Guest Post: Choosing a Knife

by Levi Ethan Groenendael

Many go immediately to simplistic, tried-and-true answers (“Getcherself a 440 stainless steel 8” blade Bowie Knife!”) but bluntly, the right choice will vary from person to person, circumstance to circumstance.



For me, a burly 6’2, 300lb+ guy with meathooks for hands, I can heft a Gerber LMFII without a second thought. A recent acquisition, a Gerber Strongarm (which has other perks for being in my stable of bladed tools) is, frankly, a bit small for me, and pretty much ANY Swiss Army Knife (I have this one) feels like a toy in my hands.

Fit-to-Hand, however, is only one consideration – and frankly, it isn’t necessarily the most important. When choosing a knife, you should ideally be considering several factors:

Size of Haft
Does the knife fit your hand comfortably? Can you use it without having to engage in manipulation acrobatics?

Size of Blade
What do you expect to use the blade for? Think up the main three or four reasons, and consider what the  blade length, width, height need to be for those reasons. Consider, too, that sometimes one knife won’t do it – you’ll need more than one. That’s okay; just apply the same reasoning to each purchase.

Blade Geometry
This might seem kind of silly, but the shape and style of blade can often make a big difference in how you use it.

Quality of Manufacture
This one’s a little harder to quantify for measurement purposes, but a good rule of thumb is "Don’t buy Asian". I’ve nothing against our brethren to the east, and sometimes you WILL see good products coming from there, but generally, knockoffs from Asia are not to be trusted. Don’t believe me? Go watch 127 Hours.

Construction Material
This one gets ugly, and fast! Some people swear by one kind of steel, some by another… Some insist on Damascus because of its extreme resiliency, some claim it’s too shoddy and won’t withstand heavy use – both are correct, but from different perspectives. Look for a steel that will withstand the kind of use you expect to employ it for – cutting cordage, paper, and cardboard is a far cry from cutting open cans of food or cutting firewood.

Anecdotal Evidence
Whenever I look to buy another knife, I try to look over reviews from various sources:  knife forums, YouTube, Amazon, the manufacturer (if they offer a review system).  While the “good” reviews are nice, I tend to look at the negative ones, more, so that I can get a feel for any sort of common problems that might be the case for a given blade.

Price
This one might seem obvious, but I’m not just talking about how much money you’re going to fork over for the knife. I’m talking about the contrast of cost against material/manufacturing (don’t spend extra for a name, and conversely don’t trust the brand if it’s severely under-priced – reference my earlier comment about knockoffs!), but also consider that a lower price might mean you can replace it without too much heartache or frustration. I have a $600 custom blade that holds a surgical edge after being used to cut through a stack of pennies, which is great... but I’m not about to use it like I use some of my other edged tools!

Closing Thoughts
As with any of your gear selection, don’t just take some arbitrary comment from another person as gospel; what’s right for one person with one set of circumstances at one point in time will not necessarily be right for you, in your circumstances, at your present moment in time.

I’m happy to flesh this out further; if there's sufficient interest, ask Erin Palette and she’ll bug me for a follow-up article.

Putting Rust to Bed

Picture by KJ Photography

& is used with permission.

Three weeks ago, I talked about rust prevention. Today I'm going to do a follow-up and talk about ways to remove rust from objects.

An Abrasive Tool and Lots of Effort
This is the default method for removing rust. As you expect, it requires a significant investment of time and energy to remove the rust, and there's always the risk of using too abrasive a tool, or too much elbow grease, and damaging the surface of whatever you're trying to fix.

Fortunately for people without a lot of time (or who are lazy), there are other ways to remove rust. These are just two examples, and I bought both of them at my local auto parts store.

Rust Dissolvers
There are actually two forms of dissolvers:

• Chelators chemically bond with the rusting agent. Usually in jelly form (the most popular is called Naval Jelly), these solutions can be easily washed or wiped away, carrying the rust with it. 
• Acids (typically mild phosphoric acid) eat the weaker rust down to the stronger steel. However, this will also remove any paint or bluing on the metal. 

http://tinyurl.com/44agd5u

The brand that I bought, Loctite Naval Jelly, seems to be a combination of the two, as it is both a jelly that needs to be wiped away and a phosphoric acid that attacks the rust.

