Ideal Blade Steels For Whittling?

[dan31]

The Lil Nilakka has a very nice grind to a thin edge. The tip is quite fine for detail work. The handle is thicker and allows for several different grips. Not sure on RWL34 steel but I would think it would be great as a stainless option as its a more more modern particle metallurgy steel with consistent particle size and is not excessively loaded with carbides.

[dj moonbat]

Good woodworking chisels are usually A2 or O1. You need a really keen edge you can lean into without rolling or chipping, so most of these carbide-rich stainlesses are sub-optimal. Of the currently available Spyderco steels, I would say the AEB-L, assuming it’s of reasonable hardness.

[JD Spydo]

Good woodworking chisels are usually A2 or O1. You need a really keen edge you can lean into without rolling or chipping, so most of these carbide-rich stainlesses are sub-optimal. Of the currently available Spyderco steels, I would say the AEB-L, assuming it’s of reasonable hardness.

I tend to agree with you. Tool Steels more often than not possess the properties to do woodworking chores. I've got some old chisels my late dad left me. They are made by a company known as Millers Falls and I would give a pretty Nickel to know what steel they used. Because even though those chisels were made in the 50s they still work really well.

Again too I would like to know more about this relatively new company known as "Flexcut" who has been running ads in all the knife and survival magazines about their whittling and carving knives. I've heard that they use 1095 but I don't yet have confirmation of that.

[Cambertree]

I am hoping this is the right thread to throw this question out there but what is 80CRV2 and is there a similar Spyderco steel? My understanding is that it's a high carbon steel and there is a lot of chatter about it but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

Jdw, my understanding is it's basically a European analogue of 1084 carbon steel with minor vanadium and chromium additions, presumably to assist 'grain pinning'.

I think 1084 sales had been suffering because people would assume 1095 must be mo' betta with its higher carbon content. 1084 is perfectly fine as a basic carbon steel, but 80CrV2 gives it a cool new marketing name. Maybe you could say it bears a similar relationship to 1084, as 52100 has to 1095.

If you have a carbon steel Case knife, that steel's going to be pretty similar to 80CrV2. I have some puukko and leuku knives in the steel.

[sal]

I usually use a K09.

sal

[Enactive]

I usually use a K09.

sal

That totally makes sense to me. The blade geometry is much like traditional whittler patterns, chip carving and most non-Scandi-Finn western carving knives. Short, thin, pointy and straight-ish cutting edge.

:cool:

[arty]

Frost/Mora makes some inexpensive fixed blade carving knives in a laminated carbon steel. The inner core is RC62 I believe. The smaller one, with a 2” blade, holds an edge really well and is easy to keep sharp with a strop loaded with abrasives. The one that I have has a wharncliff configuration, but they have others. The wooden handle is a bit larger than the K09, and they come with a plastic sheath. Carbon steels are easy to sharpen, and as mentioned, are useful for working wood.

There used to be some carvers in D2, but I have never tried one.

[bearfacedkiller]

Whittling is mostly about good geometry and lots of control. You want a small blade with a thin edge and a neutral handle with good ergonomics. As far as steel goes, just pick something that can support that thin geometry and you will be good. Wood is not very abrasive most of the time and wear resistance is not a high priority.

Most production folders, Spyderco included, have edges which are too thick for good easy carving. Get a $15 carbon Mora and carve away.

I do most of my carving with a handmade puukko in D2. The “experts” will tell you that D2 is the worst possible steel for a scandi grind due to the huge carbides but I haven’t had any trouble. I do have a slight convex to the edge from sharpening by hand so that helps support the edge. It isn’t the ideal steel for the application but in use it works just fine.

[bearfacedkiller]

I am hoping this is the right thread to throw this question out there but what is 80CRV2 and is there a similar Spyderco steel? My understanding is that it's a high carbon steel and there is a lot of chatter about it but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

It is a basic carbon steel like 1095cv but with just a touch less carbon. Seems somewhat popular. I have a varusteleka jaakaripuukko in 80crv2 and it is a no frills hard use knife that I would bet my life on.

52100 and O1 would be the closest thing from Spyderco.

[yablanowitz]

The Lil Nilakka has a very nice grind to a thin edge. The tip is quite fine for detail work. The handle is thicker and allows for several different grips. Not sure on RWL34 steel but I would think it would be great as a stainless option as its a more more modern particle metallurgy steel with consistent particle size and is not excessively loaded with carbides.

The Li'l Nilakka would be a nice whittling knife for someone with hands about 1/3 smaller than mine. The handle is about 2" too short for comfort in my mitts.

