Spyderco Forums

Albatross wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 24, 2019 10:35 am

JonLeBlanc wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 22, 2019 10:48 pm

Albatross wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 22, 2019 6:18 pm

I like Rex 45, V-toku2, VG10, and Hap40. I'm surprise 52100 hasn't been mentioned and the same V-toku2, give how similar it is to 52100.

I thought about mentioning 52100, but I harp on that steel enough so I kinda figured everybody rolls their eyes when I pop up now :rolleyes: It's just soooo awesome :cool: see I can't even help it if I wanted to.

I see Cruwear popping up in nearly every thread it seems. 52100 doesn't get much attention on this forum anymore, so you're probably going to fly under the radar. Lots of us here have our favorites and can't stop talking about them, so you're in good company.

Count me in as well! I originally said M4, but 52100 is right up there for me. Especially in the Manix 2.

“Hard use” to me evokes images of batoning and brush clearing, as well as being able to pry a hard-wedged blade and being able to recover a damaged edge easily and quickly in the field.

So, no steels that emphasize wear- and corrosion-resistance over fracture-resistance, and no folders, not even stouter Spydies like the Superleaf, Manix2 and Shaman.

Fixed-blades, then. Lance’s Waterway is my only Spydie FB, and its suitability for “hard use”, as distinct from general use, Is not known to me.

But I have done all sorts of nasty stuff with my ESEE, LTWK, and older knives. They feature O1, A2, D2, or 1095 steel. Any one would suit me fine.

In defense of the Manix 2...I've cleared some "brush" while doing landscaping work, and even batoned some smaller branches to turn into kindling for an outdoor fire. But, I understand where you're coming from! If that's the case, there's probably not too many users here of Spyderco knives for those purposes. A select hand full maybe.

"Hard use" is subjective. It means something different to each person. Hard use for a knife user and abuser(no offense intended) might be prying, chopping, and batoning, whereas hard use for a collector might be cutting cardboard... or anything really. That's what makes this thread so interesting to me. Any steel or knife could be considered "hard use", given proper context.

Albatross wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 24, 2019 12:19 pm

"Hard use" is subjective. It means something different to each person. Hard use for a knife user and abuser(no offense intended) might be prying, chopping, and batoning, whereas hard use for a collector might be cutting cardboard... or anything really. That's what makes this thread so interesting to me. Any steel or knife could be considered "hard use", given proper context.

Right.
Also, to further muddy the waters, "hard use" can also depend heavily on the environment in which one is using the knife.

wrdwrght wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:32 am

“Hard use” to me evokes images of batoning and brush clearing, as well as being able to pry a hard-wedged blade and being able to recover a damaged edge easily and quickly in the field.

So, no steels that emphasize wear- and corrosion-resistance over fracture-resistance, and no folders, not even stouter Spydies like the Superleaf, Manix2 and Shaman.

Fixed-blades, then. Lance’s Waterway is my only Spydie FB, and its suitability for “hard use”, as distinct from general use, Is not known to me.

But I have done all sorts of nasty stuff with my ESEE, LTWK, and older knives. They feature O1, A2, D2, or 1095 steel. Any one would suit me fine.

https://youtu.be/hl3n-BtLoaI

Not by design, but my PM2 with 20CV is my hard use steel. It is the one knife I am willing to subject to more abuse than any other.

Opening bags of soil, an occasional cut of sheet rock, wood whittling, scraping stuff, carrying it in water, yard work, you name it. I don't pry with it, but I don't baby it. It has held up very well. Doesn't stay sharpest the longest, but I am surprised that it doesn't chip or show any signs of rust.

When I know I will be doing hard use tasks, or pretty much any time I come home and am ready to put away my 'good' knife, this PM2 gets clipped in.

Thanks Vivi!

That video is actually the reason behind me knowing I was able to baton with a folder, granted a Manix 2 and not the XL. We were camping and hanging out with some people we've met a few times before. We were going to start a fire and he somehow didn't have any kind of knife, machete at their site. Ours was too far away to walk back at that time to get my machete or ax...I then remembered your video and had a Manix 2 on me.

