stainless or carbon

[Mint Hill Mule]

I'm new at this so don't flame me too bad. I ordered a couple of blades from Tx Knifemakers Supply that are 6a high carbon SS. Is this steel a good one to start with or should I use high carbon only? The knives I'm making are Hunter/Skinner style. How does the 6a compare to the other SS like 440?

Thanks

[beaver#1]

i dont know much about SS.  what i do know about it is that it is a buger to correctly heat treat.   i use only carbon steel.  with a little care it will last as long and out perform SS much of the time

[Mint Hill Mule]

Thanks beaver.   The problem is that the blades or kits offer very few options for carbon, ( most are SS). If I had a choice it would be carbon. I'm not ready to tackle a blank, cut it out and then heat treat it.

With all the stainless steels available, some must be a little more forgiving to work with. Would it be safe to assume that 6a high carbon SS might fall in that category? Anyone care to respond.

[beaver#1]

if you are making kits then ss is fine.  if you get into making your own forged blades then its more trouble than its worth in my book. i cannot comment on the 6a ss  i have never heard any info from someone that used it

[freefeet]

Originally posted by Mint Hill Mule:
The problem is that the blades or kits offer very few options for carbon, ( most are SS).

There's plenty of carbon blades for sale - probably just as many as SS.  At least in UK there is.

Keep googling, i'm sure you'll find plenty.    

[Maxximusgrind]

Its been a while,but when I bought a couple of their kits,it seemed to me it was pretty good quality stuff.and if you already bought it,if you arent thinking of returning them,you could do some testing and see what your own preference is.If I remember right the blades I bought were pretty sharp already too,if so be careful working on them,I know it sounds stupid but its not hard to get so focused on the handle work that you loose track of where the edge starts.
 Robert

[skullworks]

Tape the blades!!!!! 32 stitches of experience speaking!!!!

[Ragnarok Forge]

The blades should already be treated and ready for the scales or handle material.  The main advantage to stainless steel is the it doesn't require nearly the maintenance that a carbon blade does.

[kuch]

get some books on knifemaking... the steel makes no difference when starting with a kit as far as completing the knife but there are varying quality of kits.i thought years ago TX knifemakers had a few high carbon blakns?try K&G?