I bought this at my local auto store for around $7 + tax for an 8 oz. jar; Amazon costs half that but also charges shipping, so it comes out to roughly the same.



The good news is that it goes on easily, works quickly (within 5-10 minutes), and comes off just as easily. The bad news is that it leaves treated metals looking a bit scorched -- which I guess they were, as this is essentially chemically burning the rust away. Fortunately, a lot of this scorching can be removed with some light scrubbing and a lubricant like CLP or WD-40. And you will want to use those; Naval Jelly does not protect metals from subsequent rusting, so if you return your tools to where they rusted the first time, they'll rust again without protection. Again, see my previous article on rust prevention.

Rust Neutralizers
Here is where things get interesting:  did you know there's a good kind of rust?

Bad rust -- aka orange rust, aka what everyone thinks of when they think of rust -- is Fe2O3. It's also chemically unstable and aggressive, as you can see by the way rust spreads across metal and eats it.

http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.452497.html

But the good kind of rust -- Fe3O4, aka black rust -- is far more stable. It doesn't eat anything; it just forms a layer across metals. This means it's perfect for protecting steel and iron tools from further rusting. In fact, it's so perfect that "black oxide" is a common tool coating.

http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.17215625.html

http://tinyurl.com/cs348qt

It also happens you can buy a chemical that converts orange rust to black rust. The kind that I bought, Loctite Extend, goes on like a thin paint and then dries (after a few coats and 24 hours of curing) into a black layer that looks and feels like latex paint. This layer can then be painted over, if desired.

The main drawback to this product is that instructions say it needs to be shaken before use, which produces bubbles, and bubbles in your coating result in circles and pits in the black oxide layer. I also found it very difficult to get an even coating when applying it, giving the finished product an appearance of being amateurishly painted (which I suppose it was).

I bought this at my local auto store for around $10 + tax for an 8 oz. jar; Amazon again costs half that but, again, gets you with shipping charges.

Results
Here are some before and after shots to demonstrate how these two rust solutions work.

 This is before treatment. The top tool bit is used both as a control, and to demonstrate the natural color of the metal.  The middle tool will receive Rust Dissolver, and the bottom Rust Neutralizer.

As you can see, the half of the middle tool treated with Rust Dissolver is indeed darker (the aforementioned "scorched look") but is recognizably rust-free.  The bottom tool has been treated with Rust Neutralizer and has a light black oxide coating. If applied carefully, fine marks and etched writing will not be obscured, but a light touch is required for this.

Recommendations
I like both of the these products; they're priced well, do a fine job, and I still  have lots left over. The only real question is "Which one do I use?"

If you want your iron or steel tool to look nice, use the Rust Dissolver and then polish away the scorching. It ought to look mostly new after a few minutes' work.

However, if you plan to keep your tools in a harsh environment, or simply want to "fix it and forget it," use the Rust Neutralizer to protect your tools. So long as the coating isn't broken, your treated tool is protected.

Rust Never Sleeps

Picture by KJ Photography

& is used with permission.

Those of you who read my nerd blog know that I recently had a problem with rust on some guns (fortunately, they're all better now). This, by the way, is why I talked about waterproofing in my BCP segment on Sunday's Gun Blog Variety Cast.

The thing is, humidity is a fact of life here in Florida for 6-9 months out of the year, and so it's important to realize that things can rust just from the humidity itself.  As I write this article, it's 79° F and 64% humidity outdoors, and it just so happens that iron rusts at 50% humidity or greater, and steel rusts at 80%.

In fact, just leaving a metal knife in your car can be a bad thing. As the sun heats the interior, the metal will stay cooler than the air, and moisture will condense on the cool metal surface.  In fact, that's likely what happened here:

This is a carbon steel Mora Classic that was left in a bag inside the trunk of a from August until January. Note the speckles that look like dewdrops, and how the spread points towards the tip of the blade -- the knife was stored in a sheath, tip downward.

Incidentally, this is why I recommend stainless steels for get-home bag knives: they are far less likely to rust in storage than carbon steels. I do make an exception for those blade which have a baked-on coating over the metal (like what is on my Cold Steel Kukri Machete), because they are protected over 90% of their surface.

