Taking this Bark River set to hunting camp this weekend.  I roughed-up the canvas Micarta for a better grip.  A-2 steel.

Another gratuitous Knife photo This one is of an Interpur Swiss Army Knock-off from the 1960s.  Interpur is a Japanese cutlery company. They are better known for flatware (knives forks, and spoons for the dinner table), than folding knives.

Below are the before and after photos 

BEFORE (as they appeared on Ebay)

Believe it or not, these were "Glam Shots"   I was worried that the scales had been damaged by a caustic mineral but decided to put in a one dollar bid anyway to see if I could fix it. Upon arrival I found the blades were almost rusted shut in the joints.  

First things first.  An SOS pad to the red scales, hot water spray down, followed by a bath in WD-40 (it removes water from cracks and crevices) and then a good wipe down and a little knife Lansky honing oil on the joints.  Finally i straightened the bail (I didn't even know it was brass!)

AFTER:  (cleaned, oiled and prettified!)

not bad for a buck! I like the brass pins and bird's eye rivets!

Great clean up job Tobias.

Yes, I agree, great job on that Knife Tobias

Just back from hunting camp.

Ivars,

I don't know for sure whether a relatively high-dollar knife is "better" than a less expensive knife.  It seems likely that two knives of the same steel from two different, reputable manufacturers would perform the same, so the less expensive knife would be the one to buy.  Is 1095 carbon better from ESEE, Tops, or Ontario?  I don't know.

Mystique is perhaps a factor in buying knives.  Folks are searching for a knife or knife steel that can do everything, stay sharp, be easy to re-sharpen, and never rust.  I am one of the guys who likes to try different and sometimes "exotic" steels, and they are frequently more expensive than "standard" steels.  I am not in the woods every day so it will take some time for me to judge which is best - for me.

However, I just bought a Tops BOB knife for around $100. and it is "old" 1095 Carbon steel.  I don't know yet if it is worth the price. 

Randall Knives.  Are they worth the premium you pay - for Swedish Uddeholm FB-01 or 440B stainless?  They are hand made, so you pay more for that.

Another consideration is inflation.  I am an old guy so 1980 isn't all that long ago for me.  A dollar ($1.00) in 1980 would be worth $2.79 today.  So, if I bought a $50. knife in 1980, the same knife today SHOULD cost $139.50 - if I did the math correctly.  If you work it backwards, a $50. knife today would have cost about $17.90 in 1980. 

I guess the best thing to do is to read as many reviews as possible about the knife you want.  Of course, there is probably bias in every review you read, unless everybody loves whatever knife is being reviewed.  In the end, if possible, do your own testing on similar knives with different price tags.  Easier to do with Whittlers than fixed blades, though, but even Whittlers have a price range (about $10. for a Rough Rider, $70. for a Case Seahorse Whittler, or $80. for a Queen Whittler).

How do you all test and assess / judge your outdoor knives?

Price is a big factor for me as they are fairly high priced where I live and postage costs can be huge to ship them from over seas/

The problem we get here with a lot of the knives sold is that they are in a heat sealed semi-hard plastic package which makes it very hard to handle and judge the make, weight, style etc. Even harder if they are online / overseas.

So far the most expensive knife I have bought falls in around $45.00AUD and is a fairly good knife but nothing so far surpasses the Airman's (MK1) rescue knife that was given to me by my old man that permenantly stays on my webbing.

The average price paid for my fixed knives suitable as an outdoor knife has been around the $3.00AUD mark care of last minute bids on Ebay.

Ivars,

Just a little bit more about inflation.  What I was saying was that in, say 1980, a $50. fixed blade knife would have seemed outrageously priced.  Today, a $50. knife is at the low end of modern steel fixed blades.

You'll get no argument from me, Jason.  If a $45.AUD (about $40. U.S.) knife gets the job done for you, I think that is fantastic.  I am the sort who has to try whatever new steel is out there.  I am looking for a knife that will cut wire, and steak, dig dirt, baton through knotted oak, never gets dull and when it does, a couple swipes on a bench stone will bring it back to scary sharp.  I want to thrust it sideways into a tree, climb up on it and stand on it to get away from a mean ole badger.  Hahahaha.

Different makers will use different styles of heat treating so the same grade steel may act differently depending on the maker. also depending on how the heat treating is done, the cutting edge might be harder than the spine.   This is often a good thing, Because a harder steel can be more brittle and less tough.  You want a tougher spine.    So the short answer is 1095 or 440A or any steel  is going to be different from maker to maker.

