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Comment by Jan Carter on June 6, 2011 at 20:53

You do gotta love IKC.  It is the true meaning of community

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on June 6, 2011 at 20:40

@ Stephen .. listen to Jan .. & listen to your heart.

 

Make what YOU like because you’ve got to like it first before you’ll ever sell it. It needs to be a passion for you for it to be successful .. you’ve gotta love it first. And like Jan said, you’ve been around knives enough to know what you like. You follow your heart and you’ll be fine.

 

And like Robert said .. if you can get some decent 440C in the hands of Joe Public .. you’ll be providing many with better steel than they’ve had before.

 

… and you certainly cannot go wrong with 1095 either.

 

And look at the pool of help you’ve got behind you .. James is even offering some nice steel for you to play with .. gotta love iKC !!!!

 

& James .. Thanks !!!

 

Comment by Jan Carter on June 6, 2011 at 19:19

Stephen,

In my humble opinion, if what your looking to do is build some to sell online.  Start with what YOU like.  You have been a user and collector long enough to know what looks and feels good to you and that same type of person is who you will be trying to reach.   Let us know if there is anything we can do to help as you embark on this advanture and be sure to have fun while doing it!

In Memoriam Comment by Robert Burris on June 6, 2011 at 17:54

Stephen, 440c is a great all around stainless steel that the average Joe would do himself good by getting a knife made with it. Probably alot better than what he's using now. In my activities the 440c works just fine most of the time. I think James has got you started with a good basic stainless steel.

Comment by stephen tungate on June 6, 2011 at 16:18

thanks for you alls comments i do have some big knives with 1095 damascus blades for heavy duty work and it has worked well i have just started making knives i have been working with 440c for my knives.do you all think that is the good all around steel to make knives to sell on the internet.i don't have a lot of funds to work with.james ivy has helped me alot with some stuff and i can't tell you how much that means to someone just starting out..

In Memoriam Comment by Robert Burris on June 6, 2011 at 14:13

Stephen, I agree with James, It all depends on what task you are doing. I carry fixed blades that are carbon steel and damascus for hunting. My folders for EDC are wide ranging from stainless, carbon and damascus. The carbon steel knives I carry are 1095, 5160 and O1. The stainless steel knives I carry are ATS34, 440c and 420HC. So you see I can't answer with just one steel but if I had to choose just one it would be 1095 carbon steel.

Comment by Billy Oneale on June 6, 2011 at 11:44

I really have only been  involved this seriously in knives for the last 3 or 4 years. I really do not know that much about the different steels.  I do, however have an inexpensive Benchmade Pika II with a combo 440C blade that I have tried to abuse. I have gotten this thing wet,cut small pieces of baling wire, used it for a prybar,screwdriver and I have cut tree limbs up to 1 1/4" thick with this knife. I just resharpen and keep using it. I do know from using that knife that 440C is a good blade steel.

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on June 6, 2011 at 8:40

@ stephen .. nice choice for EDC .. how do you like SOG's assist & locking system ???

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on June 5, 2011 at 22:05

I have an Opinel #8 that is wonderful for around the yard/garage schtuff .. the steel is high carbon &  easy to sharpen(i.e. it's relatively soft) .. pd about $8.oo for it .. I have more than 1 around the house/car/garage. etc & probably always will. Love those Opinels .. I loosely refer to them as a french sodbusters.

 

I've some real nice D2 sandwiched between honey amber stag bone & birdseye maple that were both < $50.oo delivered to my door .. it's not often you can find quality D2 for that price. That teardrop linerlock is sorta my "Sunday" edc .. I carry it every day but only use it when I need something really sharp & know I'm not going to abuse it.

 

Then I've the $8.oo steel warrior that I carry in my back pocket & abuse the sht out of .. I'll eventually break that one .. and buy another one to replace it !!! Note: Srost advertises his steel warrior line as "440 Stainless" and  a hardness of 57 Rc. I suspect the blade steel is 440B @ best .. and I drilled a hole in it for a thumbstud .. a 57 on the Rockwell C scale .. right. But .. I will buy another one.

 

440C is great schtuff .. in it's heyday it was "the steel" to beat .. it's still great schtuff !!!!

 

1095 is some downright amazing schtuff .. it is high carbon & will form a patina .. (it'll even rust if you let it) .. but what can be done to that schtuff by someone who truely knows how to temper steel .. is downright amazing !!!

 

Aus8A .. I'm not that fond of the older schtuff .. but I have come across some samples that have undergone cryo treatment in the tempering process & say I was impressed. It'll never be 440C .. but would certainly make a good EDC.

 

Stephen .. I think you need to look @ what you expect from your EDC & the environment you expect it to perform in. Do you need corrosion resistance? Will you be abusing the heck out of it ?? Will you ever be using it in front of .. one of us (want it to look good) ??? What might be great steel in one app wouldn't work so great in another.

 

Perhaps .. carry 2 .. one to abuse & one to look good .. it's what I do.