Most durable knife & sharpening

[Peterdc]

question background:
I will move back to Brazil and probably live there for the rest of my life. I live in nature there so bushcraft is a big part of my every day life. Quality knives in Brazil are very expensive!!! and in the region I lived, city life and comfort already snuck in to the small villages. So nobody really bothers about "bushcrafting"... I didn't even knew anyone who had a proper sharpened knife!

So I want to bring a knife with me which will last as long as possible (preferably forever as I won't be buying another quality knife over there) and a sharpening method which needs no renewing of equipment.

I actually want to bring 2 knives with me, to have 1 as backup when the other gets lost/stolen/broken...


So the Questions:

- will a convex blade last longer than a scandi grind? (or other grinds)

- Is there a method to sharpen a convex blade which doesn't need renewing of equipment (unless it comes from the forest...)

- So what grind / sharpening method would you advise? (keeping in mind I'll bring 2 knifes)


I also want to bring a small 19" axe and a machete I will find over there... so heavy batoning every day won't be necessary...

Cheers, Peter

 

[Peterdc]

I forgot to include the material in the question... so.. carbon or stainless steel?

And... when advising the grind... which knife would you advice for about £100?
I was thinking about enzo trapper for scandi and falkniven f1 for convex.
Is there any better for that money?

 

[mrcharly]

A 'scandi grind' won't wear out, but you might chip the edge (and then need to grind it back).
Diamond sharpening plates last a long time.

 

[mountainm]

Personally I'd go with stainless steel, flat grind with secondary bevel. Diamond and Ceramic hones. Diamond for rough, ceramic for fine. I'm guessing humidity may be an issue so Kydex sheath and a man made/improved handle (G10, micarta or stabilised wood)

 

[The Big Lebowski]

I'm no authority, but the only thing you need to sharpen a convex is some wet and dry (how you would source this locally, I have no idea) and a strop...
You dont actually need the strop but one can be made for next to nothing and it will improve the final stage of shapening. An old slice of denim with some abrasive paste, even the palm of your hand...

In theory (or reality possibly) a convex will retain a stronger edge than a scandi, even with a secondary bevel, just by the nature of the shape. All knives where at one stage convex, even scandi's!

Sharpening is an extensive subject, so a little homework is needed to decide what works for you. If its good steel, a scandi (true flat, or secondary bevel) and a diamond whetstone is all you would ever need. DMT do a fold out hone that some people report as being a lifetime user, depending on ammount of actual use.

With the guessed humidity in Brazil (although it probably has a large climate variant) I would personally go for stainless such as sandvik 12c27 (not expensive, but highly rated) in a good quality folder, and also a fixed blade. G10 or Micarta scales will probably last the duration of the knife and if they get damp with the stainless blade, its no biggy!

See if you can find a local like mined person that has experience of sharpening before deciding what suits you.

I hope above was of some help, and more advice follows... al.

 

[Hoodoo]

I think the enzo trapper would be a good choice. Good quality and you can get it in stainless and micarta scales, which would make it last in the tropical environment. Good quality in your price range. If you don't need a full tang, then there are many more options for good quality stainless knives.

As for convex vs scandi, either will have a fragile edge if you take them out to a zero edge. But it you are not batonning, then you should not have to worry too much. The edges on either knife can be made more robust though. For the convex knife, a slight secondary bevel will help. For the scandi, I would recommend a very slight convex bevel at the edge. You could do the same for a convex ground blade, so either a straight secondary bevel or slightly great convexing at the edge. Any of these will make the edge stronger yet preserve function.

Convex edges can be easily maintained with a flat stone. A ceramic stone will do nicely. Just roll the knife as you sharpen. Ceramic stones do break though.

In a different vein of thought, though, you could get a condor, which is much cheaper and will rust. But people have been using carbon blades in the tropics forever. They will be easier to sharpen on a rock or with a file and you could buy 4 of them for the price of an enzo. Coat them in heavy grease and when one wears out, break out another.

