stainless or carbon steel blades? (poll)

[elliott92]

as i said in an earlier post, the shop i brought my knife from (in stainless steel) has offered to exchange it for me, as the knife didn't work with the firesteel it came with. i have the option to change it to the carbon version. what would you guys choose? reasons for and against?

thanks for any replies in advance

 

[HillBill]

Stainless blades do work on firesteels. But the edge you are scraping with has to be square and not rounded at the corners. Exactly the same as carbon steel. If the company who makes the knife uses a technique to finish the blades that takes the edges off ( sounds like they have with the stainless) then the carbon blade wont strike sparks either.

So stick with stainless if thats what you wanted, just get a file on the area of the spine you use on the firesteel to square it up, its a 2 minute job. Plus you can leave the rest of the spine rounded so its more comfortable to use

The best knife i have ever had for throwing sparks was a fallkniven F1 - stainless blade, square spine.

 

[Gazo]

I am no knife expert but after reading up on it I went for the carbon as it holds it's edge longer and is easier to sharpen.
But you have to look after the blade as it discolours and rusts very easy.
But you would not have that problem with decent SS. I look after my kit so carbon is not a problem but saying that mine has discoloured after getting blood on it but it won't rust as I dry/wipe it after use and oil it when I store it.

 

[Ian]

I prefer carbon steel myself, the edge always seems keener and they tend to be easier and quicker to sharpen.
I expect the only stainless blades I have tried have been cheap ones (apart from my Victorinox boning knife) so that may be the reason for not liking them.

 

[HillBill]

Only cheap stainless is a bit naff for knife blades, a half decent stainless blade is easily as good as carbon and then some.

Bear in mind, stainless steels are designed to have wear resistance, this means better edge holding but the difference in sharpening is minimal on decent stuff

The discolouration of carbon blades is called a patina, experienced knife users seek to develop the patina as it creates an oxidised layer on the steel. Basically it stops a knife rusting. You can "force" a patina with salad cream as i do with my own knives, though i layer it up into a tiger strip pattern so it looks pretty good. But a naturally developed patina adds real character to a blade IMO

I am no knife expert but after reading up on it I went for the carbon as it holds it's edge longer and is easier to sharpen.
But you have to look after the blade as it discolours and rusts very easy.
But you would not have that problem with decent SS. I look after my kit so carbon is not a problem but saying that mine has discoloured after getting blood on it but it won't rust as I dry/wipe it after use and oil it when I store it.

 

[elliott92]

Stainless blades do work on firesteels. But the edge you are scraping with has to be square and not rounded at the corners. Exactly the same as carbon steel. If the company who makes the knife uses a technique to finish the blades that takes the edges off ( sounds like they have with the stainless) then the carbon blade wont strike sparks either.

So stick with stainless if thats what you wanted, just get a file on the area of the spine you use on the firesteel to square it up, its a 2 minute job. Plus you can leave the rest of the spine rounded so its more comfortable to use

The best knife i have ever had for throwing sparks was a fallkniven F1 - stainless blade, square spine.

one of the reasons i picked this knife (Karesuando Boar Survival Knife Fire Combo)
was because it advertised as having a sharpened spine so it would work good with its firesteel (which it does have). this is why i got confused about it. i would like to keep the stainless as i won't have to worry about rusting, and my stainless knife is sharp enough to take hair off my arm and easy enough to keep it that way. but i want the knife to work with my firesteel. this is why im in 2 minds as to get it replaced with another stainless or try the carbon

 

[HillBill]

It could also be a firesteel issue. Not all firesteels are created equal. Some firesteels are absolutely rubbish, no matter what you use on them. The best ones are the ones Ray Mears sells in his woodlore shop, very very good steels. A decent steel can be made to work fairly easily with a bit of broken glass, so the striker doesnt have to be metal. If you want i can send you down a bit of harderned 01 to use as a striker, if that doesn't get sparks then the firesteel is rubbish.

Is all the spine sharpened or just a bit of it. Some knives only have about a cm that is sharpened? I'd still try square it up with a file just to be sure. If the spine is square, it WILL throw sparks on any firesteel worth having.

one of the reasons i picked this knife (Karesuando Boar Survival Knife Fire Combo)
was because it advertised as having a sharpened spine so it would work good with its firesteel (which it does have). this is why i got confused about it. i would like to keep the stainless as i won't have to worry about rusting, and my stainless knife is sharp enough to take hair off my arm and easy enough to keep it that way. but i want the knife to work with my firesteel. this is why im in 2 minds as to get it replaced with another stainless or try the carbon

 

[elliott92]

It could also be a firesteel issue. Not all firesteels are created equal. Some firesteels are absolutely rubbish, no matter what you use on them. The best ones are the ones Ray Mears sells in his woodlore shop, very very good steels. A decent steel can be made to work fairly easily with a bit of broken glass, so the striker doesnt have to be metal. If you want i can send you down a bit of harderned 01 to use as a striker, if that doesn't get sparks then the firesteel is rubbish.

