Thanks guys, exactly what I was looking for. Those Kershaws look nice…
What does it mean when they say Boker Strike ‘conversion’ with coil spring…? Is that a factory option or a cobbed together nightmare.
Whats the opinion for best size for a edc. Kershaws and Bokers look sweet. But a sharp little mini Boker would maybe work for me as a box cutter, all around pocket knife and maybe even self defense if push comes to shove, but thats pretty doubtful as I’m very aware and careful of where/what I do. Suppose in these times you never know…
So, help a rookie figure this out, other than the obvious, what practical edc purpose does one gain going from a 2”stubby to mini 2.6” or to a 3.25” or a 4.75”…? What is the normal purpose/use of these different size autos…
Will the D2 or cts-xhp version chip easier than the aus-8 if I hit a staple box cutting, or is the aus-8 good enough…?
If you have any knives of varying handle lengths, try holding and manipulaing them in your hand and see how secure your grip seems. My hands are on the small side (I’m 5’8”) and a 4” handle length fills my hand pretty well, a 3.5” doesn’t reach the pinky. If you go to a really short-handled knife you may have trouble controlling it in use.
My 3.5”-handle spring-assist Kershaw is a bit more challenging to hold onto while activating the flipper than a 4”. But I like the 3.5” better for the light weight and compactness in the pocket. With a full auto (press a button and the blade springs out) this might not quite as much of an issue as with a spring assist, but I don’t have any autos smaller than the Kalashnikov to confirm that. That Boker is heavy for its size, though.
If you hardly ever deploy the blade and mostly just want to carry, short and light is good. If you will frequently need to pull it out and use it, go a little larger. If you are serious about using a blade for self defense, “go big or go home.”
Have just a few wooden handle knives. This is one of my favourite one. Lone Wolf rosewood handle T1 with CPM-S30V blade.
Too bad Lone Wolf knives are no longer in production.
As much as I love my one handed Peak, I’m hoping that eventually they come out with a smaller version. The Peak is just a little large for (my) EDC. Something closer to 3” rather than almost 4 would be ideal to me.
How good is DC53? Just read it is an improvement over D2. Is this true, and how?
Seems like DC53 is more rust recistant than D2, still can’t find an info about how much more resistant / stainless it is.
If so, this nice DC53 knife should be a bargain, with Beef bone handle! 24 usd.
Edit: [Deleted link, probably fake DC53 stamp, do not buy Huowen knives]
Edit: Ref: DC53(Cr8Mo2Vsi) Flat/Plate/Bar - Tool steel|alloy steel|hot die steel| cold die steel
DC53, is an improvement over alloy tool steel D-2 specified in Standard (JIS) G4404. It eliminates the disadvantages of insufficient hardness and toughness, resulting from high-temperature tempering found with D-2, and is intended to replace D-2 in use for general purpose and precision dies.
Higher hardness (62-64 HRc) than D2 after heat treatment.
Twice the toughness of D2 with superior wear resistance.
Substantially higher fatigue strength compared to D2.
Smaller primary carbides than D2 protect the die from chipping and cracking.
Secondary refining process (DLF) reduces impurities.
Machines and grinds up to 40% faster than D2.
Less residual stress after wire EDMing.
I had never heard of it until I looked it up after your post. It does seem from what info that’s on the web that it is better than D2.
I seen some knife makers using it and they liked it but from what I read was the price was alot higher from comparable steel readily available.
That was a older post though. I have no experience with it for a opinion.
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But knowing what I know about it and china knives, I would be very leery of it being true DC53 at a good hardness.
Think you are right about this knife. Huowen can’t be trusted. It’s probably 5Cr15MoV, a low-end stainless Steel (it’s a Chinese copy of the famous german X50CrMoV15. Though X50CrMoV15 is a pretty good budget steel, I dunno 5Cr15MoV, looks more like 420HC. 5Cr15MoV “lower end” steels, when it comes to edge holding, but for that it is extremely easy to sharpen. If so, this knife can’t compete with a D2 about edge retention, wear and toughness. A decent DC53 knife would probably be around 50-60 usd.
From another Huowen knife test. Steel result: Huowen Koenig Arius-inspired thing (not real D2, 5Cr15MoV instead)
Ref: ttps://www.reddit.com/r/chineseknives/comments/9qlaa5/steel_test_results_for_twosun_tuya_ch_knives/
Good catch. Lots of clones, counterfeits, and knives with fake steel stamps are either 3Cr13 or 5Cr15. Those steels are cheap and apparently easy to machine. (I can tell you from firsthand experience that they are very easy to sharpen.) The problem is that they tend to have abysmal edge retention. The lowest steels I’d consider in that range are 7Cr17 and 8Cr13 but even those are pretty easily outclassed in the current market. Coincidentally, 3Cr13 is sometimes used to make the liners for budget knives.
What’s about Kershaw?
They also use these low-end 3Cr13 and 4Cr14 blade steels at several models (for example Cinder, Decoy, Diode, Filter, Manifold, Cathode just to name a couple of them).
