models.

This alloy DC is really nothing new in the knife world. And there are other "non-rust" blade steels out there. But as the old saying goes "The Proof Is In The Pudding" so to speak. H-1 has shown that it has market appeal and it performs well too. I remember when Boker first came out with X-15 TN it was marketed as a rust resistant steel. I had one of their folders with that steel and I can say that I think H-1 is better in a lot of areas.

And with H-1 being Spyderco's best steel for Spyderedges then I have to say that you already have a winner in H-1. Also the plain edged Tasman that I have has been used a few times and it has held an edge pretty good for the most part. But it's not that hard to sharpen either.

[tobii3]

It seems like Camillus also had a special alloy they were marketing as well around the mid 2000s>> I forget the name of that one but one of their fixed blades was made with it that I do remember.

Talonite sound familiar? Rob Simonich was using Stellite 6K...Strider uses Stellite....I believe Emerson is still using it as well.

I don't know if Boye Knives still sells those DC blades or not. But the popularity of DC sure seemed to die out all of a sudden.

Still selling strong..believe he is on the 4th or 5th generation now. David Boye Knives

As a Retired Soldier, the primary reason for a rustproof blade wasn't saltwater or immersion. It was the location in your pocket being exposed to sweat and being held against it for hours, days, weeks without worry.

Having someone pull a $400+ Sebenza out of their pocket, covered in rust, will open your eyes quickly.

[thelock]

This alloy DC is really nothing new in the knife world. And there are other "non-rust" blade steels out there. But as the old saying goes "The Proof Is In The Pudding" so to speak. H-1 has shown that it has market appeal and it performs well too. I remember when Boker first came out with X-15 TN it was marketed as a rust resistant steel. I had one of their folders with that steel and I can say that I think H-1 is better in a lot of areas.

And with H-1 being Spyderco's best steel for Spyderedges then I have to say that you already have a winner in H-1. Also the plain edged Tasman that I have has been used a few times and it has held an edge pretty good for the most part. But it's not that hard to sharpen either.

I have heard some people say that Benchmade's x-15 TN or whatever its called, is better at edge retention than H1, in plain edge, for a while I was actually thinking to go with the H2o griptilian but then I changed my mind, because of the thickness and bright colors of the scales and pocket clip, the pacific salt is on my list for next summer, but I am still waiting for new models, the H1 line got left a little behind in my opinion. I would love to see more models in H1 from spyderco, I mean who doesn't want a knife that doesn't require maintenance...