A survival knife is meant to fulfil all of your survival needs so the blade material must be of premium quality to serve you in a hazardous situation therefore while spending a huge amount for this unbeatable gear ensuring your utmost survival you need to do a complete research to determine the best blade material for your survival gear to get you do your job with super easiness and skill.
The market offers numerous survival knives that are made of different materials based on the context where the knife will be used by the survivalists or outdoor ventures. You need to select the blade that is built to withstand in the toughest of the situations suiting your purpose the best. This robust gear is extremely versatile serving the users for multitude of tasks.
Characteristics of a premium quality blade:
The following features make it the most useful gear in almost all kinds of unexpected situation:
- Strength
- Toughness
- Hardness
- Highly durable
- Extremely wear resistant
- Corrosion resistant
- edge retention
It’s been ages that steel makers that knife experts have been trying to develop the best kind of steel to satisfy their users’ needs and survival requirements. Now they are using specific methods to produce different alloys for one’s intended use and particular purpose.
The most common steel used to build a survival blade are carbon steel and stainless steel. Now both the materials are considered the best in the different kinds of risky situations. Let’s have their respective use and benefits.
1. Carbon steel:
- Additional carbon
- Needs proper care and maintenance as more prone to rust because of additional carbon
- Regular oiling can make it hard to beat
- Heat treatment makes the real difference.
- A perfect edge holder
- A good fire starter
- Less expensive than stainless steel
Mostly recommended carbon steels are 5160, 1095 and CPM-3V, A2, O1, Carbon V, and CPM 154 and for plain old carbon steel the most reliable for centuries is 1095.
2. Stainless steel
- Corrosion resistant
- Does not need extra care and regular maintenance
- Easy to sharp
- Easy to clean
Mostly recommended stainless steels for survival knives are S60V, VG-10, BG-42, S90V, CPM S35VN, CPM 154, AUS-8.
Most of the survivalists and experts prefer the listed down materials for their survival blade as they actually possess the unbeatable hardness and durability.
3. 154CM
154CM is real high quality steel having a number of features considered ideal for a good survival knife. it is highly corrosion resistant, best for super risky and serious survival based tasks and holds an edge perfectly. As compared to its best competitors it is more durable and rust resistant. Because of its super edge retention, real toughness and easy to sharpen options it is considered a superior quality material for survival sort of jobs. Ontario black Bird SK-5 is one of its best examples. Possessing the qualities of both; carbon steel and stainless steel it has rocked the weaponry world.
4. D2
Another great option is D2 as it owns super combine features of stainless steel and carbon steel. It has a larger amount of chromium that makes it a stainless steel gadget. Still it is considerably tougher and appropriate for harder tasks. It is no doubt an extremely durable option, with easy to sharpen and corrosion resistant but with regular care and proper maintenance. It holds the edge very well and has super wear resistance qualities that make it a perfect option for a survival tool. Ontario Rat II is one of the prime examples having D2.
5. AUS -8:
It is considered a great knife steel as it is easy to sharp, avoid resistance as it has less amount of carbon, relatively cheaper than the other blades and amazingly tough. It works really well in case of survival knives as in Ontario Rat.
Now to get the best out of your gear you need to evaluate your intended usage and definite purpose. The available options are great and many in number but with your deliberate research and selection. Different blades are intended to serve the users for different purposes. Check our experts pick list of top knives under 100 dollars.
You need to pick the one that suits to your job and particular task. Check this link to equip yourself with the superb choice fixed blades. Moreover some other processes also ensure its real toughness and best performance including heat treatment and blade coating. So wishing you luck to get the perfect gadget fulfilling your worthy requirements.
