Seeing as how we have some knife aficionados on this part of the forum, I had some questions on basic knife maintenance.
I purchased a Blackhawk Gideon Drop Point Knife for camping/field work a while back, and now that the weather is warmer I've had the chance to take it out and use it (cutting rope, wood carving/kindling, wood chopping). It has a 5" blade made of AUS8A stainless steel. Now I know many knife "experts" will say that stainless steel, in general, is not the preferred blade material for bushcraft and camp duties, and that carbon-steel 1095 type material is better for that application due to its toughness and ability to sharpen quickly. At first, I was pretty intent on getting something like an ESEE 6P-B, but when I saw the Blackhawk Gideon for $98 I couldn't pass up that deal. And while I haven't put this knife through extensive use/abuse just yet, it has worked fine and held up well in everything I have used it for (including batoning wood).
My main gripe is that the back edge has a limited flat edge for batoning and cutting wood, but given that this is a tactical knife more than anything else I can't be too critical of that. Truth to be told, this thing is quite capable of batoning most small branches and deadfall that I find on the ground, which is likely all that I'll ever need from a knife.
My questions:
1) AUS8A stainless steel supposedly has a high corrosion resistance and so far I haven't seen any signs of rust. What should I use to clean and protect the blade over the long run? So far, I've just been using some simple rifle CLP (basic lubricant/cleaner) to do a quick clean after use.
2) The blade has retained its edge so far, even despite the batoning. What tool should I get to resharpen the blade when it inevitably dulls?
3) Anyone have recommendations on a better way to strap my sheath to my belt. I'd prefer to wear the knife so that the blade lies in the small of my back and parallel to the ground, as opposed to how I wear it now, which is blade down, perpendicular to the ground. I really can't adjust how the stock sheath sits due to the fact that it can only be set up one way. Anyone have recommendations on aftermarket sheaths, or popular tricks for rigging up a custom sheath attachment (maybe with paracord)?
pic of my knife and sheath (forgive the bad quality, better ones will be uploaded shortly):
I purchased a Blackhawk Gideon Drop Point Knife for camping/field work a while back, and now that the weather is warmer I've had the chance to take it out and use it (cutting rope, wood carving/kindling, wood chopping). It has a 5" blade made of AUS8A stainless steel. Now I know many knife "experts" will say that stainless steel, in general, is not the preferred blade material for bushcraft and camp duties, and that carbon-steel 1095 type material is better for that application due to its toughness and ability to sharpen quickly. At first, I was pretty intent on getting something like an ESEE 6P-B, but when I saw the Blackhawk Gideon for $98 I couldn't pass up that deal. And while I haven't put this knife through extensive use/abuse just yet, it has worked fine and held up well in everything I have used it for (including batoning wood).
My main gripe is that the back edge has a limited flat edge for batoning and cutting wood, but given that this is a tactical knife more than anything else I can't be too critical of that. Truth to be told, this thing is quite capable of batoning most small branches and deadfall that I find on the ground, which is likely all that I'll ever need from a knife.
My questions:
1) AUS8A stainless steel supposedly has a high corrosion resistance and so far I haven't seen any signs of rust. What should I use to clean and protect the blade over the long run? So far, I've just been using some simple rifle CLP (basic lubricant/cleaner) to do a quick clean after use.
2) The blade has retained its edge so far, even despite the batoning. What tool should I get to resharpen the blade when it inevitably dulls?
3) Anyone have recommendations on a better way to strap my sheath to my belt. I'd prefer to wear the knife so that the blade lies in the small of my back and parallel to the ground, as opposed to how I wear it now, which is blade down, perpendicular to the ground. I really can't adjust how the stock sheath sits due to the fact that it can only be set up one way. Anyone have recommendations on aftermarket sheaths, or popular tricks for rigging up a custom sheath attachment (maybe with paracord)?
pic of my knife and sheath (forgive the bad quality, better ones will be uploaded shortly):
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