Article by Christine Breen
Knives are great for collecting and every day use. There are so many brands and areas of manufacturing that how can you be sure you’re getting a good quality knife? You want to make sure that when you look to buy a knife online, you make sure you’re not getting a cheap Chinese manufactured knife.
If it’s listed on an auction site, or online store as a terrific knife with a great price, then watch out. You need to do a little bit more detective work to find out if you’re going to get screwed. Ask if the word China is on the knife anywhere. Knives made in China are cheap copies that don’t hold their own. I made the mistake once of purchasing what I thought was a great quality knife. The seller did not mention that the knife was made in China. It was horrible and broke the first time I used it. The reason these Chinese made knives are of such low quality, is that they produce the cheapest blades which are the lowest quality and weakest blades you will find anywhere. You need to stick with well known brands when buying a knife on the Internet. Brands like Randall Knives, SOG, Ek, etc.
There are two factors that determine the knife blade quality and those are the amount of carbon in the steel and the heat treatment. Hardly any knives retailing for less than 0 are heat treated today. Exceptions to this rule are knives by Bear & Son and certain United & Gerber knives designed by Fred Carter.
There is always a trade off between the ease of sharpening a knife and the knife’s ability to hold an edge. The more carbon a blade has, the harder the knife’s blade and the better it holds its edge. At 0.8%, 440 has been called “the industry Standard.” and “the ideal compromise” because it holds its edge reasonably well but can be sharpened with a simple whetstone. For 1% steels such as 440C, AUS-8, and ATS-34; a diamond sharpener is needed. D2, used in some Queen, Roberson, and Schatt & Morgan contains 1.66% carbon but may be too brittle for many people.
Unfortunately, most knives sold by Buck, Case, Gerber and others are made with the low to medium carbon steel 420HC. This is because 420HC costs less than the higher carbon steels. It’s one redeeming quality is that it is very easy to sharpen.
I hope this has helped give you a little info on quality of knife blades.
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