Latest Knife blanks....sharp!

[308boy]

Rust

A very good question which I will address.

Can I address the question in a more concise manner. Will the knife rust ? The answer is YES. 01 is a great steel for bushcrafting but not for stalking IMHO.

 

[Peter Eaton]

A very good question which I will address.

Can I address the question in a more concise manner. Will the knife rust ? The answer is YES. 01 is a great steel for bushcrafting but not for stalking IMHO.

A very good question which I will address. 01 carbon blades are an extremely tough blade which hold an edge well. It is true that 01 carbon steel, due to its make up, will indeed rust if neglected. As stalkers, we all will religiously wipe blood and water off our rifles as we all know it can lead to rusting of the barrel. Some people forget their hardworking knife and sling it into the bottom of their bag, to be washed at a later date. Personally, I feel this is a bad habit and if we were truthful, poor practice. All that needs to be done to prevent a 01 carbon blade from rusting is to rinse under the tap and dry. If the knife won't be used for a while, then a light coating of oil would be recommended.

It should be remembered that some of the finest blades are made from height carbon steel such as cut throat razors and even samurai swords which all must be treated with care. You will also see modern knives such as rays mears is also made from 01 carbon.

About the patina, the 01 carbon steel will,over time develop a natural patina though this in itself will not prevent rusting. There are other solutions such as making knives from stainless steel but the cheaper stainless steels tend to roll on the edge when in use.

I can purchase high grade stainless steel blanks but the cost is roughly double of 01 carbon

The answer to the question you asked is there and I guess I will have to bow to your superior wisdom regarding knife making, plus all the stalkers who choose to use 01 , Damascus , Opininel and the non stainless version of the classic Mora knife will to, for they are have a high Carbon content and rust also.Like I said, a bad worker blames his tools for none of the knives mentioned will ever rust on their own. As regards to bushcrafting, I know alot of bushcrafters who use 01 and boy do those guys abuse their knives and parangs ect. they never have problems with rust and I seem to recall Ray Mears using his 01 knife to gralloch and cut up deer during his series....oh and hes a stalker too.

ATB
Pete

 

[308boy]

01 steel

You seem a verbose chap when I did state this was my opinion. Please put your dummy back in. I have made a few knifes in my time and while I am obviously not "in your league" I would state that 01 tool steel as I will call it , is a good cheap easy to forge and grind steel, but not a patch on stainless for use in the field. My opinion. If we agree to differ then so be it. I just dont want stalkers buying a shiny polished knife only to find that if they do not oil it and look after it they will have a rusty lump.

this one is 01 tool steel, the blank was off the BB site.

View attachment 12648

 

[MONGOOSE]

A very good question which I will address.

Can I address the question in a more concise manner. Will the knife rust ? The answer is YES. 01 is a great steel for bushcrafting but not for stalking IMHO.

I've been using o1 steel knifes for years and never had a problem if you look after your tools they will look after you end of he has addressed the issue regarding rusting and told everyone how to look after a 01 knife so he is hardly misleading people is he

 

[Peter Eaton]

I've been using o1 steel knifes for years and never had a problem if you look after your tools they will look after you end of he has addressed the issue regarding rusting and told everyone how to look after a 01 knife so he is hardly misleading people is he

Thanks for that Mongoose and the only way 01 can rust is for it to be allowed to rust, ie if some one use the knife to gralloch a deer then leave blood and guts on it it will rust. I have to ask myself why someone would want to leave a knife or any piece of kit in such a state, its the same as when I go beach fishing I always clean mt reels of salt and sand and they are going strong 12 years on. My mate couldnt be bothered to do his one time and the reel siezed together. I would think there are a few stalkers on here who have ecthed there finger prints into their rifle barrels by failing to clean blood off, left mods on and had them rusted to their guns, all through neglet, I know as I made the same mistake with my mod. but was lucky and 'got away with it'

 

[MONGOOSE]

Thanks for that Mongoose and the only way 01 can rust is for it to be allowed to rust, ie if some one use the knife to gralloch a deer then leave blood and guts on it it will rust. I have to ask myself why someone would want to leave a knife or any piece of kit in such a state, its the same as when I go beach fishing I always clean mt reels of salt and sand and they are going strong 12 years on. My mate couldnt be bothered to do his one time and the reel siezed together. I would think there are a few stalkers on here who have ecthed there finger prints into their rifle barrels by failing to clean blood off, left mods on and had them rusted to their guns, all through neglet, I know as I made the same mistake with my mod. but was lucky and 'got away with it'

I think we have all been there buddy I've neglected no end of stuff and paid a high price for it but things have changed I now look after stuff so have no more problems

 

[Peter Eaton]

Ok , in the interest of science I did a wee test today. As we know 01 carbon steel will rust if negleted so I thought I would pop my Mora in a salt solution today,yes just a standard Mora, just about the most popular Knife in use in deer stalking. As you will see 1 hour in the salt solution has caused rust, an overnight soak would have gone much deeper...now look on the side of the blade....clearly visable in the steel CARBON STEEL...yes a high carbon steel as used in 01 tool steel. This is the same steel used in files, Stanley plane blades, wood chisels, scribes infact its on of the most popular steels for an edge due to its superb qualites. Looks like Mora know a good steel which is why millions are sold world wide to hunters and stalkers.

From the pictures here you will see that a Mora which has not been looked after, ie left after stalking will rust (blood would do a better job). The final picture is on of my first ever knife I made, seen lots of deer, bunnies and fox. It had also been used to skin / butcher deer and used in the kitchen. All it has had is a good wash under the tap then a wipe on the tea towel, note....not a spot of rust. Like I was taught in the military, look after your kit and it will look after you.

 

[6pointer]

You might find that mora knifes are cheap and cheerful.With regards leaving a knife i have done that on occasion and suffered. Sadly i never learn and still do it. But if i was to buy a custom knife i would want one fit for purpose. If you really want to test for rust Place in a bucket of starch wall paper paste for 2 hours that has always been the best test.

 

[woodfordfallow]

I stuff mine in the carcus of a deer and shrapen it when needed and see how it goes .I bought a mora knife two months ago and found them fantastick.
It held Its edge well .But i must admit i havent tried the wall paper test ,Well we all have to learn from the ex sperts.What is it two hours .
Knives are a funny old thing lots of people like to look at them . But what you need is a small knife that holds its edge.Stainless is not good for that
but dosen't go rusty, High carbon mild steel is best. But then listen to mr 6 he knows best.

 

[Peter Eaton]

I suppose we all get a bit 'anal' about knives, I know I do but it only because I make them. As 6 pointer said and as I said earlier there are tests to see how a knife performs such as the ones above, or as I have done before with a few knives such as shaving slivers off 6 inch nails then seeing if it will shave, brass rod testing to see if the edge will hold and destruction tests where the knife is placed in a vice and hit with a sledge hammer to see if it snaps or bends...bet not many manufactures would try that one . Those kind of test are the ones knife makers use to see if a knife is truly fit for purpose, I havent tried the starch test but will do, thought Im pretty sure the result would be rust on blades of high carbon, it a question of compromise....sharp and rust if you neglet or shiny and a blade edge that rolls or, if you want to spend the cash,,,a cracking sharp edge that doesnt rust easy..