"Gunner" wrote in message
...
New Steel FAQ, please let me know what you think, send
corrections &
comments. One new thing I tried: most people didn't just
want
descriptions of steels, they wanted direct comparisons.
Obviously there
are limits to how much you can generalize, but I gave it a
shot in the
stainless section ... just an experiment.

It would be nice to have a video paralleling this breakdown,
with display of knife-making steps and types of knives. I
like the story about the Bowie knife made from German
straight razors, a piece of meteorite, and other alchemy.

Most respect the practical approach, identifying basic
purposes of the knife. For me, this has boiled down to
either a fish knife or hunting knife, which off the shelf is
going to be either 440-C or AST-34. Usually, I don't want a
thick blade but prefer a thin one, easy to sharpen. A large
folding knife with two blades, along with a diamond
sharpener, ranks high on this basis, although less

Special interests might be the Damascus steel with folded
layers presenting a variegated look, techniques for
hardening steel of an old knife, the length and shape of
blades and handles.

bookburn, who has actually assembled a knife from a kit
purchased at EBay.