That said, I seriously doubt it is going to be dramatically different among major brand names (Ontario/Esee/TOPS/ etc.) 

What is more, some times the steel used might be overkill or just wrong for the task at hand.  After years of fretting and trying to figure out what is good and what is bad and trying to make sense of it all, I've come to the conclusion that there is no one steel that is going to be the answer to your cutting needs.

That said, I'm pretty happy with 440A for pocket knives and smaller bladed fixed blades and 1095 for larger fixed blades.   But 1070 is a good steel to hack with (machetes).  Victorinox uses X50CrMO which is about the same as 440A ( a little less carbon and a little more Chromium but with additional Molydbeum).  I like it as well.

I find all of these to be good all around steels.  Are there better steels?  Absolutely?  Are there worse steels?  Again, absolutely.  but there is a reason why these steels seem to be industry standards as well as standard  used by militaries around the world and why it has been used for so long.  And it isn't just because it is cheap! 

Thats my take on steel.  I guess I'm not much of a snob when it comes to it. I know I'm not an expert.

Hahahaha.  Tobias, you must have figured out that the more one knows, the less certain one is.  There is heat-treat, cryogenic freezes, water quench, oil quench, and on and on.  And, it is sometimes difficult to know just what you are holding in your hand, other than it is a knife of some particular steel from a reliable company in which you put your trust that they know what they are doing when they heat-treat it or freeze it, and made it in the optimal thickness for your needs.

you got it, Howard.  It seems like everyone has some way to prepare steel.  when i strated looking at comparison charts I started realizing that a a lot of the different steels are pretty much the same with a different name.    For instance   KaBar's Cro-Van and Case's CV are essentially the same.  The Vanadium that they add make the steel keep a better edge that your standard 1095 but it also has drawbacks.

D2 is all the rage with several knife makers due to its semi-stainless nature.  It holds a better edge than 1095 but it is harder to sharpen.

1070 won't hold as fine an edge as 1095 but if you're hacking away at bushes all day, it going to be there for you and will be easier to sharpen up.  Plus it is less likely to break.

you'll want 5160 in some of your European Style swords.  However 6150 is used in some of the higher end combat/survival knives and is a fave among ESEE.

For the longest time ATS-34 was the new super steel but then came along VG-10 and 154CM.

And then end of the day, you can let your head swim or buy the knife you like and see if the steel lives up to your expectations.  I've done some pretty amazing cutting with the so-called junk steel 420J2.

Basically i used some junk knife for every crappy cutting job that came along for over two years before I realized I was being a steel snob and decided I had to re-eavaluate my assessment of the knife.   See the knife I and the review I was talking about at  http://www.amazon.com/review/R1DEHE7S688JDR/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UT...

I'm not much of a Trapper fan but it is an "outdoor knife"  My favorite of the Trappers is a non-traditional one.  I only have one of these so far but might pick up another.  It is a Schrade Old Timer Buzz-Saw Trapper. (has a metal pin and tweezers stored in the bone handles!)  The buzzsaw gets its name from a wood saw blade  in place of the spay blade.

I got this one as a birthday present.  Its a 100th anniversary BSA edition.  Schrade also make plain old timer version.

Not a bad knife but as this is a Taylor Brands Old Timer, it is made in China.  I'm guessing there are older USA made versions out there.

It compares nicely to the Current 111mm Trekker and/or the older 108mm GAK/Safari knife

Nice trapper, I hadn't seen one of these.

Nice Trapper, love the tiger styled scales

Now, that's a trapper I could like, Tobias!

Here is a nice Sheffield Camper on Ebay, Tobias I thought you might like this one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231119150582#ht_337wt_1292

Say Ricky, that is a nice looking knife.

Thanks for the Heads up, Ricky.  Looks nice, but a little too rich for my blood.

Yeah I was not familiar with the Sheffield camp knife, looked to be in good shape. I  still don't have a good grasp on some prices on knives yet.

A Japanese Hobo saving the day in the Land of Oz.  

If anyone has seen the movie Oz, the Great and Powerful, they already know, the Wizard saves Oz from the reign of the Witches, with his aid of his trusty Hobo pocket knife. While the movie is set in 1901, the knife is on of those Japanese made knives from the 1950s-60s.    Wizard refers to the knife as his "Lucky Thingamajig" as he gifts it to the Master Tinker.

