Knife Suggestions?

[syntaxerrorsix]

Well, I don't like clasp (folding) knives - I want to have my knife ready to go when I need it without fiddling around opening it

I would suggest titanium rather than SS - they hold an edge better and no rust

But if you like clasp, you might want to look at the Spyderco knives, they sound good

Titanium does not hold an edge better and it's much harder to sharpen. Let alone the fact that it's Rockwell hardness is WAY below most any given stainless. Even Pakistani flea market knives cut better. This is relatively un-debatable but I'm game if you are

 

[fnfalman]

Titanium does not hold an edge better and it's much harder to sharpen. Let alone the fact that it's Rockwell hardness is WAY below most any given stainless. Even Pakistani flea market knives cut better. This is relatively un-debatable but I'm game if you are

Titanium has two main advantages over steel: corrosion resistance and lightweight versus strength.

Titanium's oxidizing layer (yes, titanium rusts and that's why it's corrosion resistant) is so tightly bonded together that once the metal developed the oxidation layer, no more air/oxygen molecules can make it through to rust the metal underneath.

Titanium also has about 80-85% of the physical characteristics of steel but at around 50-60% of the weight.

A titanium knife will be lighter than a stainless steel knife, but we're talking about a couple of ounces here so in the real world, it matters not.

A titanium knife will be more corrosion resistant than a stainless steel knife, but if you were to rinse the SS knife off after each dive with freshwater then once again it's a non-issue. If you don't bother to clean your gears after diving then go with a nitrogen-impregnated stainless steel like the H1 steel, N680 steel or X15 steel. No rust but with steel's physical characteristics.

There's a reason why good knife manufacturers don't really bother with titanium knives. Spyderco makes its marine-grade fixed blade knives and folding knives out of H1 steel. Benchmade used to make their marine knives out of H1 but now they use X15 and N680. Probably just to differentiate themselves from Spyderco and the H1 steel.

 

[Tortuga68]

Titanium does not hold an edge better and it's much harder to sharpen. Let alone the fact that it's Rockwell hardness is WAY below most any given stainless. Even Pakistani flea market knives cut better. This is relatively un-debatable but I'm game if you are

Never having been to a Pakistani flea market, I'll take your word for it