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When it comes to pocketknives we get a lot of the same questions, as we should. If
you are looking for a good pocketknife there are unlimited choices. There are also
volumes of information on choosing knives... what steel, what blade shape etc online.
We wanted to simply address what people really want to know and what we are
asked to help with.
1. WHAT DO YOU NEED A KNIFE FOR?
A work knife for instance is very different then an everyday carry (EDC) and the
rules are different. Survival is a whole different conversation for another blog that
may also surprise you. We always start with grip. A knife that is used for work,
tactical, or an outdoor folding knife should always fit your hand first before you move
to the next checklist item. Unless you are getting a pocket-size EDC,
accidents happen when you don’t have a good grip or your knife is dull. A work
knife should fit where you can really hold it with your full hand. A lot of us have
multiple knives. I have several that are only for work, and some that are what I call EDC
or dress knives but strong enough to use for daily tasks.
Give some thought to what you are cutting. An electrician, for instance, needs a
different knife than a merchant marine working on a ship.
2. TYPE OF OPENING OR LOCKING SYSTEM
You want to be able to open any knife with one hand easily. This is another reason
a knife should fit your hand. We sell a lot of spring assist and full auto but you don’t
always need them. One of my personal favorite are CRK knives. They open just as fast
from the flipper on the back of the blade and simple is sometimes best. Spring
assists are great for work knives where you may be on ladders for instance or
grabbing your knife with one hand and need an easy flip type button. If that suits your
needs, then also look for one you can close with one hand or you will find yourself
fumbling a second longer. The Benchmade Axis lock system, for instance, allows you
to pull the lock back with 2 fingers and flip it open then close it. Most people don’t
think about the closing, but that’s what comes after the open and use.
3. BLADE SHAPES
There are several main blade shapes and we find people have preference for style
more then function but we want to address this for what they are.
DROP POINT
This blade is full bellied with a strong, thick point for heavier tasks. It can also be
used as a general work knife. The top of the blade drops down toward the tip, which
minimizes accidental puncturing while skinning. The drop point blade is strong and
very versatile.
TANTO
Very strong for heavy duty use. Holds up to piercing, scraping and prying with tough
materials. Many tactical knives utilize this blade shape and is preferred by a lot of
military. It simply gives you 2 edges to work with. The strength of the tip comes
from being in a direct line with the top of the blade where the steel is strongest. If
the blade has a sharp edge on the top as well, it is a modified tanto.
SKINNER
Best suited for skinning game. The tip is narrow, while the wide curved belly gives a
nice skinning sweep that aids in getting through thick layers. The downward angled;
more blunt point makes it harder to make an accidental slice through the hide. This
type of shape you may find in other style knives than skinners. It is good if you find
that you are slicing downward often. The pressure you apply is focused and gives
you more work for your effort.
CLIP
The crescent tip, or most common shape, has a thinner blade with a
sharper point. This shape provides good control for detail work and cutting in tight
places. It is also well-suited for intentional punctures like new holes in your belt, etc.
While the point of the blade is effective for detail work, it's not as strong as the
thicker points on drop points and skinners.
SERRATIONS
Serrations give your blade greater cutting power especially useful when cutting line
and/or cables, robe. A ½-serrated blade is a favorite as a general work knife. A lot of
people feel the downfall is the ability to sharpen it. It may be sharpened easily with
rods, but you will not need to sharpen the serrations for a long time. Think about a
steak knife and the need to sharpen them. Keep the fine edge sharp and it will last
you a long time.
GUT | SAFETY HOOK
Originally made for field dressing game, a gut or skinning hook is an ideal tool.
You will also see versions of these used as seatbelt cutters and rescue knives. They
adapted the hook style so that a sharp or point on the front will cause damage when
you place the blade into a tight space.
BLADE STEEL
There are over 3000 different types of steel, and even starting to get into this can be
endless and confusing. Most people want to simply know what is the best. To start
with, there is no definitive best type. Each type of steel is better or worse for something. Going back
to your use is important. Also, ask if field sharpening is important. Weather is also a factor and if you want to maintain and oil your blade or not. Each steel has its positives and negatives.