Good woodworking chisels are usually A2 or O1. You need a really keen edge you can lean into without rolling or chipping, so most of these carbide-rich stainlesses are sub-optimal. Of the currently available Spyderco steels, I would say the AEB-L, assuming it’s of reasonable hardness.

Chisels and gouges are tools for carvers. Carvers are focused on the destination and view the overburden of wood hiding their destination as an obstacle to be overcome as quickly as possible. They need those traits to apply more force to achieve their goal - a finished carving.

All a whittler needs is a piece of wood and a knife sharp enough to cut it without breaking either one. I've come to prefer high-carbide steels because they let me spend less time sharpening and more making tiny wood chips. It's all about the journey for a whittler. The finished carving is just a by-product. I don't expect anyone in this age of instant gratification to understand that

There are a lot of factors that make for a good knife for whittling. Steel selection is way down the list.

[VandymanG]

Well I’m a couple of years late for this topic/thread but you all inspired me. **** I didn’t even know about the Spyderco forum or mules when you started this discussion. I didn’t have a lot of the different steel that were discussed when I first stumbled across the topic. But I did have D2 so I started there. I bought a fish bat and started whittling. D2 performed great for me and rarely needed sharpening. But the blade was way too thick and it made me work a lot. I finished my project and I now have 4 different mules to choose from. I need to finish the handles on the 15V mule. So now I’m going to test with the M398 or AEB-L mule on my next fish bat/fish Billy club.

Finished product. Guess I did ok for a first attempt

IMG_2071.jpeg (23.93 KiB) Viewed 1024 times

I think the fish bat was pine but I’m not sure

Thanks for the inspiration.

[dan31]

One of my thoughts for a Native 5 in 52100. I like the Native 5 for whittling. Something about the choil being the natural grip and the 52100 being well heat treated in past spyderco models. AEB-L would be the stainless option.

[arty]

Queen made a carver in D2 and it still may be available on special order, I don’t know. THey called it an “oar carver.” I have carving knives in Scandinavian carbon steel, but you should be fine with something like D2, XHP, or S35V. If you are carving dense hard woods, a blade with good edge retention would be best. For softer wood, you have more leeway, and VG10 would be fine. A good VG10 will hold an edge very well.
I have a few Queen pocket knives and their D2 is very hard.
You are not chopping wood with a carving blade, so you don’t need a softer steel with less carbon. It all depends on how often you want to sharpen or strop the edge. If you are whittling hard wood with knots, then you may want something that is resistant to edge chipping. I don’t deal with this, and this governed my recommendation.

[yablanowitz]

Queen made a carver in D2 and it still may be available on special order, I don’t know. THey called it an “oar carver.” I have carving knives in Scandinavian carbon steel, but you should be fine with something like D2, XHP, or S35V. If you are carving dense hard woods, a blade with good edge retention would be best. For softer wood, you have more leeway, and VG10 would be fine. A good VG10 will hold an edge very well.
I have a few Queen pocket knives and their D2 is very hard.
You are not chopping wood with a carving blade, so you don’t need a softer steel with less carbon. It all depends on how often you want to sharpen or strop the edge. If you are whittling hard wood with knots, then you may want something that is resistant to edge chipping. I don’t deal with this, and this governed my recommendation.

Actually, it was an Oar carver, Oar being the name of the designer. (It wasn't made for carving oars). But Queen is long gone, so the secondary market is pretty much your only chance.

REX76, M398 and CPM 15V have all been working well for me on hard woods with knots.

[electro-static]

Yeah I agree on Super Blue, 52100, AEB-L, and probably V-Toku 2 and 8Cr13MoV being well suited for making smooth whittling cuts in wood.

Blade and handle ergonomics would probably count more than steel choice. I can definitely think of some very skilled and prolific whittlers who are happy to use reground Swiss Army Knives as their tools of choice.

An Australian woodworker in Perth did some tests a few years ago with a variety of chisels in different steels including PM steels.

The results were interesting, and show that the 'best' steel for your specific needs is not always the most wear resistant one.

https://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRevie ... aring.html

I'm no whittler myself, but if I was going to a attempt a project with a Spydie, I'd probably go to my Superblue Delica with contoured scales, or the AEB-L Urban.

My custom in Magna-Cut handles wood really well. Based on these results, I am now not surprised.

