12GA00buck
Member
Evening Gentlemen,
It’s been awhile since I last posted; I’d like to hash out what makes a good knife.
Blade steel: Stainless or carbon doesn’t really matter; if you use carbon steel you just need to be careful to keep a light coat of oil on the steel in wet environments. Modern stainless steels are often harder than old carbon steel blades. That being said the high end carbons steels generally have the potential to be hardened to higher Rockwell numbers. Given the choice I’ll take carbon for no other reason than to be traditional, however, it does not really effect my choice. Any steel hardened between 58-62 HRC is about right for a good knife. Stainless steels I prefer are VG-10 and 154cm/ATS-34, 440C is also good. With the advent of diamond hones I don’t see any reason to use anything softer. If I was limited to natural Arkansas stones I would prefer something in the 56-58 HRC range.
Blade Geometry: This is as, or more, important than the brand, steel or anything else. Flat ground blades work best for just about everything, it’s the reason good kitchen knives cut so well. The spine should be just thick enough to be durable, too thick a knife will limit it’s cutting ability; this is one of my primary criticisms of ‘tactical’ knives. Saber grinds are durable, however, they get wedged trying to cut anything thicker than the primary bevel. I ran into trouble using a spyderco delica when cutting potatoes; I used (and wore out) a course diamond hone making the blade flat ground; it now cuts very well. Hollow grinds are used because they’re cheaper to produce. The only real use I see for hollow grinds is on shaving straight razors. There okay on hunting knives, but will need to be reground after time. I have not tried them yet, but I gather the Swedish mora knives, although they have a saber grind, cut well because of the thin edge and acute angles. I plan on trying one of the larger Moras for skinning knife. For blade length 3-4 inches works well for me. I know very little about fighting knives so I’ll let someone else talk about those, I think about 6 inches should be good. I usually choose about 20 degrees for my primary bevel on knives. Drop point knives are a good general purpose/ hunting design; they have a good belly for slicing. Clip point blades are very useful when you need a fine point. I find the combination of a larger drop point and a smaller clip point serves all my needs. I have not used a convex blade, although I here there very good also, maybe someone else can comment. I think its best to save chopping for a more efficient tool like a hatchet/axe and save your knife for finer cuts, hence I don’t see the need for large heavy knives. I haven’t been able to decide on the issue of serrated knives. I don’t mind having an inch or so of serration at the heel of the knife; they do save the main blade from cutting through cartilage; that being said I prefer the more traditional plain edge. Anyone else use a partially serrated knife for hunting?
Sharpening:
Diamond hones take metal off fast and will sharpen even very hard blades quickly. I was able regrind a VG-10 blade using only a course diamond hone. Diamond blades do not polish well though; for polishing a ceramic or water stone works very well. I used a guided rod system for years; I now prefer to sharpen knives free hand. The right stroke will keep a good angle; it can be described as a curving arc starting at the heel of the blades and ending at the tip. After you work a bur up on one side, flip the knife over and repeat the same number of strokes on the other side, you have now honed a new edge. Proceed with finer stones until the edge is polished. Serrated knives can be sharpened by using a cone shaped diamond rod on the serrated side, after you work a bur up, hold the knife flat and work the bur off on the flat side using a regular stone. Stones need to be lubricated to keep them clean of metal fragments. As the name implies, oil stones need oil and water stones… I find diamond hones, although can be used with water, last longer when using oil (probably less friction than with water). You can often revitalize an old stone by soaking it in oil and cleaning off the metal buildup. I have not used a loaded leather strop yet; I’m curious to here what other people have to say.
Brand: If you pay attention to the steel and geometry, there is no reason to worry about the brand. Most companies manufacture both good and bad knives. For example the original Gerber Gators are drop point, flat ground and use 154cm steel, I’ve been using one for many years now. The “new” Gator II has a saber grind, and uses 420 steel, look at the steel and blade geometry, not the brand. I like the steel spyderco uses and the overall quality, although I do insist on grinding the saber blade into a flat ground blade. I don’t have a lot of preference between folding and fixed blade knives, I have never accidentally closed a quality-folding knife.
Despite my rumination, I’m still curious what other people think makes up a good blade. What qualities do you like in a hunting/kitchen knife? I use a gerber gator and spyerco delica.
