Basic Knife Care, Part 2

So, here's part two of my extremely general and basic knife care posts.  Before going further, let me get this out of the way, just in case - please use care and caution when cleaning and sharpening knives and tools.  They are not toys and all safety precautions should be followed, such as never pointing or drawing the blade towards yourself (or others), wear protective gloves, and eye protection, and follow all instructions and precautions that come with knives, tools, and sharpeners.

Okay, so now on to the next topic - carbon and alloy steels.  As with my Part 1 on stainless steels, I am not going to get technical on steel composition or types.  Just as there are several different types of stainless steels, there are also several different types of carbon and alloy steels.  Each one has different properties and some may require more TLC than others, but I am going to keep it very, very genreal and basic.  I will probably do a follow up post in the near future with some links and suggested reading for anyone that wants to learn more about knife steels, shapes, point variations, edges and grinds.  All of those do matter when one is selecting and caring for a knife, but it is also beyond the scope of my intent with these posts.  These posts are more designed for the reader that may already have a knife or two, but not really know much about them.  We've all been there at one point in time...

So, carbon and alloy steels.  Without getting too technical, these steels require more maintenance and TLC than stainless steels, especially when it comes to corrosion prevention.  Most carbon and alloy steels lack the chromium content of stainless steels, making them more susceptible to corrosion, or staining.  Therefore, where having a light coat of oil was suggested for the stainless steel blades, it is mandatory for carbon and alloy steels (at least in my book).  Again, avoid WD-40, instead go with a good gun oil or mineral spirits.  Also, I use petroleum jelly on some of my carbon and alloy baldes, especially if I know they will be in a high salt environment or in storage for a long period.  It is a little messier, but I would rather have that than the alternative.

Many carbon and alloy steel blades will come with some kind of coating on blade for added corrosion resistance - all but the edge.  In this case, a coating of mineral spirits or oil is still required on the edge, otherwise the edge will stain.  If left for too long, the staining will dull the edge. Even with the protective coating, it is a good idea to keep the entire blade lightly coated with oil, just in case.

All the suggestions for folders found in Part 1 would hold for folders made from these types of steels.  Fortunately, unless your folder happens to be extremely old, or a very high productioln or custom folder, chances are any folder you have will have some kind of stainless steel.

So, you may be thinking to yourself, "if carbon and alloy steels require so much more attention and love, why bother, when there are great stainless blades out there."

The answer, in the most simplests of terms, is that a knife, just like any other tool, is better suited to some tasks than others.  All else being equal, and again, in the most general sense, carbon and alloy steels tend to be stronger and tougher than stainless steels.  They are also generally easier to work with and are easier to forge.  Stainless steels are okay in blades (generally) with lengths of about 4" or less.  Stainless steel blades, generally, that are longer than that tend to have a problem with lateral stress, and can break easier when experiencing those types of stresses.  Again, I am going to leave out all of the technical jargon, but this is due to the differences in heat treatments and hardness levels (Rockwell Hardness) present in carbon and alloy steels versus stainless steels.

So, given the above, I would much rather have a long fixed blade knife or sword made from carbon or alloy steel.  Sure we've all seen the pretty "440 Series" or "400 series" Stainless Steel swords and katanas.  They might even be very sharp (but usually not).  But in my opinion, they are only good for decoration, I would never trust my life to a long blade made from stainless steel.  There are of course some exceptions to this hard and fast rule, but they are few, and I can't think of any exceptions when it comes to swords.

A good rule of thumb (in my opinion) is that if the blade is going to be long (over 4" - 5") and it is going to see hard use (think machete), it should be made from carbon or alloy steel, and NOT stainless steel, no matter how pretty and decorative the shiny stainless steel makes it look.

Another nice thing about most carbon and alloy steels is that they can also be easier to sharpen and still hold a good edge.

In case anyone wanted an example - the USMC Ka-Bar, viewed by many, even after 60 years, as the penultimate fighting/survival/utility knife, is forged from 1095 Carbon steel.

As stated at the beginning, please use care and caution when cleaning and sharpening knives and tools.  They are not toys and all safety precautions should be followed, such as never pointing or drawing the blade towards yourself (or others), wear protective gloves, and eye protection, and follow all instructions and precautions that come with knives, tools, and sharpeners.
I hope this post was helpful.