 

[ged]

If it's so expensive to get good quality knives in Brasil, then it might be a business opportunity!

 

[robevs73]

F1 gets my vote, stainless is the way to go in hot humid areas . Make strops as the other guys have said to keep the knife Sharp.
You can sharpen it on a stone, use circular motions as you would an axe (before I had a computer and got on the scandi bandwagon !I would often sharpen my F1 and secondary bevel knives this way). I would buy a set of DMT diafolds for most tasks and a combination water stone for base camp (home) use..
Good luck!

 

[roger-uk]

Take a load of of Mora knives back with you - You will get quite a few for £100

 

[Peterdc]

If it's so expensive to get good quality knives in Brasil, then it might be a business opportunity!

well.. in Brazil import taxes are ridiculous... and don't fancy either being cought with illegal importing


I think I want to by myself a fallkniven f1.. and also fancy the enzo trapper. but there seem to be a lot of complaints about de D2 chipping. the O1 calls me more, but hot and wet weather... pfff

do you think O1 holds if maintaining the knife properly, or is it really a bad idea bringing O1 to wet climate?

 

[vizsla]

D2 is a cracking steel there were early reports about chipping but i think that was mainly due to people heat treating them too high. D2 is a good happy medium between 01 carbon and stainless. being a tougher steel its a bit harder to sharpen but will hold a edge longer but it wont rust and tarnish as easerly as carbon. If i was you as well wanting to ensure your knife lasts forever id get into the habbit of regular stropping rather than sharpening stones as this will extent the blade life.
Cheers..

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

I have just sold an Enzo trapper in Aus8 and that held an edge really well.

 

[robevs73]

D2 is good stuff as long as the cutting bevel is not to fine, then it becomes brittle.

 

[Peterdc]

thanks for all the replies!!

and what about A2 steels by bark river? A2 also isn't stainless but as far as I read possible for jungle environment..

After searching a lot of info, I'm getting to think D2 is not best suited for skandi grind.. so there goes the enzo trapper from my list.

I'm starting to think convex will be better suited for me...

If woodwork would be the main task, and you can take only 1 knife, how would the bark river bravo 1 be??
(I'm afraid it's a little big..)

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

Falkniven F1. Mora stainless. Both will do what you need and the mora won't break the bank.

 

[The Big Lebowski]

I was going to suggest the Bravo strangely, but its twice your budget.

Never owned one, but I would imagine with the blade thickness and convex, woodwork would not be its strong point!
But just about everything else from battening wood, to peeling tanks, not a problem

I don't think the B1 is much larger than an F1. Could be wrong.

al.

 

[Robbi]

i don't think you'd go far wrong with a K-Bar knife

 

[decorum]

I will move back to Brazil

It might be worth dropping Pict a PM (I think you need to make 10 posts before you can PM) ~ unless he's moved and not updated, his location is Central Brazil. He's known as Colhane on youtube ~ link to his channel.

What better source than someone on the ground that you're aiming to cover?

 

[luckylee]

I was going to suggest the Bravo strangely, but its twice your budget.

Never owned one, but I would imagine with the blade thickness and convex, woodwork would not be its strong point!
But just about everything else from battening wood, to peeling tanks, not a problem

I don't think the B1 is much larger than an F1. Could be wrong.

al.

the bravo and the gunny are outstanding tools love all my bark river knives very much, and i love a2 a lot, it holds a great edge, as for convex, its the way forward, it took me ages to come round, but i always opt for conves now, unless its for carving.
take care.
lee.

 

[Squidders]

My choice would be...

Stainless steel blade
plastic or stabilised wood handle
kydex sheath

Most knives I look at and think would last a genuine lifetime of hard use always seem very plain. I don't think the grind matters other than what you find easiest to use ans sharpen personally. Something like a Becker companion... I would probably go for one of those or an F1 if you have smaller hands... And anything with appropriate materials from a respected maker of your choice.