Lionsteel T5 Tropical Jungle Review 

Thanks! I generally like to know what my knives can hold up to in the event I need to push them to the limit. I've been trying to find time to test the new T6, which I'm 99.99% sure will hold up to even more abuse, but alas, spare time is a rare commodity these days

Can't blame you, it's sometimes pretty miserable 😂 I just got the T6, but in k490, it was the earlier batch. Haven't had a chance to head out and test it though

More to come brooo! It's quite a bit of fun doing these, don't know why i didn't start earlier

Thanks! To date it's still one of my go to knives 😁

thank you! =)

thank you for your support! =D

Thank you! So far, Italian sheaths are among the most beautiful I've ever seen. I'm a bit of a boot nut myself and I've got all the saddle soaps and leather oil I could use. I do sometimes alternate back to the leather sheath, but that's for when I want to feel a bit fancy. For practicality, I'd switch it back out to kydex.

thank you! yes you are right. I think holding it back and flicking the blade would help with the chopping. It's something I preach, but must have forgotten in the jungle heat hahaha

Hi there. You are correct, it isn't glued in. The handles are cnc'd and have very good fit. I've not had it come even remotely loose so far.

Thanks for the support! I actually made that sheath myself when I used to make Kydex. I no longer carry that light, as i've replaced it with something more reliable. I carry a Surefire EDCL2T currently.

I was just looking at this knife today, and it dawned on me, this was not the sheath I made, that was on a different knife. The maker is 362 Kydex, i'll put his FB link below. facebook.com/362customkydex

Hahaha tenkiu bro

Niolox is very tensile tough and edge stable, especially at a lower hardness like on the T5. where edge retention is concerned, i'd say it's better than 1095, but not as good as elmax or m390. The difficult part about sharpening something with such high edge stability is burr removal. Removing material isn't difficult at all, especially with the right abrasives. I found that performance and ease of sharpening (deburring) increased after the 3rd sharpening. Overall i love the steel. It shares some similarities with AEB-L/Nitro-V, which is another favorite steel. These are also edge stable, tough, and slightly harder to deburr.

Niolox at 59rc is quite tough and edge stable. I did mine at 20 dps at first, and it worked ok, but didn't slice as well. The edge was tough though. I then dropped it a bit, about 17dps iirc, and I find it works much better. Just be cautious about hitting hard stuff though.

Thanks! Factory edge angles are usually an aproximation, there are plenty of variables that would change the angle on the edge, even slightly. I like 17 degrees per side on the T5, the steel has good enough edge stability where it can take it. 20 DPS would be ok too, tougher edge but slightly less slicy. 1 thing to remember is the angles written in the systems is just a guide. Different blade widths, different clamping positions, stone thickness would alter the angle.

@@The_Polished_Edge thanks for the reply mate. Your comments on the sharpening angle make sense. I was just cautious to change the edge to the supposed factory edge. I think I will stick with 20 for now, but with your advice I know I can go to 17 if I want it more slicey ;)

@@11elloco anytime! Most factories would put an obtuse angle in, just in case their users decide to do something crazy with it. Chipped edges is worse for their reputation than a subjectively dull one

Hi! Thank you. Probably referring to sharpening and refining the edge to a mirror

The website currently says 59-60. I could've sworn it was 58-59, but I might've been wrong. I'm sure you will love it, but remember, it's strength is in its toughness, edge retention is better than most, but can't contend with high carbide super steels

I would actually live for it to be 61 HRC. I know DPX had Lionsteel make their niolox blades harder at about 61hrc.

@@The_Polished_Edge im sending mine out for testing. we will.see

@@TheScottyp1 Can you share what your Rockwell tests of this T5 showed? Love to hear what you got. Thanks friend!

If you're in Malaysia, 362 kydex does amazing work

I'm not sure about sellers in the Philippines, but since Malaysia is close enough, maybe you can order one and have it shipped to you

You found RU-vid, what about finding Google..

