Stainless by accident;-)

 So, this is a typical Fimbulmyrk´s - gone - over - the - top-story. A knife that´s stainless by accident. I already told the tall tale of how I first thought this one to be Damascus and it turned out 440C and that I did not trust it that much and stuff. Now, with a maple handle fitted (mosaic pins, just love ´em), I have already done some testing.

The blade is somewhat on the sturdy side of slicey, ahem;-), but cuts well enough due to the high convex, almost flat grind to almost zero. It devours tomatoes and slices thin slices of onions and salami. Feather sticks are a joy. Chopping antler shows no adverse effects, it just feels right... and the balance point and ergonomics are right there. I like it.

And this is the real reality check.

It has a fine enough grain, it does almost everything my crucible, Damascus, spring, file and tool steel knives do, but is stainless in the bargain. Of course you can seldom find 440C by the roadside, but thinking of that I have made fun out of stainless steel for over a decade... I have to apologize, not that sincerely, but still:-). You can make it work, actually. Really, you can.:-) And I haven´t grown rashes, either. Of course, you can get a slightly sharper blade with carbon steel, but most people would not even notice. It shaves and cuts funny patterns out of free-hanging newspaper, what more do you want?

As I said, for a bushcraft knife, this might be one way to go in the future... but we will see.