I forgot not to engage the lock when batoning, but didn't notice any difference afterwards. I was pretty impressed with how easily it batoned through dried out, around 2.5-3" diameter small branches. He even said he's never seen anybody do it with a folder before. You made me a hero for that kindling wood haha.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 24, 2019 6:23 pm

wrdwrght wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:32 am

“Hard use” to me evokes images of batoning and brush clearing, as well as being able to pry a hard-wedged blade and being able to recover a damaged edge easily and quickly in the field.

So, no steels that emphasize wear- and corrosion-resistance over fracture-resistance, and no folders, not even stouter Spydies like the Superleaf, Manix2 and Shaman.

Fixed-blades, then. Lance’s Waterway is my only Spydie FB, and its suitability for “hard use”, as distinct from general use, Is not known to me.

But I have done all sorts of nasty stuff with my ESEE, LTWK, and older knives. They feature O1, A2, D2, or 1095 steel. Any one would suit me fine.

https://youtu.be/hl3n-BtLoaI

Vivi, I’m in the Manix choir so your video was music to my ears when I first saw it. However, using a folder, even a Manix, is living closer to the edge than I would like.

Imagine trying to find your way out of the woods, not to mention dealing with a day-in/day-out diet of high-force cutting.

The uncertainties of survival and the challenges of keeping the plant world at bay don’t need the added complication of going easy on your knife, especially as fatigue sets in and judgment suffers.

I’m telling you nothing new, I’m sure, just ‘splainin’ my preferences.

This is probably a subject for another thread, and I'm sure it happens all the time and I'm just not aware of it, but are there any recorded instances in recent history where someone actually used their knife to find their way of the woods and keep the plant world at bay to survive? I'm talking about actual people who were out of all options, somehow found themselves in the middle of nowhere with no food, water or shelter and desperate to survive... other than those carving up the woods and uploading videos to Youtube, of course.

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 24, 2019 6:42 pm

Thanks Vivi!

That video is actually the reason behind me knowing I was able to baton with a folder, granted a Manix 2 and not the XL. We were camping and hanging out with some people we've met a few times before. We were going to start a fire and he somehow didn't have any kind of knife, machete at their site. Ours was too far away to walk back at that time to get my machete or ax...I then remembered your video and had a Manix 2 on me.

I forgot not to engage the lock when batoning, but didn't notice any difference afterwards. I was pretty impressed with how easily it batoned through dried out, around 2.5-3" diameter small branches. He even said he's never seen anybody do it with a folder before. You made me a hero for that kindling wood haha.

I´ve batoned Enduras through smaller diameter branches to prroduce kindling for fire starting several times. Though I would not recommend that (partly cause for that smaller batoning one can really disengage the lock!!), it did no damage at all to the knife / the lock (or the VG10... )

hmr170 wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2019 4:19 am

This is probably a subject for another thread, and I'm sure it happens all the time and I'm just not aware of it, but are there any recorded instances in recent history where someone actually used their knife to find their way of the woods and keep the plant world at bay to survive? I'm talking about actual people who were out of all options, somehow found themselves in the middle of nowhere with no food, water or shelter and desperate to survive... other than those carving up the woods and uploading videos to Youtube, of course.

Not really. The whole "survival" thing is just an excuse for kids in adult sized bodies to go play with toys in the woods IMO.

There was that guy that had a boulder fall on his arm and he amputated it with his Leatherman. That's all I can think of.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2019 12:45 pm

hmr170 wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2019 4:19 am

This is probably a subject for another thread, and I'm sure it happens all the time and I'm just not aware of it, but are there any recorded instances in recent history where someone actually used their knife to find their way of the woods and keep the plant world at bay to survive? I'm talking about actual people who were out of all options, somehow found themselves in the middle of nowhere with no food, water or shelter and desperate to survive... other than those carving up the woods and uploading videos to Youtube, of course.

Not really. The whole "survival" thing is just an excuse for kids in adult sized bodies to go play with toys in the woods IMO.

There was that guy that had a boulder fall on his arm and he amputated it with his Leatherman. That's all I can think of.

There's a TV show called "I shouldn't be alive" with many survival stories.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2019 12:45 pm

Not really. The whole "survival" thing is just an excuse for kids in adult sized bodies to go play with toys in the woods IMO.

Which is a perfect description of most of us. :)

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2019 4:27 pm

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2019 12:45 pm

Not really. The whole "survival" thing is just an excuse for kids in adult sized bodies to go play with toys in the woods IMO.

