What knife (metal ) that holds it sharpness

[OYE]

I've used the "Buck" fixed blade knives for several years ( and have a couple of the
plastic handled lock blade pocket knives as well ). Have to use a fine diamond hone only.
Can get through an elk with a couple of light touch ups. Not sure about what steel it is.
It does all I require and the price is right.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I suppose A2 steel would hold it edge pretty well. Harder to sharpen though. In the end O1 would be just as good.

 

[Peakbagger46]

D2 steel

 

[atomchaser]

I like A2 or 1095 with a convex edge geometry. It's easy and quick to resharpen in the field with just a small leather strop. The 3G laminate blades that Fallkniven makes really hold an edge and aren't bad to sharpen.

 

[jbkebert]

I tend to use D2 steel and my EDC is a fixed blade custom with D2 steel. i beat the crap out of this knife. The knife has been used to trim sheetrock, cut carpet, de-burr copper pipe, strip electrical wire, cut shingels and probably worse things. A few minutes on a quality stone and its back to shaving sharp. A good knife is worth every penny paid. Between my kids and I and a couple youth hunts I dressed out and skinned 8-9 deer with it last year. A wet wash rag to keep the blade clean and a few strokes across a ceramic stick kept the blade plenty sharp for the task at hand.

A past issue of shop notes magazine took a look at tool steels. It did a comparison between 01, A2, and D2 steels being used for chisels and plane irons. According to their testing the 01 started out sharper and both the A2 and D2. Testing consisted of taking a shaving of end grain red oak 1x6. The 01 gave up at around 350 passes at .015 per pass. A2 lasted 400-25 and the D2 while the edge having numerous nicks from use went over 500. Of course a greater amount of force was needed to keep shaving the wood and the quality of shavings went from nice fluffy shaving to tooth pick shavings mixes with dust. i feel this compared well with a knife that gets hard use. The D2 may not start as sharp or sharpen as easily as say O1 but it will hold a edge longer. I can't find a link to the article on-line but do have a copy of this issue on the shelf.

 

[HighExpert]

I have found another solution. When my main knife gets dull I go to the little Piranta-Z. It has a replaceable blade which is a scapel blade. Plenty sharp!
I carry the knife and a 10 pack of blades in my pack. Works great when the Kershaw finally gets dull. You can find the knife at Sportsmansguide.com

 

[T.R.]

For the money, Scandinavian built knives are BEST.

Look at these names:

- Marttiini

- Mora

TR

 

[Fernando]

Marttini and Mora

I second TR. Mora and Marttini knifes are, by far, the best for the money. Great steel, scary sharp, lots of models and cheaper than competition (at least here in Europe).

Mora advantages:
- Cheaper than Marttini
- Has more models in carbon steel than marttini
- Steel usually harder than martinis (higher in hrc)

Mora disadvantages:
- Plastic sheaths
- Slippery handles when wet (depending on models)
- The blades of the carbon steel models change colors very rapidly if left wet

Marttini Advantages:
- Leather sheaths
- Non-slip handles even when wet
- Some models come with coated blades (martef)
- Scary sharp right out of the box

Marttini disadvantages:
- More expensive than Mora

They are great knives for all-around purposes and excellent for skinning game. Here are some of mine, used to skin wild boars (Mora on the left, Marttini on the right):


We are talking of knives that are razor sharp/hair-splitting. In fact, your meat will get hair on it as never before, lolol, because of blade sharpness (will shave the game, if necessary, lol). To keep it sharp, I use 9 microns lapping film (so thin that will polish the blade instead of scratching it), but you can use 2000 grit sand paper (don’t use less than 1200).

Other martini in the house:




A martini big game (gave it to my father):


And a bowie (mn17). You can see how polished the cutting edge is (it mirrors the leader from the couch):

 

[Fernando]

Ops. “It mirrors the leather from the couch”, not leader, lol

Always use water sand paper (never try to sharpen knives dry), use lots of water, even with the lapping film. Place the lapping film over a flat glass square or rectangle (15cmx15cm or 15cmx20cm). And keep the original sharpening angle. If you do it right, you can shave your arm’s hairs with the knife. And the blade will look polished, not scratched.

 

[Grey Morel]

There are a lot of opinions on this. Here is my input as a long time knife collector and hunter:

Option 1) High carbon tool steels: The higher end of the 10XX series all make excellent knives. 1080 up to 1095 will all give you similar permormance. The UP SIDE of high carbon steel is that it is an inexpensive material, it takes a keen edge fairly easily, and it holds an edge prety well. The DOWN SIDE is that they also rust easily, and there are many other steels that hold an edge longer.

Option 2) High tech stainless steels. Most steel snobs will tell you to forget anything in the 4XX series. This is probably a good idea for something that sees a lot of use and needs to stay sharp like a hunting knife. The good news is, these days there are A LOT of high carbon stainless steels such as VG-10, S30V, S60V, and the semi-stainless D2. The UP SIDE of these steels is that they are corosion resistant, and they hold a keen edge for what seems like forever. The DOWN SIDE is that they tend to be expensive, and they are a pain in the butt to sharpen due to there high hardness.

I've got both, and I like both. Its a matter of personal preference.