Hi there. I've only sharpened the M4, not use it. I've sharpened a total of 3 different units. One if them was a bit harder to get sharp, the other 2 were easy. The difficult one would be due to, perhaps, poor heat treat. M390 is good for edge retention, I wouldn't call it a beast. It's also not as tough as niolox or sleipner. Sleipner is an awesome performer with good toughness and edge retention, but it rusts pretty bad. Niolox is harder to sharpen than m390, being that the Burr is hard to remove. In all cases, use diamond abrasives in the beginning to sharpen them.

@@The_Polished_Edge do you think the dmt diamond credit card sharpeners are good enough for the niolox? I think I've settled for the T5 but the only stainless I've sharpened is 12c27/14c28n and 440c.

@@TheDaveDryden @BC Bushcraft any diamond abrasives will work on almost all steels, the difference in brand is how fast it cuts and how long it lasts. The results will be user based. Just a warning. Niolox on the T5 isn't super hard, but it does feel gummy and the Burr is really really stubborn. Other than that, I live that steel to bits.

Definitely the T5. M5 is in sleipner which is a good performing steel, but I've found it to rust and pit very easily. Shape wise i also prefer the T5, the pointier tip appeals to me more.

@@The_Polished_Edge Thanks for your answer. :)

Thank you Timothy =) What tasks do you intend to put the knife through? It's good to have an idea of what you want to do it with it to tailor-make your purchase.

@@The_Polished_Edge I'm thinking more of a camp knife .

And I'm leaning towards the T5 just from your review. Thanks

It's only limitation is it's length, and ability to do some bush clearing. Other than that, batoning should be able to fulfill the roles of wood processing. It's a good buy, and I'd do it again.

@@The_Polished_Edge Thanks I appreciate your feedback, I'm going for it.

the initial thickness for the blade stock is just 1 factor. how broad the blade is affected how much taper there is to the edge. And I'd put a lower angle on the T5 to let it slice and carve nicer. The M5 is a carbon steel, and will rust quite easily, I feel like it might have better edge retention though. Either way, both blades are excellent choices

@@The_Polished_Edge Agreed. I have a cold steel SF and it came with the saber grind (much like all the bigger lionsteel knives), with the edge hollow ground and a micro bevel for the edge itself. I did not like the microbevel because the blade behind it was still very thick so the angle of the bevel must have been around ~30ish degrees. So I ground it to a shallow (by hand and it's D2 steel, bit of work) convex and it slices much better while still having the heft at spine to be able to be used as a prybar. But it is a £60 blade. I'm not sure if I would dare to do the same to a £150 one. So I was hoping the lionsteel knives would come with convex edge or something like that instead of the fat microbevel that manufacturers seem to favour these days. Anyway, thanks for the answer and the review

@@karn1941 I've only recently discovered the pleasures of a good proper convex grind. In the past, i've only met with really obtuse convexes, but lately, i've experimented with convexing at lower angles and it does slice very nicely. That being said, it's not difficult putting a convex on a knife, just be mindful about the edge angle.

@@The_Polished_Edge Do you grind the initial extra bit of metal off by hand? If so, what do you use? Or if you use a sander, as it heats up the edge, would that not potentially ruin the heat treatment?

@@karn1941 i currently use both. I've got a Jende JIGS and a Hapstone V7 which needs some manual manipulation of the blade/stone holder to induce a convex. I've also got a 2x72 belt grinder. I can set the speed to be extremely slow where I can lay my hand on the moving belt and I'll be fine (don't do this of course). I also have a spray bottle that I use to keep the belt soaked and cool. In this setup, the blade will not reach temperatures that will damage the heat treat.

i've seen some sources stating that 18% Cr is recquired to be stainless, some say 14% and some say 10%. Niolox is at 12.7% and theres not much carbon to to soak it up either. I do agree with you though, it's very rust resistant for a tool steel, but in general, i'd still put it on the border of being a stainless steel.