Agree, properly heat treated AEB-L is the best bang for the buck in my experience. Holds a sharper fine edge longer than 95% of the other steels including premium steels and less time to maintain and sharpen.
Gave up being a steel nerd a long time ago. Knives come as they come , no point worrying about it. I tend to rely on a stainless Garberg nowadays, tough easy to use and minimal maintenance. Fills all my needs.
It's very refreshing seeing people tell the truth about steel and not following the marketing hype. In my opinion super steels are answers to problems nobody had. I personally like carbon steel spring steel. In my experience used tools don't rust. In stainless i like 14c28n it does everything i need. Nowadays production knives are getting crazy expensive. Im just gonna make my own Nowadays steel isn't expensive marketing and branding is.
Hi very informative,I've got a True love,hand forged made in Malcberry England imprinted 1897 I don't what steel it is? But would be grateful if anyone had any information,I would say it was a bowie knife & has a antler handle
I don’t disagree that AEBL and other steels with similar composition is a good choice for scandi ground bushcraft knives. But I also think you’re exaggerating some concerns to get your point across. RWL-34 and MagnaCut are not difficult to sharpen. Buy a small medium grit diamond stone intended for one of the many fixed angle sharpening systems, a fine grit diamond emulsion and a small leather strop. Not an expensive investment for someone having the high end knives you’re showing. That’s all you need to maintain the modern supersteels. I think your description of the chipping issue of supersteel is also inaccurate. Most of them have great edge strength and stability and are not at all chippy. Another point I feel you’re exaggerating is how difficult it is to take care of a carbon steel knife. A little food safe mineral oil and good habits like wiping the blade before you sheath it goes a long way.
I think those steels are great on a full flat or convex grind, or a scandi with a thicker geometry geometry, however I have found them a little fragile compared to AEB-L and cpm3v ect on a high scandi
most super steels will be chippy if youre running a 22-24 degree zero ground scandi. I don't run that..i like customs with a thin convex with a tiny microbevel...so magnacut is plenty chip resistant enough for that. aebl will be better than any super steel in a zero ground scandi tho no doubt.
@@ShoahBiz I don’t agree with that statement. Maybe we’re talking about different “supersteels”. I wouldn’t use Maxamet or Rex 121, but CPM Cruwear, 4V, 10V, M4, Vanadis 4 Extra, Vanadis 8 and K390 would handle it no worse than O1 or 1095.
@@sharamkh aebl will make a better 22-23 degree zero ground scandi knife than any steel you mentioned, tho I do like and use some of those as I don’t run with zero ground scandis. Plus sharpening a zero ground scandi in any of those steels would be much, much more time consuming than aebl
@@ShoahBiz I prefer the simpler low alloy and softer carbide steels myself for a scandi. It’s not more difficult if one uses quality diamond with an appropriate grit, but I do agree it takes more time with the mentioned super steels. Even if the scandi does have a microbevel, at some point the edge will thicken up and I will have to thin it out be grinding the whole primary scandi bevel. So it’s not that I disagree with everything they’re saying. I just sometimes feel the need to push back when people make blanket statements and exaggerations like in this video 😅 With all that said, the type of steel is not my number one concern when buying a knife. The quality of the heat treat and the design of the knife is more important to me.
Interesting video, Ray Mears is probably the starter for most people's like of O1 tool steel knives, the younger generations were brought up on Ray and Bushcraft, us older generations were doing it long before Ray came along. Sandy, Jacklore , has gone over to AEB-L now, he rates it highly as do other knife makers like yourselves, I would like a good knife in AEB-L myself but the price of outdoors knives nowadays has sky rocketed to ridiculous prices, I appreciate the efforts put into making knives as I am an amateur hobbyist knife maker myself, but prices are just ridiculously too high nowadays.
I remember sharpening that Ben Orford knife 90mins on Diamonds and ceramic stones. You wouldn't do that in the field. Damasteel is a waste of money on a working knife, but looks pretty. but
I don’t know about you, but I think the heat treatment also affect the sharpening. I have a knife in 1095 that I can’t get an edge on (my guess is that it is too soft) and another in SK5 (a relatively similar steel) a lot thicker that take an edge so easily it’s unbelievable. I also have a big knife in O1 that keeps an edge for a surprisingly good time and is still easy to sharpen. I find a fine grain to be easier to sharpen than a coarse grain and found some very hard steel easier to sharpen than softer ones because of that. I have DMT stone, so I can get an edge on all the famous powder steels, but I will admit getting a mirror polish is very hard (but I am not interested by a mirror polish so I personally don’t mind). I have a convex Mahti Puukko (with a 124mm blade) in MagnaCut from Dulo knives that does everything and keeps an edge for an incredible time. It’s not that difficult to sharpen « Super Steel » with the proper tools. That being said, I totally agree with you: AEBL, 14C28N, Nitro V and all similar steel are the way to go as they offer the best performance for your bucks. Being able to sharpen your knife is a big part of the performance you will get from your knife and, at the end, will determine if you like it and use it. I have a new knife in Becut, that I really enjoy. I would love to hear your thoughts on that steel. Great video! 👍
The last air rifle i had was when I was 14. Went to town & bought it for like £80 with a scope. (Springer) Only just got another after years. Good lord, the hoops you have to jump through now is crazy. Even ordering a moderator is ridiculous. Can't have someone else take delivery of the rifle or moderator. Has to be you. Letter with name & address. Photo ID. Blood, urine, hair samples, mental health evaluation 😂 Got a couple & they are crazy good. Brocock Pathfinder XR & FX DRS. Both in .177. (Synthetic) They're both amazing rifles. Pathfinder cam with a non functioning safety switch. (Kimd of annoyinh for a £1700 "pro" package) Fires in both safe & fire mode, so not very "safe" at all. There's nothing else wrong with it, so I will have the safety adjusted when i send it in for a service (airguncenter) FX was perfect. I got that from pickering guns along with a 12L bottle. Both are super quiet & pellet on pellet. The magazines & side lever cocking mechanisms are sooooo nice. That being said, I still want a springer for long term reliability & ease of maintenance. Other rifles have anti tamper things all over them & any maintenance voids the warranty. It's between the TX200HC & the pro-sport. Thinking about the hc from rat works with their performance package & valve replacement. It's supposed to make the rifle even better / consistent. Was using air arms diablo fields at nearly £18 a tin, but the guy at pickering guns recommended H&N barracuda 8 pellets. They're just as accurate / consistent as the AA pellets (at least in both the BRK & FX i have) but are only £7.50 a tin.
