All About Pocket Knives

New member here. Just recently started rekindling my interest in Traditional pocket knives. Reading through the forums, it seems like the majority of folks seem to prefer CV over SS. Tried a search to compare the two steels with no luck. From what I've read is that CV is easier to sharpen and has better edge holding. I'm curious as to what others have experienced. Looking forward to the journey.

Welcome to AAPK. Your question has been hashed and re-hashed on this and I’m sure other forums. Since you’re new and haven’t been through the discussions before, I’ll give you my opinion on it (which is worth about what it cost you). I much prefer Case CV over Case Tru-Sharp which is what Case calls their stainless steel. There are many stainless steels that are better than Tru-Sharp, and better than CV. One of them is 154-CM which Case uses in their Case-Bose collaborations. 154-CM is more expensive than Tru-Sharp. When you make hundreds of thousands of knives every year like Case does, the difference in cost adds up quick.

IMHO Case Tru-Sharp is popular with collectors because it looks good and doesn’t tarnish (rust or patina) like CV will. Those collectors don’t care about edge retention or ease of sharpening because most of them will never use the knives. They just want something easy to maintain. My unscientific observations are that those who carry and use their Case knives prefer CV. Of course there are exceptions. Tru-Sharp is not bad, it can and will do the job. It’s just that many others are better. The vast majority of knife buyers are not collectors. They buy it, use it, and never know the difference.

Ken

CV--nothing against stainless steel, but Case doesn't seem to do it that well. Most new stainless Case I have owned have been sharp, but not razor sharp. CV seems sharper out of the box. I think it's the grind with Tru-Sharp or something.

CV for me all day long. I will say though that I’m my entirely unscientific opinion, CASE’s try-sharp seems a bit better the last few years, but IMO its way too soft, especially for thin blades. It seems to do better in thicker blades.

You pays your money, you makes your choices. Imo CV takes a better edge, and holds it better, and doesn’t roll like the tru-sharp.

Carbon steel for me

I'm sure this discussion/debate will go on for a while, as discussions on this topic tend to. My personal, overwhelming pick is CV, or for that matter, any high carbon steel over stainless. First, for the obvious reasons - how well and easily a blade can be sharpened, and edge retention. Second, I see far more broken stainless steel springs in the knives I work on. Of course, either factor could be just a matter of operator skill or error.

Thanks for the responses. I had a feeling CV was more user friendly. Of the few I have acquired so far, about half are CV. Since I'm not a collector, all will see use. Looks like Case doesn't offer all models with a choice of blade steel. Oh well, guess I'll have to be selective with which models I choose.

grock wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 4:44 am Thanks for the responses. I had a feeling CV was more user friendly. Of the few I have acquired so far, about half are CV. Since I'm not a collector, all will see use. Looks like Case doesn't offer all models with a choice of blade steel. Oh well, guess I'll have to be selective with which models I choose.

If you’re in no hurry they make most patterns available in CV. You may have to look harder to find one, or wait a while until they make a run of that pattern in CV. Preferring CV myself, that’s what I do. Just keep a watch on the Case web site and their larger dealers.

Ken

Ken

CV! ...

One of my favorite patterns Case has done in CV is the 63052 (medium congress), not only are the blades CV but they all have long pulls as well!

Would like to see them put long pulls on a few more CV patterns ... and I'm still waiting them out and hoping for a Seahorse Whittler in CV one day. (at least the two smaller blades in CV)