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Do we have a Knife expert? New knives an fimiliar with grades of steel

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  • Stanley13

    I'm From AL and I Love to Shoot Shit
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    Looking to buy my sons a forever knife soon. They will be stuck with it forever hopefully (no pun intended). Fixed blade that will be a jack of all trades that the tip can with stand being thrown. Hunting, fishing, skinning, survival, throwing ect
     

    madeSICC88

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    https://www.bushkillblades.com, he is a member of another forum I read a lot and he makes some amazing stuff. His books are always pretty full but he could help you for sure. I would send him a email about what your looking for.
    Also I met this guy at a art festival last summer. He had some amazing g work as well there but I don't remember if he had any outdoor knives.
    ff711ef69eb77af3b0811c5597e9df5c.jpg


    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
     

    fl57caveman

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    D2 tool steel, rugged, tough, holds an edge well

    unless you want to go all the way, with Damascus....512layers
     

    Little Jack

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    I'm not a big knife guy but there's lots of interesting stuff out there.

    M390
    CPM in various flavors
    D2
    etc
    etc

    Lots of recomendations on which is the "best" but will usually depend on the use, size/shape of the blade. I've seen a lot of recommendations on the CPM-3 for toughness on larger(4"+) blades.

    I've got a brand new Zero Tolerance 0180 in the for sale section. I was looking for more of an EDC and it's bigger than I wanted to carry around. https://zt.kaiusaltd.com/knives/knife/zt0180
     

    fl57caveman

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    cant beat a randall made blade...

    there are many lower cost blades out there, from lesser known names, that will suffice for a lifetime blade...


    I have seen blades from old files, excellent quality, low cost, but you have to treat the steel properly if you heat the blade.
     

    SAWMAN

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    I got a "ANIB" Randall that is for sale for . . . . . ? . . . . . oh never mind.
    Subtract the throwing part. For Gods sake,teach them to never,EVER,throw a blade. --- SAWMAN
    ADDED: Take a look at the Cold Steel website. Good selection of the better stuff.
     

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    Welldoya

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    If he's going to throw it, you don't want to buy him a "forever" knife. Buy him something cheap until he gets all that out of his system.
    Give him a good one on his 18th or 21st birthday after he's grown up a little.
    I personally like the vintage Pumas.
     

    Django

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    I have my Dads Ka-bar from when he was in the Korean War. Great knife.It will never be for sale and it will belong to my kids one day. Its more about the memories of heirlooms than anything else. I remember him having it strapped to his hip while we were deer hunting when I was a wee lad. Same goes for his Savage 110 left handed bolt action 30-06 and Hi-Standard .22. Long story but my point is you cant buy a forever anything i.m.o..sorry, I may have stayed from the intent of the o.p.

    My point is, the knife that you use is the one that will mean the most.
     
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    Jeb21

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    Tall order for one knife to do all of that. I agree that throwing a blade is very very hard on the blade. Don't recommend you do that with a forever knife. A knife with a 4-5 inch blade is probably the handiest length. I like 1095 or D2 steel. Randal knives are awesome. I also like TOPS knives and SOG knves Pay attention to the sheath. Too many quality blades come in crap sheaths that make carrying them a pain. You can buy a custom sheath or make one yourself but it is nice to fine a quality sheath with the knife in the first place. Good luck , please let us know what you wind up buying.
     

    Little Jack

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    Tall order for one knife to do all of that. I agree that throwing a blade is very very hard on the blade. Don't recommend you do that with a forever knife. A knife with a 4-5 inch blade is probably the handiest length. I like 1095 or D2 steel. Randal knives are awesome. I also like TOPS knives and SOG knves Pay attention to the sheath. Too many quality blades come in crap sheaths that make carrying them a pain. You can buy a custom sheath or make one yourself but it is nice to fine a quality sheath with the knife in the first place. Good luck , please let us know what you wind up buying.

    Second on the sheath.

    I've seen several nice knives ruined by a crap sheath. Jogan made me a custom kydex for a gerber de facto. HUGE difference.
     

    RidgeRunner

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    Made in USA .. Bark River "Gunny" or "Bravo 1 "I have had a few of Bark River knives and they impressed me the most of any knife under 200.00 even as much the Randal I owned, quality top notch and the sheaths are superb. Go on ebay and search for them , trust me you won't be disappointed. IMO a kydex sheath will scratch up a nice blade in short order if that is important to you.
     

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    wildrider666

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    Here are some links on Steel types, hardness, how well it holds a edge, how well it takes a edge, common applications and much more. There is no single best steel "Best". Its about compromises to meet your needs. A lot of people have favorites, some safe queens and others daily carry. Knives styles can be task driven just like firearm calibers, you can have too much or too little or a Jack of "most" trades. You want to know how to identify a great knife? Look for one that has been in service for a long time and more then half the blade has been sharpened away.

    https://www.crkt.com/steel-facts/ There is great info here but link was not working (CRKT Home page out also) it will be back.

    http://www.bladehq.com/cat--Steel-Types--332
     

    SAWMAN

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    You should take this blade into consideration Stan.
    Had it for awhile. Been exposed to quite a bit of salt air and water. Been sharpened using whatever was handy at the time. I sharpened the top couple inches of the blade for obvious (to me) reasons.
    Don't know if these are still made. --- SAWMAN
     

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