In conclusion:

• Check your metal tools for rust on a regular basis, even if you think they're protected.
• Use WD-40 to displace any moisture, but be warned it dries quickly and doesn't protect well.
• Cover bare metal with a protective oil. I prefer Breakfree CLP, but there are many excellent choices out there. 
• More information about rust, its removal and prevention can be found in this PDF. I advise all readers to read it, save it, and keep it in their list of prepping articles. 

Mad Mike BOB: The Blades

This is the third in a series reviewing a Bail Out Bag being sold by Michael Z Williamson.  Part 1 and Part 2 are as linked.

This is the part of the bag where I expected the most quality and least surprises.  To put it mildly, Mike knows blades.  I had every confidence that any blade in a kit he sold would be a quality tool.  I was not disappointed.

First, the folders.

The Lansky folding knife has a traditional back-locking mechanism and a stainless blade measuring in at just under 4". The blade is also partially serrated.  The handle scales are made from a tough, grippy material.  The first thing I noticed about the knife, though, is it's extreme light weight.  It measures at roughly 4 oz, meaning that it doesn't contribute to breaking your back while it's in the bag, and you can carry it on your belt all day and never notice it.  By all appearances and to my current impression, it's a good all-round working knife.

The Lansky multitool, on the other hand, is a beast.  All the weight saved from the folder landed on the tool, as it weighs in at over half a pound. That weight, however, does include a bit set, making the tool far more versatile than my beloved little Gerber. It is a traditional folding-pattern tool, with the blades on the inside of the handles to allow a stronger and more comfortable grip.  It has both smooth and serrated blades, an awl, a file (something I miss on the Gerber and love on a multitool), a can opener, two slotted drivers, and a bit holder.

Now for the big blades.

The first is a Cold Steel Roach Belly. Similar to the famed Mora knives in style and function, it's a handy little working knife.  The blade is listed as 4.5", and is roughly 1/8" thick 4116 stainless steel.  It comes with a simple, deep nylon sheath, and a polypropylene handle that completely encases the tang.  It is quite sharp out of the box, and is about the perfect size for cleaning fish or game, or doing general camp chores.  It's a bit light for batoning or splitting wood, but that becomes a non-issue by the inclusion of the...


Lansky Fire Fighter's Battle Axe,  A two-pound piece of steel with a cutout to shut off natural gas lines, a firehose hook, and a pry-bar edge.  The handle is rated to take 10000 volts, but I'm not near nuts enough to test that.  The cross-shaped cutout in the center of the head is a wrench to shut off natural gas feeds in an emergency, and the unique shape allows it to function from almost any position. The leather sheath has two closures, completely enclosing the head and holding the tool securely on a belt.  As a splitting tool, it does a wonderful job, being sharp from the factory, with a good blade shape and handle angle.  It's somewhat lacking as a felling and cutting tool, though.  Thankfully, the kit includes a...

Gerber Double-Joint folding saw.  The double-joint setup allows the entire blade to be shielded by the handle when not in use, without being unwieldy when it's getting work done.  And get work done it does.  The blade locks into either the open or closed position with a positive pushbutton lock. I took this tool out while I was camping, and used it to break down a pile of deadfall limbs for firewood.  While cutting hardwood, it performed wonderfully up to 2" limbs, and quite satisfactorily on 4" ones.

Two other minor updates on the kit.

First, Mike has said that he can sell the first aid kits as a stand-alone unit.  Contact him for details if you're interested. It's honestly one of the finest pre-built kits I've come across, and would be an excellent pickup for anyone who needs a kit.

Second, to give an idea of the form factor of the bag as a whole, it fits cleanly under the rear seat of a mid-2000s F150. There's not many places it can't be stowed in an average automobile.

Lokidude

(FTC Disclaimer:  As I said last week, my opinions are my own, and anything factual I say can be tested.  I wasn't paid to say anything I'm saying, and would say the same things if I had been.)

Guest Article: Bug-Out Blades - What kinds, how many, and where?

Our guest author is Todd Gdula, a professional bladesmith and member of the American Bladesmith Society.  He does custom work and his website is www.toddblades.com. 




While my last two pieces dealt more with how to choose a bug out knife if you could only choose one, and to make you think about choosing the right tool for the job at hand, this is more about the reality of having several (or many) knives spread out across several kits.

