What knife steel and handle are best for cold weather high altitude hiking?

[Wartstein]

I went hiking Thursday morning to High Rock (Fire) Lookout. It was in the low 20’s Fahrenheit and it is above 5’000 feet which is considered high altitude....

I carry and use my knives all the time in heights up to 12 000 feet.

Temperatures get as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), though I don't think I've actually used (as opposed to just carried) a Spydie in less than minus 15 C (minus 5 Fahrenheit).

Don't think I've ever experienced what you did, but then I also never actively checked for it.

All I can contribute here is that I've read once that FRN can get brittle in extremely low temps (much lower than I personally have ever experienced).
Don't know if this is true, and if so if this is the same with G10, since both are glass reinforced compound materials.

[VandymanG]

Well I learned some cool things and got some good info on possible knives to get. I also agree the results seem weird and that’s why I did some searches and posted a request for suggested knife types. I may have unknowingly done something that contributed to the dulling. Or missed something that may have made the knives seem more dull? Moisture on blade maybe? Frog Lube is new for me and I previously used blue lube, not sure how that could factor in. And the Delica4 Super blue always seems to dull quickly. Oh and reading back through the posts/thread I was very cranky. Sorry for that. And sorry I had no sense of humor at all today. I was in a fair amount of pain due to the hike the other day. My knees absolutely hate anything remotely close to steep or even slight declines. **** sometimes the stairs in my house are too much. Anyways that doesn’t excuse the crankiness and I’m sorry for that. Thanks for the info and if any of you have further suggestions well please post them.

[vivi]

Please read the title of this thread. I’m looking for knife steels and handle material that is best suited for cold weather and high altitudes. I just posted the additional information to explain why.

Not sure how I’d prove any of what I stated since it was my own personal experience and observation. I can tell you I like to hone and strop the knives I’m going to carry for the next day and that I test the sharpness on thin voters manual paper from the most recent elections. I also do the same when I’m done using the knives for the day. So I noticed a difference. And I didn’t post info to argue or debate with trolls. Sorry I don’t do social media because of the people looking for reactions, I find it to be a waste of time. The Spyderco forum is as close to social media as I get and it’s the reason I test the knives the way I do.

It was just my personal experience from that hike that got me wondering. I found some limited info on how altitude, altitude changes, cold, moisture and some other factors could play into dulling knife steel. I even found a plea to Dr. Larrin Thomas to explain a similar situation but could not find a response. If someone has his response to the question can you post a link? When searching I also found some info about screws coming loose due to similar experiences. I did wonder if they did work on their own knives and did not use loctite but that info wasn’t provided.

So if you have a suggestion on knives and handles that are best for cold weather please let me know. Anything else in just not that interested in debating.

Well I've camped and hiked down to -30F & up to 9500' and I have never, ever had this problem.

I've carried just about every steel I've owned in below freezing with no ill effects. Carbon and stainless. No loss in sharpness.

So I very much think the debate as to what effect you experienced and why is important in giving you a good reccomendation. If I can't replicate the issue with any steel despite going to much lower temps than you how am I supposed to narrow my choices down?

My current recommendation is: Any steel should work. I'd recommend hidden tang rubber or plastic handled knives, like my cold steel SRK, an Endura 4, an Aqua Salt etc.

[Wandering_About]

Unless things are going to get very damp, I carry whatever steel I want while hiking without worry.

Here's some 15V at about 10,000ft elevation.

[Albertaboyscott]

S110v pm2 would work just fine

[Albertaboyscott]

I should add that I live in alberta canada and work outside in -20 to -30c temps throughout the winter. I have never noticed a knife edge degrade on any level. Same when I lived in the Yukon and was often up mountains snowboarding. No change to an edge

[kriezek]

If I read correctly, all of your knives are high alloy steel. As someone else stated, coldness can cause a reaction with the water in the air and the metal in your knives.

One possibility would be to buy the PM2 Salt in Magnacut when it comes out. That will resolve many issues at any altitude. Either the VG-10 or S30V Delica should work just fine, but I would go with the S30V due to higher edge retention and a coated blade. As for your Mule, your best bet is to watch r/Knife_Club on Reddit and find someone selling their used one in Magnacut. While it appears that you prefer steels with higher edge retention, there is always a trade-off and you may have found it.

