Two Cheezeburgerz and a large SNARK

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Great thread there Todd, i read it quite a while back and it does indeed have some great info.

Im no steel genius, but i have been using 52100 HARD for well over a year now and love the stuff. For the price of the stuff its really hard to beat. Is it really the absolute BEST? Well thats subjective and in my opinion its NOT the best, but it is best for the price. It still needs to be taken care of and will rust if not cared for properly. But no more so than the other 2 in my experience.

HT has a lot to do with it, but when done right the stuff hold an amazing edge for a LONG time. I used my choppy for about 6-7 months before getting edge work done on it and even before i sent it to get the edge work done it was still performing like a champ.. Would it still shave hair? No, but it WOULD still slice through cardboard all day cleanly.

My comp cutter is also 52100 and has a very thin edge for a chopper. Used it at the competition and it hasnt been touched up since... Right now it will still take all the hair off my arm with no issues. I have used that thing processing hardwood without a single issue, and it still sliced paper, shaved hair, and told funny fat momma jokes. Just hard to beat for the price.

I never like comparing my 52100 knives to my Beckers. Simply because i dont want anyone thinking im saying anything negative about my Beckers. I never would. For the price, even over their price range, Beckers are some excellent blades. But if were talking edge retention... Its no contest IMO.

I ran several test many months ago. They are not scientific test because it would take 2 identical knives with the same geometry and perfected HT on both to accurately compare them. But the 52100 blade made it through like 8 times the amount of cardboard before losing its hair shaving edge, and i lost count how much more wood i could process and still cleanly slice through cardboard. It just kept performing.

As far as O1 goes. I simply do not have anywhere near the experience with the steel as i do the other 2. SO i cant really make an honest comparison.

I dont knock 1095 or O1. In fact the first few blades ill be trying to make will be done in O1. But i will be changing to 52100 once i get some practice in.

There are so many great articles and threads on the subject. And i have googled steels till i was blue in the face and still keep going back to 52100. I always say i like great knives in great steels no matter the name on them or where they are made.

Now if all steels were the same price and as easily obtainable id be doing more with 3V, Vanadis 4 Extra, and PD1. But thats a different topic entirely.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Its not often i know enough on a subject to sound like i know what im talking about, and you can take everything i have said with a grain of salt but i have put 52100 to the test and its getting straight A's as far as im concerned.
 
worldwood said:
Great thread there Todd, i read it quite a while back and it does indeed have some great info.

Im no steel genius, but i have been using 52100 HARD for well over a year now and love the stuff. For the price of the stuff its really hard to beat. Is it really the absolute BEST? Well thats subjective and in my opinion its NOT the best, but it is best for the price. It still needs to be taken care of and will rust if not cared for properly. But no more so than the other 2 in my experience.

HT has a lot to do with it, but when done right the stuff hold an amazing edge for a LONG time. I used my choppy for about 6-7 months before getting edge work done on it and even before i sent it to get the edge work done it was still performing like a champ.. Would it still shave hair? No, but it WOULD still slice through cardboard all day cleanly.

My comp cutter is also 52100 and has a very thin edge for a chopper. Used it at the competition and it hasnt been touched up since... Right now it will still take all the hair off my arm with no issues. I have used that thing processing hardwood without a single issue, and it still sliced paper, shaved hair, and told funny fat momma jokes. Just hard to beat for the price.

I never like comparing my 52100 knives to my Beckers. Simply because i dont want anyone thinking im saying anything negative about my Beckers. I never would. For the price, even over their price range, Beckers are some excellent blades. But if were talking edge retention... Its no contest IMO.

I ran several test many months ago. They are not scientific test because it would take 2 identical knives with the same geometry and perfected HT on both to accurately compare them. But the 52100 blade made it through like 8 times the amount of cardboard before losing its hair shaving edge, and i lost count how much more wood i could process and still cleanly slice through cardboard. It just kept performing.

As far as O1 goes. I simply do not have anywhere near the experience with the steel as i do the other 2. SO i cant really make an honest comparison.

I dont knock 1095 or O1. In fact the first few blades ill be trying to make will be done in O1. But i will be changing to 52100 once i get some practice in.

There are so many great articles and threads on the subject. And i have googled steels till i was blue in the face and still keep going back to 52100. I always say i like great knives in great steels no matter the name on them or where they are made.

Now if all steels were the same price and as easily obtainable id be doing more with 3V, Vanadis 4 Extra, and PD1. But thats a different topic entirely.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Its not often i know enough on a subject to sound like i know what im talking about, and you can take everything i have said with a grain of salt but i have put 52100 to the test and its getting straight A's as far as im concerned.
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Isnt Infini pretty much 52100 with a little tweak ?
 
Yeah we are going the summer of 2015, we usually have a group go every year, but this is the first time I've been able to go. If you get a chance definitely try and go to sea base, we went to the Bahama one this past summer and it was one of the best experiences of my life
 
Silverthorn said:
Isnt Infini pretty much 52100 with a little tweak ?
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No... But Sr101 is 52100 with a "supposedly" little tweak. I think they just change the name and use their HT protocol though.

