FOLDING KNIVES
Folding Knives, often referred to as "Pocket" knives, are well-suited for Hunting, Fishing, Hiking, Camping, Every Day Carry, Concealed Carry, Tactical Uses, Bush Crafting, Kitchen Preparation, Wood Working, Collecting, and more.
There are often several varitions of the same model, or "variants", that may have many similarities and many differences from the original offering. An example would be a metal frame or body, covered by a "scale" of any chosen material. A titanium frame-lock knife with a carbon fiber, or a G10, Micarta, Copper, bone, or other material scale on one or both sides, depending on the designer's or manufacturer's choice or any number of aftermarket options, like pivots, stand offs, spacers, back spacers, thumb studs, or clips to customize your prized folder.
Knife makers often will produce limited numbers of variants, known as special editions or Sprint Run limited productions, in blade steels, blade shapes, frames, hardware, finishes and colors different from the original offering. These usually become collectible.
The best knife steels today are typically made from some version of powdered steel. The best powdered steels were developed and 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 everyday 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. D2 Steel knife blades are tough, less expensive, can be sharpened easily but require a little more care to avoid rust. Blade coatings wear-off and scratch-off therefore inviting rust and corrosion. The blade's cutting edge is exposed 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.