Spyderco writes it best. “At a very simplified level, making steel is like baking a
cake. You follow a precise recipe to achieve the type of cake (steel) that you desire.
You begin with flour (iron) and from there you add various ingredients (elements).
These additional ingredients will determine what type of cake (steel) you end up
with. Once you have added all of the additional ingredients (elements) you are left
with a batter that is ready to bake (heat treat). Baking (heat treating) is just as much
a part of the “recipe” as the ingredients (elements). If not done properly, several
properties can suffer. Once baked, you have a new – completely different – finished
product. Your cake will forever be a cake, it can never go back to being batter. Of
course steel can be re-melted to a molten state, but that simply is the beginning of
becoming a new type of steel.”
The chart below is a good opinion on steels and how they hold up:
STEEL
TYPE CHARACTERISTICS
APPROXIMATE
ROCKWELL
HARDNESS
17-7 PH
54-56
154 CM
Good corrosion resistance, excellent for water sports
applications. This alloy is a chromium-nickel-aluminum
precipitation hardening stainless steel with good edge
retention. Great corrosion resistance generally means a
high chromium content, and this means knives made
with this steel will be a little harder to sharpen than
blades with a lower chromium content.
This is high quality steel. It has a carbon content of 1.05%. It
holds an edge well and is hard steel. It actually has pretty good
toughness for how hard the steel is as well. It is tougher than 440
C. Some go as far as to call this super steel. This steel often gets
compared to ATS 34 because the two are so similar. Some
people prefer this steel to ATS 34 because this one is made by
Crucible, an American company.
The low carbon content means that this
steel is very soft, and doesn't hold an edge well. It is low quality,
low cost material. Many cheap knives tend to be made of this
material because of its cost. Blades made from this material need
to be sharpened frequently, and often chip. On the bright side, all
420 stainless steel is extremely rust resistant. This means that
one of the best uses for this material is to make diving knives
because of their constant contact with saltwater. Sometimes, you
will also see 420J. 420J is the lowest quality 420 steel, but is also
the most rust resistant.
A high carbon version of 420 steel, this steel combines
the excellent wear resistance of high carbon alloys with
the corrosion resistance of chromium stainless steels.
The high carbon content makes this steel harder to re-
sharpen, but the tradeoff is better edge holding
properties.
58-62
420
49-53
420 HC
58
440 A
A high carbon stainless steel, used in many production
knives. A good balance of edge retention, easy re-
sharpening and corrosion resistance.
55-57
440 C
A high chromium stainless steel, which exhibits an
excellent balance of hardness and corrosion resistance.
This steel takes a nice edge, and is fairly easy to sharpen
58-60
1095
This is a plain carbon steel, which means it has low
resistance to corrosion, and low to medium edge
retention. The benefit of this steel is it's easy to sharpen,
will take an extremely sharp edge and is generally
available at a low cost.
56-58
5150
A medium carbon, low alloy steel that hardens well. This
steel is ideally suited to blades with a very thick cross-
section such as tomahawks and axes. Extremely tough
and impact resistant, this steel is most often used on
blades which are hafted and/or thrown.
55-60
ATS-34
A very high carbon, chromium stainless steel with
additional amounts of molybdenum. This steel has good
edge holding properties and high corrosion resistance,
but is more difficult to re-sharpen than lower chromium
steels.
60-61
AUS 6A
.65% carbon. A medium to high carbon stainless steel,
this steel holds a good edge and is particularly well
suited for heavy, long blades that are subjected to a lot
of stress while chopping and hacking. It has good edge
retention, and is fairly easy to re-sharpen with decent
corrosion resistance.
55-57
AUS 8
.75 carbon. A Japanese stainless steel, that is tough and
has good edge-holding capabilities. This steel is fairly
easy to sharpen with great corrosion resistance.
57-58
AUS 8A
A high carbon, low chromium stainless steel which has
proven itself to be the ultimate compromise between
toughness and strength, edge-holding, and resistance to
corrosion.
57-59
BG-42
A high-quality, bearing-grade alloy with significantly
increased amounts of carbon and molybdenum content
plus vanadium for improved edge retention and strength.
Easy to sharpen, with decent corrosion resistance.
