camp knife--carbon vs stainless

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bill_G

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Jun 7, 2004
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from having read many posts here about camping/hiking and knives -- it seems to me that the consensus is that stainless steel is not as strong as carbon steel and therefore, stainless should be avoided in fixed blades used for camping and or survival.

does this square with reality???
 
Reality, I think, is a bit more complicated—assuming good heat treat and design.

I'd carry a cheap carbon blade (like a Ka-Bar in 1095) because it is tough and will hold an edge.

I wont carry a knife made out of average stainless, because they are generally weak and wont hold an edge.

I will happily carry any knife made out of a good stainless (154CM, VG10, S30V), because it will be tough and will hold a good edge.

It is personal preference that makes me choose carbon steel almost all the time for fixed blades.

David
 
and what you'll be doing with the knife. If you bring a hatchet or a saw and use the knife for CUTTING, stainless shouldn't be a problem. If you skip the saw and/or hatchet and use the knife for wood gathering I'd go with a good carbon steel. Unless you're doing a lot of camping in the Pacific Northwest or the jungle in which case stainless might be nice. If you'll be camping with your truck close by you can bring a few, one thin blade for food prep, one heavier one for woodcraft, a folder for detail work. If it's just you and a backpack a Becker or Swamp Rat might be the order of the day. Hope that helps.

Frank

P.S. My camping spot is out in the Anza-Borrego Desert. I got by just fine with a TOPS Prairie Fox and a Boker stockman.
 
If you're talking about a small-to-medium knife, not a small machete or large bowie, I think you're best served with a "stainless-steel" (actually stain resistant) blade.

But it needs to be a good stain-resistant steel like VG-10, ATS-34, ATS-55, 154CM, 440C, or AUS-8 (to name a few).

The modern high quality stain-resistant steels will perform just as well as carbon-steels IMHO.

And you will not have to worry so much about rust, or oil and iron affecting the taste of your food.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
bill_G said:
from having read many posts here about camping/hiking and knives -- it seems to me that the consensus is that stainless steel is not as strong as carbon steel and therefore, stainless should be avoided in fixed blades used for camping and or survival.

does this square with reality???
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I might lean away from stainless for a big chopper. But, since (for me, at least), the vast majority of my camping cutting is for things like food prep, whittling, etc., my most-often-used knife is a small high-performance cutter. I have no problem picking a stainless steel for that knife. In fact, I've noticed that when I go camping in a group, all the goobers who bring big military knives or crappy kitchen knives come to borrow my knife. The condition I've found my knife in afterwards -- left out to dry with lemon juice on the blade, for example -- strongly indicates stainless for this.

Joe
 
Joe Talmadge said:
The condition I've found my knife in afterwards -- left out to dry with lemon juice on the blade, for example -- strongly indicates stainless for this.
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No, you need a dull knife that you use strictly to lend out. Pretend it's all you have :D

I don't have to go camping for this...in my house, when my kids (or sometimes my wife) use one of my chef's knives they often do not wipe it and it drives me crazy.
 
cognitivefun said:
No, you need a dull knife that you use strictly to lend out. Pretend it's all you have :D
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I would do this but, if you'll keep this strictly between you and I ... I kinda get a <censored> when someone picks up one of my knives, cuts something with it, and goes "Holy $@#!". Oh man, did I say that out loud?

I don't have to go camping for this...in my house, when my kids (or sometimes my wife) use one of my chef's knives they often do not wipe it and it drives me crazy.
Click to expand...

I keep catching my wife and my mother-in-law cutting things on a plate. Grrrr!
 
It depends. For myself, I used to prefer high carbon steels like 5160, 1095 or A2, but my knives are always the sharpest in the group, and so get used by everyone else if I leave them lying around the campsite. This has pushed me in the stainless direction. I now prefer S30V for most of my camp knives when I am camping with more than a few folks. When alone, I carry CPM3V or INFI exclusively. BTW these latter two steels are kind of semi-stainless, and won't rust if you just keep them wiped clean. D2 is also good in this regard.

When fishing (wading or boating) I carry either VG10 or S30V blades because the knives are constantly wet. They then end up being the camp knife too, so it all works out.
 
I would not think so. You have to consider the given taks of the knife, whether its for chopping, skinning, clearing a camp site, etc.

Without getting into too much, me personally I prefer 440c for a camp balde, but that's just me.

However I have an old western bowie in 420, my old F/U in 1095, a kabar next generation in D2, a knifeware Kampr in aus-8, a benchmade fixed blade in 440c and they all work just fine.

I was active duty AF for 8 yrs (88-96) in survival equipment and any knife that works well is a tool for the outdoors (Its not as much the tool, as the person who knows what to do with it).
 
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