Is solid Zerconium Oxide blade a good or bad idea for a bush knife??

[mik matra]

the Ebay link is here; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/130779879994?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_7531wt_1241

The blade length of 8.4cm is from the pivot and is not the whole 'usable' length of the blade. The weight is a little off at 28.6g (1.01 ounce) instead of the advertised 26g.

I really like the size of the knife for it's weight as most of the foldable UL steel knives I've been looking at have quite a small blade length. So it has a few things going for it BUT…

1.I am not sure about taking this type of blade in the wilderness. More to the point of is the blade strength up to the standards??? What if I need to belt the back end of the knife (Bear Grills style) to chop down a tree to set up a makeshift shelter in case of emergancy etc etc,
2.How do you sharpen these Zerconium Oxide blades?

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thank you :)

Mik.

[Franco Darioli]

Hi Mik
I have that knife.
The specs are correct.
The ceramic blade is very sharp but from what I hear very brittle too.
So great for food preparation but definitely not for bushcraft and the like.
For that a Mora might just be the easy and cheap way out..
( I have a Mora too, that does works…)

[Roger Caffin]

> is the blade strength up to the standards???
Um – standards?
It's strong and very hard, but the ceramic cannot bend AT ALL. So either it survives, or it breaks.

> What if I need to belt the back end of the knife (Bear Grills style)
It will shatter.

Note: it can be destroyed by high heat.

> How do you sharpen these Zirconium Oxide blades?
It has a Mohr hardness of about 8. Both diamond (10) and cubic boron nitride (9) grinding wheels are suitable. Watch for heat though. Water cooling would probably be OK.

Scissors made of this stuff are very good for Kevlar fabric and similar.

Cheers

[Dale Wambaugh]

Creamic bladed knives are great in the kitchen, not so hot in the woods– too fragile. Definitely NOT for batoning.

For high quality folders, I like Benchmade knives, like the Griptilian, but it is 3.8oz. I've been carrying a 2oz Benchmade Mini Pika lately and I like it a lot. Spyderco makes several similar lightweight folders.

The 111mm Victorinox knives that incorporate a saw are good for emergency shelter pole cutting. Check out the Trekker and Rucksack models— in the 3.6oz range.

The new Mora Robust model is an excellent and inexpensive fixed blade knife. The Victorinox "Little Vickie" is quite light (3/4oz), razor sharp, excellent for food prep, but not for knocking down small trees.

[Erik Basil]

Ceramic blades make for a light knife, and a very sharp one that will hold that edge for a long time. However, if you cut into things with metal or rocks or etc… in them, or you wish to torque the blade as in whittling/carving, or you want to baton — they're no good, as the ceramic will chip against metal/rock or *snap* with a very light, expensive sound.

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