[arty]

Queen made a carver in D2 and it still may be available on special order, I don’t know. THey called it an “oar carver.” I have carving knives in Scandinavian carbon steel, but you should be fine with something like D2, XHP, or S35V. If you are carving dense hard woods, a blade with good edge retention would be best. For softer wood, you have more leeway, and VG10 would be fine. A good VG10 will hold an edge very well.
I have a few Queen pocket knives and their D2 is very hard.
You are not chopping wood with a carving blade, so you don’t need a softer steel with less carbon. It all depends on how often you want to sharpen or strop the edge. If you are whittling hard wood with knots, then you may want something that is resistant to edge chipping. I don’t deal with this, and this governed my recommendation.

Actually, it was an Oar carver, Oar being the name of the designer. (It wasn't made for carving oars). But Queen is long gone, so the secondary market is pretty much your only chance.

REX76, M398 and CPM 15V have all been working well for me on hard woods with knots.

It looks like I failed to capitalize “Oar Carver” but I didn’t suggest it was used to carve oars. The blades are on the small side for this. A large drawknife would work better. If you look at online discussions of the Oar Carver, many didn’t like the blade profile, since it was thicker than they liked. The steel is a bear to reprofile and is very wear resistant. I went through a belt on a 1X30” belt sander just trying to sharpen out a small nick in a Queen liner lock Teardrop. I was trying to indicate that a manufacturer thought that D2 was a good steel for a whittling knife.

[olywa]

A D2 Queen Canoe almost made me give up on freehand sharpening altogether back when I was but a lad. I wept, I cursed, and then my Grampaw gave me a Case Sodbuster. Sweet freehand redemption was mine.

[yablanowitz]

Queen made a carver in D2 and it still may be available on special order, I don’t know. THey called it an “oar carver.” I have carving knives in Scandinavian carbon steel, but you should be fine with something like D2, XHP, or S35V. If you are carving dense hard woods, a blade with good edge retention would be best. For softer wood, you have more leeway, and VG10 would be fine. A good VG10 will hold an edge very well.
I have a few Queen pocket knives and their D2 is very hard.
You are not chopping wood with a carving blade, so you don’t need a softer steel with less carbon. It all depends on how often you want to sharpen or strop the edge. If you are whittling hard wood with knots, then you may want something that is resistant to edge chipping. I don’t deal with this, and this governed my recommendation.

Actually, it was an Oar carver, Oar being the name of the designer. (It wasn't made for carving oars). But Queen is long gone, so the secondary market is pretty much your only chance.

REX76, M398 and CPM 15V have all been working well for me on hard woods with knots.

It looks like I failed to capitalize “Oar Carver” but I didn’t suggest it was used to carve oars. The blades are on the small side for this. A large drawknife would work better. If you look at online discussions of the Oar Carver, many didn’t like the blade profile, since it was thicker than they liked. The steel is a bear to reprofile and is very wear resistant. I went through a belt on a 1X30” belt sander just trying to sharpen out a small nick in a Queen liner lock Teardrop. I was trying to indicate that a manufacturer thought that D2 was a good steel for a whittling knife.

I didn't mean to suggest that you thought it was intended for oars, merely pointing out that "Oar" was a proper name. As for D2 being a good steel for whittling, I've used it quite a bit and it has worked well for me.

[JD Spydo]

One of my thoughts for a Native 5 in 52100. I like the Native 5 for whittling. Something about the choil being the natural grip and the 52100 being well heat treated in past spyderco models. AEB-L would be the stainless option.

I love the idea of a NATIVE model made with 52100. Not sure how 52100 would do with TEETH ( serrations) but maybe it's high time to give it a try. I'm sure the NATIVE would have some advantages for carving/whittling jobs. I've also often wondered how the old Spyderco fixed blade model that was called "The SPOT" would be for whittling jobs.

I also think that there are many of Spyderco's smaller models that would be ideal for whittling. One of the more popular companies that makes whittling knives is "Flexcut". And all I've ever seen them use are old main line carbon steels like 1095.

I'm sure there are many more blade steels that would perform as good or even better than 1095. Oh and thanks for bumping this old curious thread again. I can't believe it's been 3 years already.

[Bolster]

I went through a belt on a 1X30” belt sander just trying to sharpen out a small nick in a Queen liner lock Teardrop.

Hey Arty, I know I'm going OT here, but I own a couple of Queen D2 Teardrop Linerlocks. (Queen and S&M used to be "my" brands.) Was the nick by chance caused by slamming into the backspring? Mine was. I sent one back to the factory and got perhaps the world's worst fix: they just ground the knife blade shorter (vertically). Which made it much thicker BTE. I still have that knife somewhere but the whole blade needs to be reground to thin it out BTE.