Per Larrin at knifesteelnerds.com, the corrosion resistance of Magnacut is 9.5 (out of 10) with S30V and VG-10 both being 7.5. CruWear is rated at 5.5. I didn't see ratings for either SB or 294.

[VandymanG]

So I found this info doing further research. After what has felt like a social media stay in your lane beat down I did a lot more digging. I approached the searching from an angle that it must have been something I did wrong. Here’s what I found -

Yes and no.

A lot of times your edge is not completly gone, it just need to be straightened. And stropping could do it. So in theory, you could keep your knife sharp, if you strop it after every light use.
In practice, after so much of stropping, your edge will be too weak and it will not be able to support itself - so you have to grind the weakened steel away with sharpening.

Personally, I am not a big fan of stropping. I include stropping in my sharpening process, but just as a final step, not as my only option. Some people says that when they have a knife that is a bit dull, they strop it for a few minutes and they are good to go. I would just do 10 passes on medium ceramic stone for 30 seconds and I would have the same result as for 3 minutes of stropping.

And beware, you can easily round your edge with stropping.

I have gotten quite good at razor sharp edges by stropping only. I tend to strop for hours as a form of ASMR. It calms me down when I’m stressed out, bored, angry, in pain, etc… I rarely hone and I only use my whetstones or diamond plates to create a new bevel or repair damage, which is rare. I’d use my knives for more aggressive things but i have severe chronic pain in my hands which limits harder use to rare good days. Anyways I apparently created my own knife issue.

This experience reminds me why the only social media app I have is YouTube, for learning purposes. I never post anything there. Well going to keep on learning and I’ll try to frame this experience that way.

Note to self pay more attention to what deadboxheroe says about sharpening knives and people who just strop.

Still want specific knife suggestions for best use. That’s about it though..

[VandymanG]

For those that have posted specific knife suggestions and why - I greatly appreciate you.

[kobold]

Unused knives shouldn't dull without corrosion.

[Bolster]

I carry and use my knives all the time in heights up to 12 000 feet.

Kudos! I recently hiked (with family in tow) to 11,500 and we all got mildly altitude sick, though it didn't feel mild at the time.

My knife works at that altitude, but I don't.

At any rate, this thread has me interested in closely observing sharpness before and after a hike, especially a cold one. Vandyman, ignore the beat-down. It's an interesting observation. Thanks for sharing.

FWIW, my most typical carry on a hike is a Manix LW in SPY27. Though I noticed the other day it's starting to snag on paper so it's time for a resharpen.

[Bill1170]

Any knife with a handle that insulates your hands from the chilly metal inside should do. Avoid over-stropping as that can fatigue the apex and/or create a burr that’s wicked sharp but folds over in use, becoming instantly dull.

Puuko knives were developed for use in the cold. Handled in wood or stacked birch bark they are lightweight, comfortable to grasp, and provide a solid grip.

[zhyla]

I may have unknowingly done something that contributed to the dulling.

The most likely explanation is there was a wire edge/burr that seemed sharp at one point and immediately rolled over during use. It happens. You mention stropping for hours. If you’re doing that with an edge-trailing motion I would not be surprised.

Without macro shots of your edges it’s hard to say for sure.

Without starting another burr fight with Deadboxhero here I’ll say that if you’re using a sharpening strategy that intentionally forms a burr you need to be darn sure to get rid of all of it or you’re going to have troubles.

[toomanyquestions]

I would look for a fixed blade with a wood or micarta handle.

I have read G10 is stable to temps well below what humans hike in.

Yet I unreservedly agree w/the quote above: micarta and wood handles are likely best. It also occurred to me that at some temperature point the stainless steel handle screws could shrink, ever so slightly. Hence I would prioritize a fixed blade knife in cold weather. In any event, a fixed blade would be easier to grasp than a folder.

If we set fine spyderco fixed blades aside, LT Wright knives look amazing. Helle, Fallkniven, FOBOS, and a myriad of other brands could offer a viable cold weather solution. Of course there is always a Mora .