There are quite a few different approaches to preparedness, but one of the fundamentals that has really stuck with me is have multiple kits,  and I apply that to knives as well. At a minimum, you should have one knife that fits in your pocket and goes with you whenever you leave your residence; one that fits in the glove box or under the seat of your everyday use vehicle (or in your trunk or pickup bed if you can afford the space), and an even bigger one at your home. If you’re fortunate enough to own a cabin or shelter, then that can be fully stocked as well.

Every knife and edged tool you own should be kept very sharp at all times. No excuses.

Part of your pocket kit should be at least one easy to carry and easy to open and close folder. It can be as big as you want so long as it’s comfortable in your pocket (a belt pouch is OK, but I don’t like open carry, even with a knife) and it doesn't imprint clearly.

In your glove box you should have at least a large folder, a smallish fixed blade, and a large fixed blade (if you have the space), and the sharpening tools of your choice. For the smaller fixed blade I like a puukko or something similar; a large handle that indexes and grips easily, and a smaller blade for handiness. I think you’ll find that this knife will be the one you reach for most often for smaller cutting chores.

If you go with a larger vehicle kit I recommend another large folder, a machete and a hatchet and/or tomahawk. For the larger knife I like a classic “camp” knife in whatever style you like best. If you go with a larger kit in your car you can add a dedicated fighting knife; Bowie, dagger, or whatever you prefer. Any good quality machete will do, and the same with the hatchet. If you have a tomahawk and a hatchet, the hawk can be spiked, but if you only have a hawk I recommend a poll hawk. This is for two reasons; it gives you a hammer, and if you chop wood with a spiked hawk you risk injury from the spike. You can laugh, but it happens.

Of course, if you have a remote shelter, you should have a large variety of edged tools.

Did I mention that every knife and edged tool you own should be kept very sharp at all times, no excuses?

Guest Post: Profile & Edge Choices for a Bug-Out Blade

Editor's Note:  I have been on vacation all week. This post has been scheduled in advance. If the blog has blown up during the past week, it's not my fault as I haven't had the time to be online.

Profile and Edge Geometry Choices for a Bug-Out Blade

Our guest author for the past two weeks is Todd Gdula, a professional bladesmith and member of the American Bladesmith Society.  He does custom work and his website is www.toddblades.com. 

Having already selected the steel type from among the dozens of practical choices, choosing a good profile and geometry is relatively simple.

Blade Geometry

Geometry refers to the type of edge. There are essentially three: hollow, convex, and flat.

L-R:  Hollow, flat, and convex grinds. 

A hollow grind is the sharpest, but the most fragile. Its strength is in knives used for fine cuts. Its weakness lies in chopping, and even worse being hammered through an object.

A convex grind is the opposite of a hollow grind; the sides of the blade bow out rather than in. It is also called an apple seed grind or a Moran edge. It has the most steel behind the edge and is therefore the strongest. Axes and hatchets have this type of edge, and although it is the least sharp, it has the best edge retention. Despite the fact that it’s the least sharp it is possible to bring a convex edge to sharpness where it will cleanly cut paper.

A flat grind is just that; the flats of the blade are actually flat. It is considered a compromise between the hollow grind and the convex grind.

The hollow grind is the first and easiest to eliminate. It is simply too fragile to be used as an all around survival knife.

A good argument can be made for a flat grind, and it’s not a bad choice. For shear strength, however, it’s just not as good as a convex grind.

So, we’re left with the convex grind. I think it’s the best choice. Axes have this grind for a reason; anyone who has ever driven an axe into a log with a sledge hammer will testify to how strong this edge is. I’d make it ¼” thick at the base of the spine, tapering to the tip.

Blade Profile

We need to choose a profile next. For a big working knife I want a blade 10-12” long and around 1 ½” wide. We have the choice of any number of blade styles: Bowie, spear point, bolo point, or drop point being among the most popular.

Bowie (clip) point

Bowie Point: Jim Bowie made the knife named after him famous as a fighter. It was also very popular as a camp/utility knife, used as a chopper, skinner, and steak cutter. It has a clip point to lighten the tip, making it a faster fighter but a less powerful chopper.

Bolo point

The bolo point adds weight to the tip and makes for the most powerful chopper of the group, but it’s front heavy and a poor stabber, and so not a great fighter.

