Hard use stainless steel fixed blades?

XtianAus said:
That definitely helps.
Gives me another reason to find more excuses to beat her up :D
Actually I had that experience, after using it some of the black does go away. But there is a section near the tip, almost like a black glare or a greyish area, that wont leave. If its not harmful to the blade and wont affect its performance than I am not fussed. Its just everytime I pay attention to it, I assume the worst haha
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Yup only worry about the red stuff. As far as I understand (not much) the red stuff is active (living) rust that will continue to grow no only on the surface of the knife but eventually into the knife, if given enough time (years and years and years) it will completely corrode (rust is corrosive) the knife to nothing. Think of an old POS car left to rot on someones property for example, the red (active, living) rust will have eaten away and put holes into the metal, eventually consuming it all. Another example would be medieval swords, if preserved well they can be cleaned, documented, displayed etc but most have vanished due to the weilder being killed and perishing into the earth, his sword along with him.

As far as I know the black (and rainbow, different materials have different effects on the steel, creating different colours) stuff is simply a patina. A little cover of *something, dont know exactly what* that has built up from chemical reactions of the steel coming into contact with any given material. Patina can rust, so can the steel. It is more rust resistant than carbon steels in my experience which is the reason some users like to force a patina as a protective layer over the steel. Rust can still grow on top of a patina which will then eat through it and the steel given enough time.

Both rust and patina can be removed via friction. A belt sander, some sandpaper and elbow greese or my favourite method, use. Splitting and chopping wood obviously provides a lot of friction where steel makes contact with the wood, removing both rust and patina given enough use.

Do some hard stabs into a stump of hard wood and that grey stuff will come off the tip of your knife pretty quickly. Unless it is decarb (again, need pics) then that is a different story...
 
XtianAus said:
Ahhh woops I mean how is D3V vs INFI not SR101.

And sick, thats great to hear. So the orange is all I need to look out for? The black patina just looks so bad, I assumed it wasnt good for the blade. I might force a patina over the unaffected parts.
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Yep, that's a better comparison for sure. Speaking strictly for corrosion resistance, those two are very similar IMO and in my experience. I don't worry too much about either one other than drying them down good if they're real wet and then a light oiling.

As far as my knowledge, patina is desirable on steels that will accept it, as a protection against corrosion going deeper. Bluing is a form of 'forced patina' and both bluing and patina are technically a stage of corrosion that slows down further corrosion. I'm speaking from how I believe I understand the process here, so take that for what it's worth. Someone that better understands something like the gun bluing process could probably explain this much better than I can.

I know that you really dislike discoloration, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. That's why I follow along when you're looking for a good stainless.....you're better at sniffing them out than I am :) :thumbsup:


ExtraBaconPlease said:
Both rust and patina can be removed via friction.
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Exactly right, I agree with Luke here. Also, I've found that if I abrasively remove the patina then I have lost steel and the patina is going to form again with use anyway. If I just oil and use then the patina continues to darken and I see very little red over time.

NMFSH/INFI

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CPK FK/D3V

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SYKCO 711/SR101 that has been cold-blued (middle knife in pic)

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I would say go for an f1, for cheaper grab a kansbal I like it much more than the garberg and honestly I dont like the Garberg much. The f1 is not as nice in hand for carving than the kansbal but sheath is better. Tops has some nice 154cm blades also
 
Hey thanks Dave and Luke! I will have to beat up the RMD some more to get that grey area out. Work has been flatout recently so no time to go all out on the rmd, nor time for photos! But glad to know the red is all i need to look out for :)
But I will get some photos up soon try clarify if it is just patina showing on mine.
Thanks for your input and advice guys, a knifenoobie needs friends like you haha :D

Btw the blueing looks awesome on the 711!
Almost looks like busse's moss coating
 
XtianAus said:
Hey thanks Dave and Luke! I will have to beat up the RMD some more to get that grey area out. Work has been flatout recently so no time to go all out on the rmd, nor time for photos! But glad to know the red is all i need to look out for :)
But I will get some photos up soon try clarify if it is just patina showing on mine.
Thanks for your input and advice guys, a knifenoobie needs friends like you haha :D

Btw the blueing looks awesome on the 711!
Almost looks like busse's moss coating
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Anytime brother, take it easy! :thumbsup:
 
Another vote for a Bradford Guardian 4 in M390. Spring for the 3D handle. Go with the Saber grind for a little more strength. M390 is supposed to have very high edge retention and corrosion resistance and be pretty tough for Stainless.

I have no intention of beating on mine, but several you tube videos show people batoning without issue, so I feel like I could if I had to.

The Micarta 3D handles are super comfortable. Mine came truely razor sharp.
 
I've been very impressed with Condor knives stainless machete. Cold Steel's SRK in AUS 8 has proven to be very tough too.

I think when the lower carbide stainless steels like 440a, 440b, Sandvick steels, and 420hc are heat treated for toughness, they are tougher than most would need. Quality control is important. I've seen 1055 and 5160 snap because of poor quality control. There are many makers here that will do a great job for you and won't break the bank. Don't forget to post pictures when the fun starts.
 
Thanks. Honestly for pure function and ease of use and for that matter price it's hard to beat these 3 to cover all the bases. Very low maintanence but perform awesome. Highly reccomend them.
 
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