FIXED BLADE KNIVES
Fixed Blade Knives are well-suited for Hunting, Fishing, Scuba Diving, Hiking, Camping, Bush Crafting, Kitchen, Wood Working, Every Day Carry, Tactical uses, and Collecting.
The best knife steels today are typically made from some version of powdered steel. The best powdered steels are manufactured in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The steel materials chemistry for knife blades varies and the specific type of steel can be chosen by you for a specific task or just a fantastic all around every day carry knife.
The American company Crucible Industries makes what they call Crucible Particle Metallurgy steels or CPM steels. You will notice many knife makers and resellers (including us) bosting about their knives being made from "CPM" steel like CPM S30V, S45V, S3V, CPM M4, CPM S90V, CPM S110V, or lately CPM Magnacut. There are many more CPM steels on the market. For the enthusiast the stories behind this company and the creation and science that has gone into this technology are interesting reading.
Depending on the intended working conditions for your application, like regular exposure to chemicals or salt water, high moisture, tough use for chopping, digging and prying, hard-use work environments and other uses, you can find the right knife for you. 1095 Steel blade knives are tough, less expensive, can be sharpened easily but require cleaning and oiling on the blades to avoid rust. Knife blades made of 1095 steel are often coated with a powder coating or a similar coating that covers the entire blade surface accept for the blade edge. This can greatly increase the blade surface's resistance to the elements. Blade coatings wear-off and scratch-off therefore inviting rust and corrosion. The blades cutting edge is exposed 1095 steel and needs to be maintained. We love these strong, sharp knives, and they are generally priced lower than the more exotic powdered steel versions, some of which are listed below.
Powdered steels like CPM 3V, CPM S30V or CPM S35VN, M4, Bohler Uddeholm M390, CPM 20CV, Elmax, CTS-XHP, CPM Magnacut and several others are more expensive Super Steels that are generally very resistant to rusting, hold a sharp edge longer, are very tough and posses other unique qualities that separate them from other conventional knife steels.
