I need a new pocket knife

[M. Sage]

It's really all in the heat treat. An OK steel with a good heat treat will outperform the newest whiz-bang steel with a poor heat treat. And the more complex the steel gets, the more complicated becomes a proper heat treat.

Yep. I forget what the steel is on my SOG Trident, but it's high end and won't hold an edge for anything. I dulled it the other day (22 degree sharpening angle) cutting the tar-like stuff that BMW used to secure insulation to a door so that I could work on the window regulator. This stuff is about the consistency of chewing gum.

Meanwhile, I've split oak logs with my Gerber LMF II and if memory serves that's just 1020 low-carbon steel.

 

[Bithabus]

That applies if you're making your own knife. One expects a knifemaker to understand heat treating.

Many don't.

There is also no such thing as the "best steel", even assuming everyone understands the metallurgy. Various steels are better suited to cutting instruments according to intended purpose of the instrument. A good steel for a pocket knife would be disastrously unsuitable for a sword, for example.

 

[M. Sage]

Yep. 1020 is great for that LMF II. It's a chopper and hacker, and you don't want something too hard that can break or even shatter when you're doing something like, I don't know, batoning it through an oak log, or hacking through little cacti and banging it into rocks so that you can have a place to sleep when you're lost in the mountains...

But I wouldn't want 1020 for a pocket knife. It would get bent too easy, and I doubt it'd hold an edge for a damn.

 

[kurt]

Another recent purchase.

[h=1]SOG Spec-Elite I Auto[/h]

 

[mlw270win]

A Buck knife is hard to beat.

 

[Bithabus]

Yep. 1020 is great for that LMF II. It's a chopper and hacker, and you don't want something too hard that can break or even shatter when you're doing something like, I don't know, batoning it through an oak log, or hacking through little cacti and banging it into rocks so that you can have a place to sleep when you're lost in the mountains...

But I wouldn't want 1020 for a pocket knife. It would get bent too easy, and I doubt it'd hold an edge for a damn.

I don't think the LMF is made from 1020. That would barely be hardenable. Maybe 420HC?

 

[M. Sage]

I don't think the LMF is made from 1020. That would barely be hardenable. Maybe 420HC?

You're right. I must be getting old or something, because my memory is worthless.

12C27 on early knives (pretty sure mine was early, but I can't remember when I bought it, exactly), 440A and then 420HC.

It's not very hard steel. The edge tends to fold instead of chipping. Sparks pretty good on rocks, though.

 

[Bithabus]

You're right. I must be getting old or something, because my memory is worthless.

12C27 on early knives (pretty sure mine was early, but I can't remember when I bought it, exactly), 440A and then 420HC.

It's not very hard steel. The edge tends to fold instead of chipping. Sparks pretty good on rocks, though.

Yeah they kept it soft for toughness. That's why the blade is thick also.

 

[AKM]

Kershaw Tone is my EDC. I love it. It was like a thirty dollar exclusive from Academy.

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/s...tk=All&cid=CSE-GoogleProductSearch-0018139568

+1 I love my Tone. Things sharp as hell out of the box. I cut my thumb in half to the bone with it on accident and didnt even feel it. lol went half way threw the nail, and 2/3 the way to the first joint.(pinched off a zip tie and squeezed too hard I guess lol)

 

[deemus]

Phrrt

 

[deemus]

View attachment 14354

My favorite knife rarely gets carried. Sharp as hell , keeps an edge, work of art.

It's a Xikar with olive wood handle.

 

[Pachucko]

Just got an extra-large Cold Steel Voyager in the mail today. It's a beast.

 

[nc60]

A spyderco.

 

[Dragwn]

Rough Rider Knives, Case Knives items in urknifesource store on eBay! , if you shop evilbay, and love knives, you would be doing yourself a disservice if ya didn't look through his auction listings. I've bought several knives from this seller and he has all the brands we know and love as far as quality knives that aren't small batch.

 

[Red78]

I love my Benchmade Griptillian​

+1

 

[Dragwn]

My workhorse that a friend gave me a few years ago. He was a design engineer for Buck. This is the 880 MIL/EMT. ATS-34 BOS Steel. He told me it was designed to be able to pry doors open with and I believe him.

 

[scap99]

I just ordered one of these to go with my zero tolerance folder.



Sent without thinking via tapatalk.

 

[deemus]

Finally replaced my Gerber mini para frame. Been carrying one for around 8 years. I call it my "butt hole knife."

You can gut a deer with it. A guide once showed me how to do it. You start the process by cutting out the butthole, then work your way back. Leaves the hide in the best shape possible. Allows a really pretty mount to be made since the cuts are extremely low.

 

[scap99]

Uncle Santa (USPS) brought me this a few minutes ago.



Sent without thinking via tapatalk.

 

[scap99]

Sent without thinking via tapatalk.