Is all the spine sharpened or just a bit of it. Some knives only have about a cm that is sharpened? I'd still try square it up with a file just to be sure. If the spine is square, it WILL throw sparks on any firesteel worth having.

that's the thing mark, iv'e tried other knives with this firesteel and it creates great sparks. it just seems to be this specific knife. i tried the knife with my other firesteel too and it didn't work. ye the hole spine has been sharpened. i cant, logically, make sense of it, its really weird. that's why im just going to send it back and have it replaced. thanks for the offer though mate

 

[HillBill]

The spine isn't square then. But trust me, any hard material with a sharp edge WILL throw sparks off a firesteel. I promise you it isn't the material itself.

 

[elliott92]

The spine isn't square then. But trust me, any hard material with a sharp edge WILL throw sparks off a firesteel. I promise you it isn't the material itself.

ah okay, do you reckon if i get it replaced then, there will be no difference unless i square up the spine and make it a bit sharper? if thats the case i may aswell keep this one then?

 

[HillBill]

Keep that if your happy with it, just sort the spine out.

The material isnt the problem. .

 

[elliott92]

appreciate the advice mate

 

[Gangsta ov love]

I use a karesuando kniven skarpsint with rwl stainless blade and it seems to hold it's edge forever I would never replace it for a carbon blade as they need to much attention and sharpening ( I use my knife regularly ) . I'm always forgetting to wipe my knife down but whenever I do it's as brand new as the day I bought it .

 

[Ian]

I use a karesuando kniven skarpsint with rwl stainless blade and it seems to hold it's edge forever I would never replace it for a carbon blade as they need to much attention and sharpening ( I use my knife regularly ) . I'm always forgetting to wipe my knife down but whenever I do it's as brand new as the day I bought it .

That does sound like a nice piece of kit, I'll have to treat myself to a nice expensive knife one day, see what all the fuss is about

 

[Ystranc]

I decided to bump this thread just to see what the current opinions are. My opinion is that it is "horses for courses", stainless is better for some things like food prep but I always go back to carbon steel for the sheer pleasure of carving. A knife doesn't have to be expensive to be good but if you're looking for a certain aesthetic then you can pay whatever you're comfortable with.

 

[teef]

thought i'd kick in my two pence worth: i like good knives as much as anyone else but i don't like spending a fortune either. my solution is to buy good blade blanks and do the scales etc myself, which i like doing anyway. this approach can cut the initial outlay down by as much as 50%. for example this is my current project:

it's the Brisa Trapper 95 Scandi in N690, stainless obviously, cost about 1/2 of what a finished blade would. not that that would have been an unfair price, just that i don't mind doing the finishing work myself and saving the rest for other things.

as others have mentioned my bush knife is a tool and that means it doesn't always get the TLC that a carbon steel blade really needs, especially given that i live in "sunny" Scotland and am out and about in all weathers. i've done the carbon steel thing, will likely do it again in the future, but i am looking forward to having the Trapper at my side and feeling confident that it's not going to suffer unduly if i don't wipe it down and oil it every day.

 

[Joecole]

I decided to bump this thread just to see what the current opinions are. My opinion is that it is "horses for courses", stainless is better for some things like food prep but I always go back to carbon steel for the sheer pleasure of carving. A knife doesn't have to be expensive to be good but if you're looking for a certain aesthetic then you can pay whatever you're comfortable with.

Hi Mike on a personal note I would match my cheap Hultafors against my stainless Mora any day of the week

 

[saxonaxe]

I'm in Teef's gang on this one, I have a couple of knives that were custom made for me and quite expensive, well by my standards anyway, between £150-£200, both in carbon steel. Both get used but not nearly so much as the £25 7 inch Lauri Leuku blade that I put a Wild Clematis handle on.

Glamorous custom knives...Both Carbon steel..

Favourite knife most used the Carbon steel Leuku.

Almost finished....

In use.....Handle shaped to fit and lots of Teak Oil coats on the Clematis vine. Which I was advised by a highly trained expert in knife affairs, a Graduate of the University of You Tube, " Clematis will never make a knife handle"

Nearly all my stainless knives are folders, fixed blades almost all Carbon Steel. Food prep for me is cutting open a packet or if I'm in full Cordon Bleu mode, perhaps breaking an egg....with the back of a carbon blade of course...

 

[Joecole]

I'm in Teef's gang on this one, I have a couple of knives that were custom made for me and quite expensive, well by my standards anyway, between £150-£200, both in carbon steel. Both get used but not nearly so much as the £25 7 inch Lauri Leuku blade that I put a Wild Clematis handle on.

Glamorous custom knives...Both Carbon steel..

Favourite knife most used the Carbon steel Leuku.

Almost finished....

In use.....Handle shaped to fit and lots of Teak Oil coats on the Clematis vine. Which I was advised by a highly trained expert in knife affairs, a Graduate of the University of You Tube, " Clematis will never make a knife handle"

Nearly all my stainless knives are folders, fixed blades almost all Carbon Steel. Food prep for me is cutting open a packet or if I'm in full Cordon Bleu mode, perhaps breaking an egg....with the back of a carbon blade of course...

Very nice work there

 

[Bam]

Good work guys, I'm envious as I lack the confidence and ability to do that kind of stuff.