Frost Knives

Turkey Creek Tom · Post by **Turkey Creek Tom** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:17 pm

In the picture you will see a (1.) Pawnee side-lock at top. To unlock the blade you have to slide the bolster. This was designed by Bob Cargill. Note the movement on the bolster in the picture. It has good bone handles. (2.) Is a Texas stockman. Five good blades three heavy backsprings, good brass liners and geat bone handles. (3.) Tennessee Trapper, heavy knife with bone handles and the second blade is a huge spay and to un-lock the master blade you have to depress the second blade. I am not a Frost collector, but I have had these knives for about twenty years.

Hukk · Post by **Hukk** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 4:00 am

One thing I would like to know but have not found is which 440 steel does Frost/Steel Warrior use? Is it 440-A, 440-B, or is it 440-C, they are all 440, but they are all different. At this time I would say that Steel Warrior knives are equal as users to the current lines of Bulldog and Case, their quality has dropped badly recently while the Steel Warrior has improved. I don't see the same thing happening with Frost named brand, but I hear that they have something in the works for 2007, possibly late in the year. They will not be of collector quality until they get rid of those funky bone scales that look like plastic and make limited editions. The last component would be public acceptance.
IMO, with that being said do they compare well against Canal Street cutlery? NO WAY! Do they compare well against Moore Maker? NO WAY! Schatt and Morgan? NO WAY! Do they compare well against older Case and Bulldog knives? NO WAY!
This is just my opinion, which I feel is unbiased.
While I do collect production and custom knives, I prefer to carry custom folders as users and that is exactly what I do. It's not the oohs and ahhs I'm after, I carry knives that feel the best when I hold them. Typically the custom knives I chose to carry fit my hands well, currently one is a Chris Bostwick folder and the other is a Wendall Carson Muskrat trapper.
Frost has a long way to go, his Steel Warrior line is his best. I have held quite a few, but none have that feel good quality that is one of the things I look for.

jabberwocky · Post by **jabberwocky** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 1:28 pm

BrokenCamillus...
I'm looking forward to your "running evaluation program" on your new
Steel Warrior trapper and wrangler. I'm still very curious about these knives, and I must admit, I keep seeing them advertised on those late nite cable "knife collector shows". On TV at least, the quality, construction
and fit & finish looks pretty good. I should probably just break down and
order one or two, I guess!

Hukk...
From what I've seen and heard, and what little I've been able to read on the subject of blade steel on these Steel Warriors, I think there's a good
possibility they're made from 440V. If I'm not mistaken, their little Rc.
stickers on their blades state that they're at 56-58 on the scale. That would seem (I think) to correspond to whatthey say about this 440V. It's
supposedly not as hard as 440C, but will hold an edge longer. I've also
seen on these knife shows that the Steel Warrior blades are made in
Solingen, Germany? Maybe that's true, and they're just assembled in
China? Not sure.

Hukk · Post by **Hukk** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 4:09 pm

Spyderco and Kershaw Ken Onion knives use CPM-440V which has been renamed CPM-S60V. CPM-S60V has been replaced by CPM-S30V which was specifically designed for cutlery. Those knives with 440V are typically hardened/tempered to 55-57Rc. CPM stands for Crucible Particle Metallurgy. What I do know is that CPM 440V, (CPM-S60V) it is considered very difficult to sharpen and that's why they went to CPM-S30V (CPM-420V old name). I have 4 bars of CPM-S30V on my desk as I write this and I think it is one of the best stainless knife steels around.

I had heard that Steel Warrior steel was made in Germany several times, I guess that must be true. I doubt that Frost Cutlery has their steel made there since the last I looked, Frost knives were priced lower than the Steel Warrior.
I have a Steel Warrior and have sold the rest. I buy Frost, Steel Warrior, Rough Riders, and Owl Head every year to see if they have improved. The last couple years Steel Warrior has improved, quite a bit. Rough Riders and Frost in my opinion remain spotty. Owl Head doesn't seem as if they have changed one bit.
I am surprised to hear they use 440V, but the price has dropped since the introduction of S30V by Crucible Steel, supposedly working with Chris Reeve Knives. As I mentioned earlier 440V was replaced because it was difficult to sharpen. The replacement S30V is considered better than ATS34 and BG 42 by many.

Did I go off into left field or what, I need more coffe.

I wouldn't put much stock in the 56-58Rc sticker since many stainless steels can be hardened/tempered into this range. But since 440V has a better replacement, it would make sense because it created a drop in price for the 440V.

justold52 · Post by **justold52** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 5:52 pm

Hukk ; (I prefer to carry custom folders as users and that is exactly what I do.) I do not doubt you one bit. I am very sure you do use your knives a lot.(not all like the proto types).

I am wondering this though. Do people real use the Sunfish Elephant Toenail knives?

I have 2 of them and both come with a blade opener. They need it cuz they are so hard to open. What do people use them for?

jonet143 · Post by **jonet143** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 6:10 pm

toenails were probably used mainly in the early oil drilling days and other rigging jobs that used rope before the use of metal wire cable. there are lots of theories. frost has their own versions.

a good source of info: elephanttoenails.com

Hukk · Post by **Hukk** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:23 pm

justold52 wrote:Hukk ; (I prefer to carry custom folders as users and that is exactly what I do.) I do not doubt you one bit. I am very sure you do use your knives a lot.(not all like the proto types).

I am wondering this though. Do people real use the Sunfish Elephant Toenail knives?

I have 2 of them and both come with a blade opener. They need it cuz they are so hard to open. What do people use them for?

I think it just boils down to what folks like to carry, to each his own. Some folks will carry Sunfish just because thats what they like. There are occasions where I will carry a whittler with a Warncliffe blade or a stockman, yep, even one with real abalone scales. I do enjoy custom knives or even customized factory knives. I don't carry proto's or rare knives, doesn't make sense to do that to me, but some do. For each pattern I am picky about the length. A Warncliffe whittler at 4 1/8 seems just right, where a trapper at 3 7/8 seems better to me than 4 1/8. A stockman at 3 5/8 suits me just fine. I used a 3 inch lockback for years to field dress deer (not skinning), yet a 3 1/8 Warncliffe Whittler seems just too small to do anything. I know what I like and I try new things as much as possible. Wendell Carson's Swayback trapper checks in at 4 3/16 yet I carry that a lot because of the size and shape of the handle. Yeah, the smaller standard trapper at 4 1/8 is not one I like to carry. It's all about fit, feel, and performance. After years of using knives, I like anyone else developes their own preferences for each pattern.

justold52 · Post by **justold52** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:43 pm

jonet143 Thank You for the INFO.

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