It’s been awhile since I last posted; I’d like to hash out what makes a good knife.
Blade steel: Stainless or carbon doesn’t really matter; if you use carbon steel you just need to be careful to keep a light coat of oil on the steel in wet environments. Modern stainless steels are often harder than old carbon steel blades. That being said the high end carbons steels generally have the potential to be hardened to higher Rockwell numbers. Given the choice I’ll take carbon for no other reason than to be traditional, however, it does not really effect my choice. Any steel hardened between 58-62 HRC is about right for a good knife. Stainless steels I prefer are VG-10 and 154cm/ATS-34, 440C is also good. With the advent of diamond hones I don’t see any reason to use anything softer. If I was limited to natural Arkansas stones I would prefer something in the 56-58 HRC range.
Blade Geometry: This is as, or more, important than the brand, steel or anything else. Flat ground blades work best for just about everything, it’s the reason good kitchen knives cut so well. The spine should be just thick enough to be durable, too thick a knife will limit it’s cutting ability; this is one of my primary criticisms of ‘tactical’ knives. Saber grinds are durable, however, they get wedged trying to cut anything thicker than the primary bevel. I ran into trouble using a spyderco delica when cutting potatoes; I used (and wore out) a course diamond hone making the blade flat ground; it now cuts very well. Hollow grinds are used because they’re cheaper to produce. The only real use I see for hollow grinds is on shaving straight razors. There okay on hunting knives, but will need to be reground after time. I have not tried them yet, but I gather the Swedish mora knives, although they have a saber grind, cut well because of the thin edge and acute angles. I plan on trying one of the larger Moras for skinning knife. For blade length 3-4 inches works well for me. I know very little about fighting knives so I’ll let someone else talk about those, I think about 6 inches should be good. I usually choose about 20 degrees for my primary bevel on knives. Drop point knives are a good general purpose/ hunting design; they have a good belly for slicing. Clip point blades are very useful when you need a fine point. I find the combination of a larger drop point and a smaller clip point serves all my needs. I have not used a convex blade, although I here there very good also, maybe someone else can comment. I think its best to save chopping for a more efficient tool like a hatchet/axe and save your knife for finer cuts, hence I don’t see the need for large heavy knives. I haven’t been able to decide on the issue of serrated knives. I don’t mind having an inch or so of serration at the heel of the knife; they do save the main blade from cutting through cartilage; that being said I prefer the more traditional plain edge. Anyone else use a partially serrated knife for hunting?
Sharpening:
Diamond hones take metal off fast and will sharpen even very hard blades quickly. I was able regrind a VG-10 blade using only a course diamond hone. Diamond blades do not polish well though; for polishing a ceramic or water stone works very well. I used a guided rod system for years; I now prefer to sharpen knives free hand. The right stroke will keep a good angle; it can be described as a curving arc starting at the heel of the blades and ending at the tip. After you work a bur up on one side, flip the knife over and repeat the same number of strokes on the other side, you have now honed a new edge. Proceed with finer stones until the edge is polished. Serrated knives can be sharpened by using a cone shaped diamond rod on the serrated side, after you work a bur up, hold the knife flat and work the bur off on the flat side using a regular stone. Stones need to be lubricated to keep them clean of metal fragments. As the name implies, oil stones need oil and water stones… I find diamond hones, although can be used with water, last longer when using oil (probably less friction than with water). You can often revitalize an old stone by soaking it in oil and cleaning off the metal buildup. I have not used a loaded leather strop yet; I’m curious to here what other people have to say.
Brand: If you pay attention to the steel and geometry, there is no reason to worry about the brand. Most companies manufacture both good and bad knives. For example the original Gerber Gators are drop point, flat ground and use 154cm steel, I’ve been using one for many years now. The “new” Gator II has a saber grind, and uses 420 steel, look at the steel and blade geometry, not the brand. I like the steel spyderco uses and the overall quality, although I do insist on grinding the saber blade into a flat ground blade. I don’t have a lot of preference between folding and fixed blade knives, I have never accidentally closed a quality-folding knife.
Despite my rumination, I’m still curious what other people think makes up a good blade. What qualities do you like in a hunting/kitchen knife? I use a gerber gator and spyerco delica.
