Knife Blade...what steel?

[GotUCovered]

Hey guys I need a knife with an unusually hard blade.  I strip out a fair amount of wire and the copper and aluminum tends to really mess a knife's edge up in a hurry.  It's impractical to sharpen a knife every night to keep a good edge.  What do you guys recommend?

Are there any folders out there you all would suggest, in the 3"-3.5" size, moderately priced?

[cgk]

Welcome.  I know little about steel, you will hear from those that do shortly.  What about using a razor blade knife, just switch out the blade when needed.

[David Bowen]

Well if your using a knife with any kind of super steel I would stay away from the copper and aluminum. Your only making a bad situation worse, yes the newer steels are indeed harder and hold an edge longer but it can come at a price. As they gets harder they get more brittle (more prone to chipping) and they are more labor intensive to sharpen out the dings that were put there by cutting something like copper wire. I would suggest you go to the lower end of the spectrum and get something in AUS8 or Even 440A/440C, these are much softer and will be easier to sharpen in the even of a problem. My dad has a Case knife I bought him for his birthday last year and he came to me to sharpen it because he was repairing a electrical wire and was wrapping tape around the cord. He went to cut the tape and the knife was so sharp it cut the tap and then right into the cord casing sparks and welding copper to the blade and making a nice round nick in the blade. Six months later I still don't have it all out and Case uses a pretty soft steel in their pocket knives.

Hope that helps, otherwise I recommend getting some dedicated wire cutters or a multitool....anything but using a knife.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

VG10 is a very good 'real world steel' and crops up on a lot of reasonable priced Spyderco's in the dimentions you wanted

[Grant Lamontagne]

If you strip that much wire, wouldn't a dedicated set of wire strippers be a better plan?

Def

[Benner]

VG10 is a very good 'real world steel' and crops up on a lot of reasonable priced Spyderco's in the dimentions you wanted

+1 to that.  Best steel I have and have used. 

But like the guys said, why a knife

[GotUCovered]

I've used a utility knife for years and it works good, you can just swap in a new razor when the old ones gets boogered up.....but I like the feel of a knife in my hand.  It's personal preference if nothing else. 

I use wire strippers for smaller wire but for the size wire I'm stripping the ends off of a pair of wire strippers isn't exactly practical, it's big stuff, about the size of the end of a C battery MagLite.

[jzmtl]

Try ZDP189, HRC of 65 or so, but it's pretty expensive.

Alternatively try Boker's ceratitan, which is ceramic particles suspended in titanium matrix, don't have personal experience with it however.

[Anthony]

Isn't damascus really hard? 

[NeitherExtreme]

I used to do electrical work, and I'm pretty sure I know the kinds of wire you're talking about. I always used a utility knife... I personally would try sticking the wharncliffe-type tip, since it's easy to dig into the insulation. As far as what steel... what about Spydero's H1? I haven't used it, but I've only heard good things. I don't think it's supposed to be difficult to sharpen, and shouldn't chip. Apparently it also work-hardens, so the more often you sharpen it, the hard the edge gets. It also can not rust. This Salt knife might have a good blade shape, it's got belly like a normal blade, but has a nice tip for digging in. Of course if you really want to rip that insulation up, maybe you could try this one. (They come in black too.) I'm not sure what your price range is though, and these might be a bit rich to experiment with.

[jzmtl]

Isn't damascus really hard? 

The so called damascus today is just many layers of two different metals, so how hard depends on what's used to make it. The real one no one knows, but apparently has a lot of carbide in suspension, never saw anything like that in an actual knife.

[WhichDawg]

wow you answered that good! thick stuff. utility blades generally are a softer material (as you've seen) and get dull quick used on hard surfaces. like stated too hard a blade and you may get chipping, even worst!

you need a compromise and a blade that is "heat treated" good, that's the key to a great blade, not just the steel. Your thinking folder and that must be a common blade to use in your field (I'm guessing) but don't put off a fixed blade. in a good sheath (leather) you can effectively use it good and fast (faster than a folder) and have it on your side always while working.

but if your really want a folder, I'd suggest Benchmades or Spyderco's, they are made really good, lifetime warranty (that they honor good) and many models to choose from.

also consider stropping your blades. with leather or a rod. that is way faster and easier because what's happening is on a molecular level is the "teeth" (if you looked through a microscope) are being bent both ways and you don't need to fully sharpen or reprofile every time, just bend the molecular teeth back straight (like a barber does) and your good to go.

Good Luck and let us know what you get

[kwakster]

Have you ever considered a latest generation Superknife with Lenox Gold blades ?
Think cheap but dependable folding knife with linerlock plus thin edges covered in extremely hard Titanium Nitride.
These edges last about 5 times longer than standard contractor grade blades.
No sharpening required, just replace blade when blunt.

A friend of mine does more or less the same work you do and i advised him this combination.
He doesn't use anything else nowadays,