What's different about Fire Creek Forge® knives and tools?

I  build one of a kind, heirloom quality knives, axes and tools that you can count on to perform for you in your outdoor, craft, and adventure pursuits. Because of the attention to detail in building these blades and tools, you can expect them to perform better than anything you can buy off the shelf.

Everyone has some kind of previous experience with knife steel, whether extensive or minimal, good or bad. Some prefer carbon steels over stainless, and so on. 

There are three main types of steel available in the knife world: Carbon Steel, Alloy Steel, and High Alloy Or Stainless Steel.  

Carbon steels, like 1075, 1080, 1095, and others, are a metallurgically basic steel that offer a quality and practical blade steel.

Alloy steels like O1, 5160, 52100, 80CRV2, and others cover a broad range of steels with the addition of minimal alloying components such as Chromium, Vanadium, Nickel, Tungsten, and others. Alloy steels provide steel options that are more wear resistant than normal carbon steels. 

High alloy or stainless steels include AEB-L, S35VN, 440C, and many others. This category of steel has up to 18 percent chromium, and varying amounts of carbon and other alloys. High alloy steels also commonly display  high abrasion resistant qualities.

After thousands of hours and many hundreds of knives I have settled on four different steels to provide the best blade for the intended use within the high carbon steel category.

52100: 

Because 52100 is a hyper-eutectoid steel (carbon content greater than .77%) it is capable of better abrasion resistance then most other high carbon steels. Proper heat treatment creates a tough blade with great edge retention. 

This steel has been around for over 100 years, and was originally developed for bearings. This is a high wear and high pressure application, which translates to excellent blade properties. 52100 contains 1% carbon, and about 1.5% chromium.

80CRV2: 

A tough alloy steel with about .80 percent carbon and some chromium and vanadium, 80CRV2 is a great option for tough blades with good edge retention. I mainly use this to forge or build heavy use or large chopping blades. This is the steel I used to forge my winning Japanese Gunto sword on Forged In Fire season 6 episode 8.

Water quenched San-Mai (26C3, 125Cr1 / 410 Stainless)

Beyond my overall knifemaking experience, I spent several years learning and perfecting Japanese style san mai blade smithing techniques, and I find these blades to be at the top of the heap when it comes to edge retention and sharpness. These knives are forged starting with building the billet, which involves forge welding 410 stainless steel over a core of either 26C3 or 125Cr1 high carbon steel. (These are the same on paper, the first is made in Sweden and the second in Germany.) These steels have very low impurity content compared to most steels, which aids in the attainable sharpness and toughness of the steel, as well as ease of sharpening. 

The high carbon content of 1.25% provides among the highest abrasion resistance possible in the high carbon steel class. With the cladding of 410 stainless steel, these knives are very tough and instead of breaking if over pressured they will bend, and can be straightened and continue service. Forging methods that resemble traditional Japanese smithing techniques include water instead of oil quenching to bring the steel to the highest level of performance. 

15N20: 

Essentially 1080 steel with 1.5% - 2% Nickel content, I routinely use this steel in my pattern welded blades, paired with either 52100 or 80CrV2. It is the steel that shows up as the silver or light colored steel in the finished blade. A good blade steel, the nickel content adds a measure of toughness to the steel.

Carbon and alloy steels are an excellent option for many knives. This is because unlike most stainless and high alloy steels, they sharpen easily, take a very keen edge, and hold an edge very well. They do require a bit more attention to prevent corrosion if used in wet applications. In my experience, simply wiping the blade clean and dry after use is adequate to prevent rusting. 

In cases of extended storage or wet climates, wiping on a layer of oil is recommended. Additionally, it is not advisable to store your knife in its leather sheath as the tannins can react with the steel and cause corrosion.

Carbon and alloy steels will develop a patina with use, which shows up as light blue or purple colors to a soft or even dark grey, depending on the particular steel and the food oils and acids it comes in contact with. A patina is not the same as rust. The patina does not make the blade rust proof, but does slow corrosion down once the patina is established.

Stainless blades are prized for their corrosion resistance, but this does not mean they can never rust. In extreme conditions such as prolonged exposure in salt water environments, corrosion is possible. In the majority of cases, simply wiping the moisture off your stainless blade is all that is necessary.

Your knife will be shipped with a working edge that is capable of shaving hair off the arm. 

What is the best knife sharpener?

I recommend maintaining your edge with stropping or honing. This can be done with a leather strop and fine polishing compound, or a fine arkansas stone, very fine diamond hone, or kitchen knife steel. This touches up the existing edge without removing any significant amount of steel. Maintaining your edge in this manner will give you better cutting performance, a longer edge life, and longer blade life over all. 

In most cases, sharpening that involves actually removing steel from the edge is not necessary except after prolonged use. When it becomes necessary to sharpen or re-profile the edge, I prefer natural India stones. 

I use a variety of handle options including micarta, G10, natural wood, and antler.

Micarta is made of layers of canvas, linen, or paper, impregnated with a phenolic resin. It is waterproof, dense and durable, making it a good handle material. We primarily use canvas and linen micarta, which actually becomes more "grippy" when wet, and more grippy throughout the life of the handle. Maintenance is as simple as washing with detergent when needed and drying with a cloth.

G10 is similar to micarta, but is made of layers of fiberglass fabric in an epoxy resin. G10 is lighter in weight compared to micarta, and is available in a wide range of color options and combinations. It also waterproof, requires minimal maintenance and can be washed clean and dried off.  

Natural Wood is unsurpassed in its intrinsic beauty and organic qualities. Some of my favorites include Cocobolo, Zircote, Bocote, Desert Ironwood, Mesquite, and Walnut. Some of these are particularly dense and some have a high natural oil content, making them especially good for handles.

I use either linseed oil, tung oil, or Danish oil product on my knife handles, applied during the finishing stages of the knife.

Maintenance for wood handles involves cleaning and drying the handle, and applying a quality wood oil sealant product like the ones mentioned. The necessity of this will be determined mostly by use and the environment, but suffice to say you don't want the wood to dry out. Keeping it oiled as necessary will not only reduce the chance of cracking, it will also keep the wood from soaking up moisture in a damp environment. 

Elk and Deer antler make a beautiful, durable handle. Where either moisture resistance or drying out is a concern, I recommend applying a thin coat of natural beeswax to your antler handle after carefully warming the handle to facilitate application.