caliscuba
Guest
Curious as to what your knife is made of. To be honest, the only real ones that I'm considering are Stainless Steel and Titanium, but I'm still interested to see what everybody uses.
Which type of metal?
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RichLockyer
Guest
There are several different types of stainless steel used in dive knives.
440 stainless itself comes in 440A, 440B and 440C grades. 440A and 440B are very corrosion resistant while 440C is less corrosion resistant but harder with higher strenght and wear resistance. Unfortunately, you often don't know what you have as the knife will often only have "440" on it.
Other grades of stainless steels are used in dive knives but it is inevitably a compromise bewteen corrosion resitance and the ability for the knife to hold an edge. 316 stainless offers exceptional corrosion resitance at one end of the spectrum while at the other end, 410 stainless will take and hold a sharper edge but is less corrosion resistant. 304 stainless is also very corrosion resitant and is a commonly encountered stainless as it is easy to draw and bend and does not require heat treatment making manufacturing an economical proposition. However these properties also mean it would not be my first choice for a dive knife.
440 stainless itself comes in 440A, 440B and 440C grades. 440A and 440B are very corrosion resistant while 440C is less corrosion resistant but harder with higher strenght and wear resistance. Unfortunately, you often don't know what you have as the knife will often only have "440" on it.
Other grades of stainless steels are used in dive knives but it is inevitably a compromise bewteen corrosion resitance and the ability for the knife to hold an edge. 316 stainless offers exceptional corrosion resitance at one end of the spectrum while at the other end, 410 stainless will take and hold a sharper edge but is less corrosion resistant. 304 stainless is also very corrosion resitant and is a commonly encountered stainless as it is easy to draw and bend and does not require heat treatment making manufacturing an economical proposition. However these properties also mean it would not be my first choice for a dive knife.
DennisS
Contributor
I used to make knives and I'd always have friends asking me to sharpen their knives. I've only done two titanium dive knives and both had the same problem. Once you reached a point where you had a nice thin edge it would "curl" over, running the stone on the other side would just curl the edge to the opposite side.
Stainless is a good all around choice and you don't have to pay the premium price for having an exotic metal.
Dennis
Stainless is a good all around choice and you don't have to pay the premium price for having an exotic metal.
Dennis
montereydivemas
Guest
i have large ss rambo and a blunt tip titanium
I have a stainless steel one and it get rusting quite easily, it takes servicing after every dive time to long last the knife. And I have two titan whch are quite free-of-care and I just rinse them each time after dive and they still look good.
Tropics Diver
Guest
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UK Remora. 316 SS. As DA Aquamaster says, 316 is good on corrosion resistance. It looks nice, even without any care or cleaning.
I have found that a folding knife is easier to restow after use, so now I carry the $10 stainless COMP knife. The titanium 3-1/2" one is $40. I don't know what type of stainless, but it doesn't rust at all so probably 316.
http://www.diversdirect.com/scripts...Item=22575&Template=9990000001000999&Group=75
Unknown stainless steel, and 316 SS would be good additions to the poll.
I have found that a folding knife is easier to restow after use, so now I carry the $10 stainless COMP knife. The titanium 3-1/2" one is $40. I don't know what type of stainless, but it doesn't rust at all so probably 316.
http://www.diversdirect.com/scripts...Item=22575&Template=9990000001000999&Group=75
Unknown stainless steel, and 316 SS would be good additions to the poll.
el-ninio
Contributor
very sweet, very sharp, and cost about 40$ in this part of the world. corrosion from sea water is not problem - I don't evern detach it from the BC ro rince it separetly. the probles is that it's very brittle and would break if used wrong or droped. I can handle a knife and I know I'm not likely to break mine, but it's clearly not the best chice for everyone.
tankajava
Guest
There is a new steel with a high N2 content called H1. The steel is claimed to be almost 100% corrosion resistant by a least one knife manufacturer (Benchmade) that offers a River/Recue version and a Dive/Rafting model 100SH2O for less than 100.00 USD. The BM100SH2O is 7.5" LOA with a bullnosed 3.25" blade and comes with a Kydex sheath.
Spyderco is preparing to introduce a folding model called the Salt which has a 3" blade and can be carried in a BC pocket, clipped to any starp or belt, or attached with a lannyard. Pricepoint should be well below 100 US as well.
Be care when you buy budget Ti knives. Many are Ti (TiN) coated and will rust when the underlying stainless is exposed. Also if the blade is really Ti the pins may not be and will require some maintenance to preclude corrosion. Commercially pure Ti has a low hardness number (RC25) and must be alloyed to gain the same characteristics of steel. Where Ti approaches or exceeds some properties found in steels, it sacrifices others. Ti can be brittle where hardness is improved to match or exceed that of steel. Sharpening Ti also poses its own unique problems as previously stated.
At any rate (and up to a point) I do not quibble over the price of my dive tools. I shop value but I also keep in mind that its my life and I have to decide how much that is worth.
tj
Spyderco is preparing to introduce a folding model called the Salt which has a 3" blade and can be carried in a BC pocket, clipped to any starp or belt, or attached with a lannyard. Pricepoint should be well below 100 US as well.
Be care when you buy budget Ti knives. Many are Ti (TiN) coated and will rust when the underlying stainless is exposed. Also if the blade is really Ti the pins may not be and will require some maintenance to preclude corrosion. Commercially pure Ti has a low hardness number (RC25) and must be alloyed to gain the same characteristics of steel. Where Ti approaches or exceeds some properties found in steels, it sacrifices others. Ti can be brittle where hardness is improved to match or exceed that of steel. Sharpening Ti also poses its own unique problems as previously stated.
At any rate (and up to a point) I do not quibble over the price of my dive tools. I shop value but I also keep in mind that its my life and I have to decide how much that is worth.
tj
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