Hey Lads, this is an interesting watch. I personally like a bit of natural patina and oxidation on my 01 blades. For me, it tells a story and protects the blade from actual corrosive rust. All these new super steels have the major disadvantage that you need to spend more than the knife's probably worth in stones capable of fixing issues with the steel in the woods! I don't really have a preference in knife steel. Personally, I like my 01 blades and have never had problems with edge retention. After a session of batoning, I just strop the blade on some green compound. When storing any carbon steel knife, I just smear it with a bit of Vaseline and forget about it. I stay away from anything that says "surgical steel," as I think these steels were designed to take a razor's edge but were ultimately meant to be thrown away. I also think edge geometry has more of an impact on sharpness and edge retention than the actual steel itself. The very first bushcraft knife was an old hickory kitchen knife, and Kephart used that for ages! How times have changed, but the trees have stayed the same. Good video.
You are 100% right about the edge geometry. This geometry should be adjusted to the steel toughness and the hardness and vice versa. More and more people are talking about edge stability now and they are right. We just have to understand that good edge stability is achievable with any good steel… by a good knife maker. Good design, good heat treatment and a good handle; that is all that I need.
I’m a big fan of aebl at 61.5-62 rc. Like a better version of o1 imo. Just as easy to sharpen, slightly better edge holding since the hardness can be taken higher, and still more tough than o1 at said higher hardness. Stainless to boot. Nothing wrong with a nice patina like you said but I appreciate stainless in the hot, humid and rainy environment I’m in..plus I go to the ocean from time to time since I’m not far from the gulf. Some super steels or at least newer steels that are easy to sharpen are a8 mod, cd1, ztuff, and 1v
I’ve just learnt a bucketload of info, that I never had a clue about. Carbon steel v Stainless steel was my limit. As a carpenter, I spent many an hour sharpening my chisels and planes, my old Sorby’s and Marples and Stanley planes. I never gave it a thought. Now I’ll be checking all my stuff out 😂🤣 😁👊🏆
I own 2 TX200’s .. 1st .22 cal I bought as a completely abused basket case (20+ years old) completely stripped..retuned ..re-blued and restored the woodwork (Beech) stunning grain ..now shoots and handles beautifully..likes AA 5-52 .2 nd TX is in .177 cal walnut ..used but mint..early days but likes Bisley mags over AA or any of the JSB offerings. Both keepers .just subbed
👍 Liked your video and agree with your assessment of the Garberg and Eldris. I also have both. I am curious about your modification to the blade spine, how did you remove the “hump”?
If you had a pcp that dropped in power by the amount you stated it must have been one of the worst ones out there or it had something very wrong with it,
If it helps I love my stainless steel version, I have both but to be honest I've enjoyed my stainless steel Garberg that much I haven't used my carbon steel properly yet. The weather in the UK has been really wet this year so the stainless steel version is perfect, I gave it a good strop when I got it and it's held it's edge fantastic, very easy to sharpen too.
Enjoyed this. I agree with much of what you said, however we differ on pellets as the AA Field Diablo has killed hundreds of grey squirrels and rabbits through my rifles with no issues. I don’t disagree with your findings on energy dump, only that dead is dead and I have found diabolo effective with the energy they deliver. 😎 I recently picked up a TX200 for the reasons you covered, servicing, reliability, consistency and I am preparing for a time when there is nowhere to send anything for repair. Liked and sub’d
Well l just got a TX200 HC 177 last week, always had Weihrauch's 77s 97s 80s, l thought I'd try a pcp 4 weeks ago, Daystate Huntsman regal hr in 177, as good as they are it wasn't for me, sold it on actually it sold in about 3 hours of it going live, anyway as l say just not my thing, then l got the TX as yours it's Walnut, what an absolutely brilliant well engineered, designed gun, sooo easy to strip, always tuned my springers for over 30 years, swapped the steel guide for a Weihrauch, there a much better fit on the latch rod, Titan spring, moly grease and much better, it loves FTTs, I'll stick with them, superb gun.
Your land must be near Hospital, the sirens are always going off. I live between two towns and our local hospitals . It just becomes part of the background for us but its a strange contrast to the beauty of the wood's. NW Oregon looks a bit like your area , lots of rain and fog during the winter . ...I love it.
Hi there great video, I noticed on Instagram you have the savotta L pack now, can u use it for a winter kit as thinking of buying it and if so be good to see your winter load out in a future video thx m8