Drop Point

Of the last two, the drop point is the better chopper and the spear point is the better fighter, but they’re both pretty good all around designs. I’d go with either one of these with a slight bias toward the spear point.

Spear point

Guest Post: Steel Choices for a Bug-Out Blade

Editor's Note:  Starting next Monday, I (Erin Palette) will be on vacation for an entire week. As such, today is spent in preparation for my trip, and next Friday I will be in Indianapolis for the NRA Annual Meeting. Therefore, this post and the next will be guest posts.

Steel Choices for a Bug-Out Blade

Our guest author for the next two weeks is Todd Gdula, a professional bladesmith and member of the American Bladesmith Society.  He does custom work and his website is www.toddblades.com. 



One of the questions most asked of knifemakers is “What’s the best steel for a blade?” The correct answer is, “It depends on what kind of knife it's for.”

Volumes could be written on this topic, but today we’ll make it short and simple by only talking about blade steel choices for a survival knife, and a general purpose survival knife at that. This is my opinion on what the best steel choice is if you can only put one knife in your bug-out bag.

To choose a steel, we first need to identify what the knife needs to do. A survival knife needs to be a jack of all trades and very reliable. It can potentially be used to chop and split wood, de-limb branches, gut and skin game; act as a pry bar or a hammer, and to defend yourself. That’s a pretty tall order, especially when you consider that each of these tasks has knives specially designed to do them.

There are three general categories of steel to choose from, and each category has many types of steel within it. The three categories are simple carbon steels, stainless steels, and high alloy tool steels. Some types of steel may fit in more than one category depending on whose definition you use.

Types of Steels

Simple carbon steels include what are known as the “10” series steels; 1045, 1050, 1060, 1075, 1084, 1095, etc., as well as the “O” and “W” series and 5160 and 52100. The 10 in the 10 series indicates that it’s low alloy – basically the 10 means it’s iron with whatever percentage of carbon; .45%, .5%, .6%, etc. The O stands for oil hardening and the W for water hardening. Neither is as simple as the 10 series, but the alloying is fairly low. The 50 series starts to have more alloying, but is still relatively simple. The 50 means it has some chromium; 51 is low chromium, 52 is medium chromium. The second two numbers indicate carbon content; .6% and 1% respectively. (Editor's note:  see Firehand's post for a more in-depth discussion about what carbon content means.)

Stainless steels contain enough chromium so they form chromium oxide instead of iron oxide, which inhibits rust. Stainless is a large and varied group; 420, 440, CPM154CM, 12c27, ATS34, and on and on. By definition – which is also somewhat variable, stainless contains at least 10.5% chromium, but some types approach 20%.

High alloy tool steels have lots of stuff added to the smelting recipe and most were created for a specific purpose. They include the “A”, “S”, “H “ and “D” series, Vascowear, and overlap into some of the stainless types, as well as 52100 and some others. The A stands for air hardening; the S for shock resistant; the H for heat resistant; the D for die steel and Vascowear is a high vanadium wear-resistant alloy.

Which Steel to Use?

So it comes down to a process of elimination. I’m going to eliminate the high alloy tool steels first, because they have very specialized properties and we’re looking for a jack of all trades.

Next to go are the stainless steels. I can hear the outrage, so I’ll explain. The only advantage stainless has over non-stainless steels is that it’s rust resistant. And believe it or not, that’s not that important. However, it has two disadvantages that to me are very important: First, when it's heat treated, it through hardens, which means that the whole blade must become the same hardness. Second, compared to other steels, it’s not suitable for big blades because of its relative brittleness

We’re down to simple carbon steels then, and while there are several good choices here, there is one stand out: 5160. The main reason for this is it can be differentially hardened, which means that the edge can be made very hard and the spine fairly soft. This is important because it makes the knife very tough:

• When subjected to lateral forces it will bend, rather than break. 
• You can strike the back of the blade with, or against, hard objects and it will deform rather than chip. 
• You can make a very large (even sword sized!) blade from it and it can handle tremendous chopping stresses. 
• You can easily sharpen it with a rock. 
• While there are a number of steels in its category used to make springs, 5160 is the spring steel.

While there are other good choices, 5160 is, in my opinion, the best all-around steel for all the things a survival knife has to do.

Next Week: Profile and Edge Geometry Choices for a Bug Out Knife.