I wish i had an infi blade when i was at Peters Heat treat so we could of ran some test on it and determined what steel its closest to. But then id probably be sued or something LMAO
 
Aikiguy said:
So I woke up to this, this morning:



Reeeally trying to remember why I live in alberta at the moment...
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I'm struggling to wrap my mind around snow in September.

I'm not so much ready for winter as I am ready for summer to be over.

That much snow shuts the world down around here - regardless of when it happens.
 
Thank you very much for your input Worldwood, extremely helpful! :thumbup: Made my choice even harder. :p:D I'm trying to decide firmly between 3V and 52100, I was trying to get an idea about how 52100 would compare to the knives I have most experience with as far as edge retention goes.

Thanks again, Worldwood! That was the most helpful piece of information I've read on the topic thus far. :thumbup:
 
DunkEm said:
I'm struggling to wrap my mind around snow in September.
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Yeah you and me both. Sad part is it was 27C (80F) on Saturday. Most of its melted away now, but I have a bad feeling this is a sign of things to come...looks like I'll be dusting off my ice fishing gear early this year.
 
Aikiguy said:
Yeah you and me both. Sad part is it was 27C (80F) on Saturday. Most of its melted away now, but I have a bad feeling this is a sign of things to come...looks like I'll be dusting off my ice fishing gear early this year.
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Probably a good plan.

Weather man is talking about a cold-front making it our way this weekend. I'm betting you just found the leading edge of it.
 
remember, you have to compare the steels at relatively similar hardness, appropriate for the steel, if you want to compare steel-to-steel rather than knife-to-knife.

Beckers, and other mass-manufactured blades tend to be heat-treated a bit tougher (and therefore softer) to take the kind of abuse that their customer base will dish out and still be easy to sharpen. Small makers are more likely to aim their blades at the Rc59-61 range rather than ~57 or so, and that can make a big difference in edge retention in similar steels like 1095CV and O1.

So WW is right, it's hard to compare a factory Becker with a custom 52100 blade. I'd expect the custom blade to dominate in every category. And even if you could get a factory Becker in 52100, the custom will likely still out-perform it if heat-treated to perfection at a slightly higher hardness - and it will cost 3 times as much.
 
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daizee said:
remember, you have to compare the steels at relatively similar hardness, appropriate for the steel, if you want to compare steel-to-steel rather than knife-to-knife.

Beckers, and other mass-manufactured blades tend to be heat-treated a bit tougher (and therefore softer) to take the kind of abuse that their customer base will dish out and still be easy to sharpen. Small makers are more likely to aim their blades at the Rc59-61 range rather than ~57 or so, and that can make a big difference in edge retention.
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:thumbup: this is what im saying here pretty much

"They are not scientific test because it would take 2 identical knives with the same geometry and perfected HT on both to accurately compare them"
 
mountainmist said:
Thank you very much for your input Worldwood, extremely helpful! :thumbup: Made my choice even harder. :p:D I'm trying to decide firmly between 3V and 52100, I was trying to get an idea about how 52100 would compare to the knives I have most experience with as far as edge retention goes.

Thanks again, Worldwood! That was the most helpful piece of information I've read on the topic thus far. :thumbup:
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You are more than welcome bud, and im glad i could post something that helped LOL :D
 
worldwood said:
:thumbup: this is what im saying here pretty much

"They are not scientific test because it would take 2 identical knives with the same geometry and perfected HT on both to accurately compare them"
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and furthermore, some steels require different geometries to perform at their best, due to grain and carbide size, among other things...
 
The Warrior said:
Man, I thought my backpack would be an easy sell, for what I'm asking for it. Guess I was wrong. Not even a nibble. I guess most peeps do over nighters, or perhaps a few nights, where this pack was meant for longer trips. Hell, I may keep it. I'm trying to fund a wood stove for the cabin.
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Gear doesn't seem to sell nearly as fast as knives on the exchange. It may take a few weeks, but good stuff like your pack always seems to move eventually if you have it priced right and right now, that seems like a great deal. I'd leave it as is through the weekend if you can when more people are browsing the sales.
 
Very good point, daizee! I never really thought about it that way.... I didn't really think that there was that much difference between 57 RC and 61 RC, but I'm still a wee lad with lots to learn. Kinda like someone asking if there was really that much difference between 5/32 and 3/16...:D
 
KP said:
Gear doesn't seem to sell nearly as fast as knives on the exchange. It may take a few weeks, but good stuff like your pack always seems to move eventually if you have it priced right and right now, that seems like a great deal. I'd leave it as is through the weekend if you can when more people are browsing the sales.
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I hear ya. I have a few knives I'm gonna put up as well. I'm not one of those people that lists everything at once, haha.
 
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