A Complete Look At Knives

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.