Tobias, you have a great eye for detail. You are correct about the dates. I wish they would have contacted me before filming, I might have a Hobo closer to the correct date. I love my vintage Hobo's.

Chances are they are tightening a cross head or Phillips screw as the Phillips Screwdriver is the one mounted in the spine and not at the end of the knife.  This type of screw was  not used until 1934 and was not widely adopted until GM started using them in their production of automobiles.  (Which is interesting when you consider the Chevy "Stove Bolt" engines.  Of course the Phillips screws were used on Cadillacs.  The flat heads went into Chevys.

Has anyone been glad they lost a bid on Ebay? Well, I just did. I bid on a vintage Barlow, that I thought I wanted but later saw another knife up for auction that I wanted more. I was able to take the money I had bid on the first knife and add it to my bid on the other. The bidding is not over yet, so I won't mention the knife in question yet. Tell us if this has happen to you. 

I'm giving the short answer right now, Robert.  Not quite as many times as I've regretted winning but yes I've been glad to lose on more than one occasion!

Well, I lost on all bids. I am glad I did, not because I didn't want to win but because the price was more than I could afford.  

Robert,

I usually just put a price in my head and I wont let the fever of the moment get me to bid more  Not that I have never done it but if you can not get into the knife at the price that is right for you, let it go.

Jan, that us the way I usually do it too.  I decide how much I am willing to pay for a knife, then factoring in the shipping as part of that price, I put in my bid.

The thing with eBay is you monitor enough you realize very few things on it are truly unique or rare and if you're patient the knife you want will show up the price you're willing to pay.  It also helps to understand that end of the day  you really can live without it and something prettier and shinier is often just around the corner that will make you forget the bid you lost.

The group has been pretty quiet lately.  I think it might be because most of us have posted the cream of our crop.  I think we need more members!

Let's see how many people are here and how many more people can be enticed to join! We're at 90 members now but only 20 of us has "liked" the group.  I'm looking to get at least  140 members and 100 likes to the group.  Once this happens I'm going to run a very easy contest and a winner of that contest will be drawn at random!  The winner is going to win the knife below and probably a couple other knives from my collection.

This knife is an Imperial Diamond Edge  DE555 that was made in Ireland probably in the 1980s-1990s.  It is new old stock, never used and never carried.  This is actually the second time the knife has been taken out of the box.

So spread the word, and lets get another 50 people the list and if you haven't clicked like, then click it.   Remember we need 140 members and 100 likes!  The contest will be open to all members of the Knives of the Great Outdoors Group (current and future!)  But the contest won't begin until those two magic numbers are reached!

You are right Tobias. This is a great group. Hope we get some new members.

I have plenty more knives to post, although new members are always nice. I think my Blog on Show off everyone's collections has taken away from the groups. Sorry, but we sure did see some knives for a while.

Keep posting Robert, you have some great knives. We all love pics.

Here is a sort-of clone of the Puma White Hunter.  This one is a Puma Rüdemann.  It was made in Germany in January 1977 (ser.# 29771), where I bought it.  It is a user, but I haven't used it much.

That's a beauty, Howard.  I love that blade profile.

Awesome looking Puma Howard

Now that is a great looking knife.  Love the blade shape.

Thanks, guys.  It is a heavy knife, and with the blade shape you can hack with it pretty well.

Looks great Howard. I've seen them a lot on line but I have never held one in my hand. Looks great, I love the design. I wonder which Knife company came up with that design?

This is the only fixed blade that I haven't used.  (19 Case XX 90) Case Camp Knife, stag handles.  I didn't then, nor do I now, see them very often so I thought I would just keep it in the display case.

Howard, a very unique looking fixed blade

Ken,

Sorry for the pic.  Not really a dagger, but kinda looks that way because the sharp edge is on the top.  Had to prop up the blade edge to get rid of the glare from the blade.  The spine is just short of 1/4" thick.

This might be a better pic. of it:

That does change the looks some, but still a very long blade. How long is it?? Do you have a sheath for it?

WOW!  That's one long blade.  Maybe Case made it for people who like to "rassle bears!"  Excellent knife, Howard!

Blade is 10" from tip to guard.  Here is the sheath:

Pretty neat, like I say, a unique looking knife.

Tobias,

Hahahahaha.  Maybe, but with no lanyard hole to keep the knife nice and tight on the wrist, you might have trouble a bear.  Still, it would do "camp" stuff pretty well.

Great looking knife there, Howard.

It is still slow going.   Looking for 32 more members and more likes to the page so I give  away stuff.