61-62
Carbon V®
This low alloy, cutlery grade steel is superior to most
other steels due to its chemistry. Decent corrosion
resistance with superior edge retention makes this a
premium steel for knife blades. This steel is exceptionally
tough, and therefore harder to sharpen than most
stainless steels.
59
CPM S30V®
This American made and engineered steel was created
especially for the knife industry. It is a powder made
steel with uniform structure and great corrosion
resistance. Excellent edge retention and first rate
toughness make this steel one of the best all-around
knife steels, striking a balance between corrosion
resistance, edge retention and sharpen ability.
58-60
D2
This air hardened tool steel is sometimes called ”semi-
stainless" steel, because it contains 12% chromium. It
offers decent corrosion resistance with exceptional edge
retention. It is harder to sharpen than most, but can be
finished to a high-polish shine.
59-60
Damascus
This steel is made from dissimilar steels folded or fused
together with heat. It is often acid etched, which brings
out the different steels in a striped pattern. Excellent
toughness and edge holding capabilities make it a great
blade, but the cost of production is high. Damascus is
most often used in special applications like decorative
blades.
Layers vary from
53-62
M2
This high-speed, tool-grade steel is used primarily in
cutting tools in industrial applications. This is metal used
to cut metal. With excellent strength, enduring
toughness and tremendous wear resistance, this is some
of the toughest steel used to make knife blades. The
tradeoff for all this toughness is that this steel is hard to
sharpen, and it is highly susceptible to corrosion. All
blades made from this steel will have a corrosion
resistant coating applied, to give good corrosion
resistance with such tough steel.
62
N690
An Austrian made stainless steel, it is comparable to
440C in performance. It offers good edge-holding
qualities with excellent corrosion resistance, and fairly
easy sharpening.
58-60
S30V
This steel contains carbon along with high amounts of
chromium, molybdenum and vanadium. This steel is
double tempered for hardness and edge retention. It has
excellent corrosion resistance, but is slightly more
difficult to sharpen.
59.5-61
Sandvik 12C27
This stainless steel is made in Sweden. It is generally
known as premium steel for knife blades, offering a good
balance of corrosion resistance, sharpen ability and edge
retention.
57-59
San Mai III
San Mai means "three layers". It is a term used when
talking about traditional Japanese swords and daggers.
The laminated construction is important because it allows
the blade maker to combine different grades of steel in a
single blade. A high carbon center layer provides the
strength and edge holding qualities, while the outer
layers are lower carbon steels, providing flexibility.
Center layer= 59
Outer layers= 57
X-15 T.N
Developed for the aircraft industry for jet ball bearings,
and used in the medical industry for scalpels, this steel
resists rust in the worst of conditions while maintaining
ample edge retention. Offering an easy to maintain edge
and excellent corrosion resistance, this steel is ideal in
knives used for water sports.
56-58
Below are some of the basic characteristics of steel by itself If you want more
knowledge.
Carbon Steels contain varying amounts of carbon and not more than 1.65% of
manganese and .60% of copper. There are 3 types of Carbon Steels, Low (.3% or
less), Medium (.4-.8%) and High (.9% and up). High carbon is commonly used for
knives of good quality. It has a good balance of ability to sharpen and holding a
strong edge.
Alloy Steels have a specified composition, containing certain percentages of
vanadium, molybdenum, or other elements, as well as larger amounts of manganese,
silicon, and copper than do regular carbon steels. High-Strength Low-Alloy Steels
known as HSLA steels are relatively new. They cost less than do regular Alloy Steels
because they contain only small amounts of the expensive alloying elements. They
have been specially processed, however, to have much more strength than Carbon
Steels of the same weight.
Stainless Steels contain a minimum of 12% Chromium. The Chromium provides a
much higher degree of rust resistance than Carbon Steels. Various sources site
differing minimum amounts of Chromium required to deem a steel as stainless (10-
13%). It is important to note, that the amount of Chromium needed can be
dependent upon the other elements used in the steel.
Tool Steels contain Tungsten, Molybdenum and other alloying elements that give
them extra strength, hardness and resistance to wear.
Exotic Steels are generally accepted as steel, but by definition, are not steel.
Examples of Exotic Steels include H1, ZDP-189, Talonite and Titanium.