Often information is given over the internet that is at times blatantly incorrect. Unfortunately, because it’s repeated over and over many people think these lies or myths must be true.
This is true about knives.
Specifics and folklore regularly get mixed together and soon there is great confusion. No one is certain if what they want to buy is a quality knife or if it is imperfect.
The knife loving community has to understand that what was once true, maybe fifty to one hundred years ago, is not factual in this modern age. Maybe what great-grandpa thought of as unsound when it came to a blade in his youth has been perfected over the years.
On page two we are going to look into some truths that are actually false when it comes to knives We will dispel a few myths. You might be surprised to learn that a certainty you always thought written in granite is not quite the stone-cold-fact you thought!
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@[30813894:2048:Nickolas McKinney] need s to see that
Very little information in this debunk “article”. No proof of where the information came from. Just a few paragraphs written by a self proclaimed non-knife collector about things he’s read about online trying to p$#%&!@* it off as his own writing of a break the myth article. Complete fail.
Don’t think I need any more advice from this poor soul !
ChipandLora Ring. Here you go
And every time I clicked on a link it took me to an advertisement of some kind.
My old $30 Gerber from Walmart cuts as good as I need it to. Holds an edge good and gets sharp enough to shave with so I’m happy. It doesn’t matter what kind of knife it is. If you use it for a pry bar it will break and if you can’t get one sharp it’s probably because you don’t know how to sharpen a knife in the first place.
Die hard survivor? Really? What useless information. This must be a beginner’s site, for all those would-be newb “I could survive” people who know nothing. How about some real info that isn’t common knowledge to anyone who has even visited cabelas. I’m disappointed and embarrassed. Go home, Do some research, And then go actually spend at least 3 days practicing what you preach.
On packing material…. sounds like you put it through the wringer. 😛
Bryan Todd, I believe the vernacular you are trying to express is toughness. But good looking out for those weekend warriors who wouldn’t understand. *hardness vs. Toughness
No. Just no. Heat treat is very important as well. Almost more so.
No no no
It’s a combo of them
Mild steel will not harden
Don’t forget tempering too
1080 will hold an edge , a36 not so much
Match the tool to the job. All these “torture” tests on the internet are stupid as hell. I watched a guy take a kukri from cold steel and use the spine to smash rocks for a good two minutes straight. When the blade failed….obviously….he touts it as proof that all cold steel knives are crap. This mentality permeates the internet. Guns, knives, tools, etc etc. If it wasn’t designed to do the task you set it to and fails, it’s your fault for having the wrong tool. If you have enough time to research steel composition, crystalline structure, corrosion resistance, edge retention blah blah blah you’ve got enough time to get the right tool for the job. I’m a 13 year Marine Corps veteran, I have four tours to Iraq under my belt and I have carried multiple knives on every op. My KaBar is great for killing Ahmed the hadji but sucks$#%&!@*at peeling apples, so I don’t ask it to peel apples. If you’re stuck with a knife and no options, who gives a$#%&!@*what it’s chemical composition is, try not to break that fucker and hope for the best.
Charles Neil Prestwood
hardness does actually depend on steel types….
True story
Ive read this article before… most of it is bull$#%&!@* or only true of short blades
Steel and tempering
Ok I read it… my question is what makes a quality knife? I go off of steel type, edge angle, and manufacturer.
As a user of $5, $50, $5000 and up I find you almost always get what you pay for.
in very few cases you get more and even more rarely ya get less.
doing your own research is always best. never depend on “random website” to be truthful, or factual learn for yourself.
Just blown away at the stupidity of some people
Fuckin A. Lol
What knife is that in the photo?
Condor bushlore is the knife pictured. Agree on everything g but number 5. Stainless steel is garbage unless your in a wet environment. The stainless steels you mentioned are great but impossible to field sharpen. I’ll pass and stick with my high carbon.
John Smith
I’ll buy my middle of the road knives. No sense in buying a 400-500$ knife.
Yup.
Looks like the article is one sided with little facts to back it up.
it’s a mora bushcraft or bushknife or something like that. It’s a Mora anyway
Myth 3 as stated in the article is not entirely true. As a hobby knife maker i have had to do a lot of research on different types of steel. Different steel does provide different qualities. Some are harder bit lack flexibility and some are extremely flexible but lack hardness. Its all a trade off when it comes to hardness and flexibility. That being said, its all for not if the heat treating process and tempering is not done properly. You could take a piece of cpms35vn, which is some of the best steel on the market, and if the heat treatment and tempering is done incorect it would be nothing more then an expensive paper weight. This also plays into myth 2, the knives made out of higher quality steel are foing to be more expensive thwn those made of inferior steel.
In the end if you are biying a knife just as a daily tool, none of this really matters. Just dont go into a gas station and buy one of those knives they have by the cash register and expect it not to break at some poiny. I have had my fair share of cheap knives and the surved their intended purpose well. But, if you want a knife you can depend on with your life, do your research on folding versus fixed as well as different styles of tangs. Since i make my own knives i probibally will never biy another fixed blade knife because i cqn make it to fit my hand, for the intended purpose, and with the propper steel for the job.
Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight..
That’s the only rule you need to know..
And it will stay dull, and be a poor tool. Instead of paying 10- 20 bucks a year for a new knife at walmart every time one breaks they could spend 150 and ge a hand made one that will see use in the hands of their great grandkids.
Knife truths from my granddad:
1. Use the right knife for the job.
2. A sharp knife is safer than a dull one
3. Never take a knife to a gunfight.
James Garland Nicolas Garland I haven’t read it yet
This article was painful to read.
May be expensive but I’ll take my Emerson horseman over almost any knife
Casey Smith
Josh Fixx
Lets cut to the real chase!!! A good handler is the result of the capabilities of the knife. The knife doesn’t make a good handler!!!
#3….unless you are a Recon Marine…Swift – Silent – Deadly
OooRah!
Sorry, but this article is a load of crap. Any knife maker with any sort of metallurgical knowledge will tell you this.
There are good stainless steels out there, but none of them hold a candle to a higher quality carbon steel. There’s a reason why you rarely see functional swords made from stainless. It isn’t coincidence.
Those are the only rules I go by when it comes to knives. I usually go with 440 stainless just because they are everywhere and fairly inexpensive and I also use the knife for what it’s intended except for my Gerber multi use fixed blade and I use it for skinning out deer but I do have a few good field dressing knives that I use
I have a few that I have put away and are meant to be looked at but I also have several that I use on a daily basis and the secret is to maintain them and none of mine cost me more than about $20. A $300 knife is no better than a $1 knife if it’s dull. Costs doesn’t equate quality.
A good knife isn’t based on price but I will say that in my experience the best knife I’ve wrapped my hand around is my $15 Gerber and my Winchester pocket knife my wife gave me
The only torture tests that I really care about are the simulated wear or possible user errors and the outcomes possible just so I can get the worst case scenario idea for what I have
And use the right knife for the job
This is unless the hammer forged steel is “normalized” by heating it to the point of being almost liquid so the the molecular structure evens out.
As we slowly watch Force Recon fade into MARSOC. #RANGERSLEADTHEWAY
But the strength of hand forged steel can still be regained, by normalizing it.
This is true of “normalizing” but this is not a step the majority of makers use as it is difficult to attain and control reliably. Some do and have good results. I agree this article is completely lacking any real information