Which is a perfect description of most of us. :)

I have no good reason to own a $250 S7 chopper with the amount of axes I have :D

James Y wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 22, 2019 8:46 am

I really like VG-10, and have had a considerable amount of experience with it. It holds an edge reasonably well, has better than average corrosion resistance, has reasonable toughness, and is easy to resharpen. It's a very forgiving all-around steel.

H1 is excellent in SE, but for me it depends on the particular model. I don't like it when the serrations are ground too narrow and too pointy, as it tends to hang up on or tear things, and also tends to roll quite easily. When the serrations are ground like on the Spyderhawk and the Tasman, they're quite durable.

S35VN and S30V have been good to me.

I love Victorinox's steel. I have it in my SAKs, pliers-based multi-tool, and my kitchen knives.

I also really like LC200N, but admittedly, I haven't used the one knife I have it in enough to make a determination on it for 'harder' use.

I don't really need a 'super' steel that holds an edge an especially long time but is finicky and a pain to resharpen.

Jim I agree with almost everything you've stated. Because of VG-10's ease of maintenance and sharpening to me it makes a great "hard use" blade steel. And I agree with you about H-1 being great for SE but for PE I've never had much luck with it. Now LC200N is a much better nitrogen steel for PE for my uses.

I have no idea what blade steel that Victorinox uses but the Victorinox SWISS TOOL X I use on occasion seems to have a passing grade in both PE & SE. I've said for years that for the amount of money you spend it's really tough to beat Victorinox.

Now for Crucible's great line-up of blade steels I've personally had some bad luck in the past with S30V. I've not yet used S35VN but I would actually like to try it in SE before I try it in PE. I've got at least 4 steels I use in PE that really serve me well. I would probably like to check out more of Bohler steels before anything else next because of the great luck I've had with M390.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:46 am

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2019 4:27 pm

Vivi wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2019 12:45 pm

Not really. The whole "survival" thing is just an excuse for kids in adult sized bodies to go play with toys in the woods IMO.

Which is a perfect description of most of us. :)

I have no good reason to own a $250 S7 chopper with the amount of axes I have :D

Interesting you mention S7 steel for axes and hatchets Vivi because I've been slow to pull the trigger on any of the new tactical or outdoor types of axes and hatchets. And like you say there have been a literal flood of custom and factory axes and hatchets with S7 hit the market in the past 3 to 5 years.
However I've been told that there are better steels than S7 for edged striking tools.

So what steel would you rather have than S7 for an ax or hatchet?

154cm did well back in the day when I batoned with my manix 2 and stabbed that car door several times. Until it hit the window track. The rock salt did good batoning too until I twisted the knife in the branch. Put a slight bend in the edge. Never had any issues cutting coconuts with it. It is my coconut knife. I cut em for fun but I also enjoy coconuts so I eat them every now and then. Had to go find this old pic from photobucket and re-upload to Imgur


This is it right now. Hard to show the deformation but it's there. Keep this as my car knife since it doesn't require maintenance.



Infi is some pretty impressive stuff. Got a few of those and put an ASHBM through some stuff that it mostly shrugged off.


S30V isn't too bad either. Dropped my Chinook 2 on cement from about 3 feet up with minimal damage to the tip. Stepped on a para one to cut a 1oz lead slug in half. The knife hit the cement below and did a little bit of edge damage. Fixed it in maybe 5 minutes with a coarse stone. Bent that knife too from prying 2x4s.

AS one guy pointed out the concept of "hard use" does mean different things to different people in different jobs and occupations. My hard use regimen simply covers the uses I encounter on a daily basis. And I actually find new cutting jobs every job I go out on. Which is why I carry/EDC one plain edged folder and one Spyderedged folder. Because there are a lot of "hard use" jobs that require both edge types.

The steels I find that make ideal blade steels for Spyderedges and other serrated patterns are not necessarily as good for plain edges. But again VG-10 is one of the few steels I find that performs well in both edge types.

What a ranch hand would use a knife for versus what a factory worker would use a knife for are two different sets of uses all together. So I like it when you all let us know what you use your favorite "hard use" blade steel for.

If I am gonna abuse a knife I grab a fixed blade, usually in 1095. Something like a Mora or a Becker.

I don’t really use folders for what I consider hard use. If I think I might be doing something where the edge might hit rocks or metal I would probably choose VG10 or Cruwear out of my folders.