Disclaimer: I have comparatively unrefined taste in knife steel. High carbon steels survived winters on the Korean peninsula during the war; I would most likely just buy a sturdy fixed blade belt knife in a carbon steel, wear it close (as others have suggested), and not worry about it. :)

[vivi]

I would look for a fixed blade with a wood or micarta handle.

I have read G10 is stable to temps well below what humans hike in.

Yet I unreservedly agree w/the quote above: micarta and wood handles are likely best. It also occurred to me that at some temperature point the stainless steel handle screws could shrink, ever so slightly. Hence I would prioritize a fixed blade knife in cold weather. In any event, a fixed blade would be easier to grasp than a folder.

If we set fine spyderco fixed blades aside, LT Wright knives look amazing. Helle, Fallkniven, FOBOS, and a myriad of other brands could offer a viable cold weather solution. Of course there is always a Mora .

Disclaimer: I have comparatively unrefined taste in knife steel. High carbon steels survived winters on the Korean peninsula during the war; I would most likely just buy a sturdy fixed blade belt knife in a carbon steel, wear it close (as others have suggested), and not worry about it. :)

There's also a certain fixed blade in SK5 with a rubber handle that is a crazy good value at $25 mentioned in my sig I have one with me every day.

Spyderco has released a lot of hidden tang knives over the years. Aqua Salt is one of them. I got into using one as a bushcraft knife for that reason. The handle is roomy enough to use with thick gloves on but also has no exposed metal in case I'd use it with my gloves off. Plus it could be used very hard without failing. Pried and batoned apart wood to make kindling for fires more times than I can count.

The Street Bowie is another overlooked hiker. Marketed as a tactical knife, it's very light for the blade length and the FFG VG10 blade is a great all arounder.

[Danke]

I would look for a fixed blade with a wood or micarta handle.

I have read G10 is stable to temps well below what humans hike in.

Yet I unreservedly agree w/the quote above: micarta and wood handles are likely best. It also occurred to me that at some temperature point the stainless steel handle screws could shrink, ever so slightly. Hence I would prioritize a fixed blade knife in cold weather. In any event, a fixed blade would be easier to grasp than a folder.

If we set fine spyderco fixed blades aside, LT Wright knives look amazing. Helle, Fallkniven, FOBOS, and a myriad of other brands could offer a viable cold weather solution. Of course there is always a Mora .

Disclaimer: I have comparatively unrefined taste in knife steel. High carbon steels survived winters on the Korean peninsula during the war; I would most likely just buy a sturdy fixed blade belt knife in a carbon steel, wear it close (as others have suggested), and not worry about it. :)

Yes G10 would be safe but I find wood or micarta more comfortable in the cold. Fixed because of reduced dexterity in the cold, no concerns about the handle hardware being affected.

[vivi]

thought about this thread last night.

did a lot of batoning to split fireword last night with my SRK. Some food prep too. The thinned out edge still pops arm hairs off. It got into the teens. Low elevation though.

[Meadowlark]

thought about this thread last night.

did a lot of batoning to split fireword last night with my SRK. Some food prep too. The thinned out edge still pops arm hairs off. It got into the teens. Low elevation though.

Is there a difference between older and newer versions of those cold steel fixed blades?

Thought I remembered reading something about the quality declining from what it had been years ago but I could be mistaken.

Thanks.

[vivi]

they've gone through a lot of changes. old versions had carbon v blades, then they went to aus8, then sk5 like mine. When they went to sk5 they switched to hollow saber grind vs flat saber. Before the aus8 change they went from ballistic nylon sheaths to plastic secure-ex sheaths. They also shortened the ricasso at some point.

My oldest are sk5's from before the sale to gsm, and my newest are from after the buy-out. Quality seems good so far on the blades but I had a sheath issue they resolved generously for me with an OD green sk5 version.

they also run them in 3v which apparently has the old flat saber grind.

Very good beater fixed blade that takes a great edge. Still don't own a 3V version because I've been happy with SK5. It's a lot like well heat treated 1095....a treat to sharpen.

[Meadowlark]

Good to hear that, in your experience, the blade quality doesn't seem to have declined.