In a Survival Situation 440C Sandvick or D2 steel

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winchester73

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In a survival situation with a hunting knife and I don't mean using it as a hatchet, would you rather have a D2 steel, Sandvick or a 440C blade?
 
440 c cause it holds a good edge its easy to sharpen ( well for me). it is pretty rust resistant and most importantly i would be more willing to carry it due to most ( well good heat treated) 440c being cheaper than alot of other stainless out there. Aslo remember 440c use to be considered the super steel back in the day
 
In a true survival situation any decent knife will do fine in any of those steels. They are all good steels when properly heat treated. Longer term, the D2 may corrode more, but long term you would use it so much it wouldn't have much chance to rust, would it? Better to pick the geometry you need and trust modern metallurgy to do its job.

I would not want, for example, S90V long term because it would be too hard to resharpen on rocks.
 
My first Thought was D2 cause it will hold an edge longest... However having read some other opinions I will say 440C cause of corrosion resistance and good edge holding. It might not be too easy to keep your knife dry depending on where you will be surviving. In a dry climate I choose D2 all the way.
 
Rust resistance is overrated. The knives used to pioneer America were all carbon steel, even before Lewis & Clark. What they did is carry all they needed for a transcontinental expedition, and knew they were going to trade with the indigenous peoples, to boot.

A four inch clasp and 6" "butcher" were about it, thin stock because they will bend, not break. They last for decades, look at the ones still popping up in yard sales and flea markets. Carbon steel does ok - nobody gives them to Goodwill, the bins are full of cheap stainless, tho.

As said, the edge geometry and blade shape are each equally important. Then comes the handle, and also, what sheath. A knife mislaid or lost in transit is significant. Having a backup equally so - carry more than one so you will have one. The gun forums point this out repeatedly, two is one, one is none.

That means better to spend the money on two carbon steel knives, rather than twice as much for a stainless. There is also the performance per dollar factor - a knife twice as expensive will never be twice as sharp, and keeping it that way usually means it's twice the work. Carbon steel is relatively easy to touch up compared to exotic stainless, and D2 is notorious for not taking a great edge.

It's why the militaries of the world use carbon steel in their "survival" knives - the extra expense of stainless isn't justified. And in third world countries where knives are used in primitive conditions, carbon steel is the standard. Part of that is economics, part the ease of making one in carbon vs. the high tech, expensive, and difficult methods needed to work in stainless.

For field carry, avoid using any material that is porous or can soak up moisture and hold it against the blade. It's why a lot of old knife sheaths were wooden, or even metal. Leather is too easily cut thru and wraps too tightly against the blade. These days, kydex is the preferred material. Note that most cordura sheaths have a plastic liner - woven materials are simply less expensive, which is no recommendation in sheath materials. Even bayonets are issued with fiberglass sheaths - not leather or fabric. Been that way over 50 years.

If this all sounds like I'm pointing to the ESEE series of knives, that's a good example. Experienced field professionals living in primitive conditions and trying things out generally come to the same conclusions, because it works better. It's not about "combat," as much as simply resisting the environment and being compatible with humans under duress.
 
D2 all day.

When I first started I was terrified of non-stainless steels. I eventually realized that tool and carbon steels don't rust by looking at them the wrong way like some think.
 
NG VI said:
12c27?
Click to expand...
if that is what the OP suggests, then I would go with that. It is by far the toughest of the three choices and will sharpen the easiest, while still being stainless. If it were 19C27, I'd just about flip a coin.
 
Skills possessed and knife design and heat treat are FAR more important than the type of steel it is made of. There are no super knives that will do the work for you.
 
I think in a survival situation it will not matter, as long as you do not do something stupid...
 
As other folks have described, I doubt blade steel would really make as much of a difference as a variety of other factors would.

Of your list, I'd pick D2, but I like D2 a bunch. It may be hard to get it as sharp as some other steels, but it's IMO pretty easy to get a sharp enough working edge that holds up well. In a survival situation, having a sturdy, possibly even a bit toothy edge is probably more useful that having a razor edge that's tough to maintain anyway.
 
Modern day survival in a 1st world country usually entails a short-term power outage or car break-down, so I'd ditch the knife for a bottle opener, a cell phone, and a good pair of walking shoes. :thumbup:
 
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