The titanium Kestrel has a tungsten carbide impreganated edge. Do you think that makes any difference?
The first Ti knife I had experience with was the Benchmade 970ST (the licensed Emerson CQC-7 with the Ti blade and Tungsten Carbide edge) about 20-24 years ago or so. At the time people were claiming that Ti knives with a strip of WC welded to the edge was "self sharpening" because the Ti wore away from the WC edge, meaning the edge got thinner, with use, and thus "sharper". WC tends to form very thick edges, and does not take a fine, sharp edge. When the edge chips, even if the WC only chips, not chips away from the laminate, it is really, really tough to repair, due to the hardness of the WC. My friend's 970ST was basically ruined when it was used to cut tape on a floor. The edge chipped, and was really, really ugly, while I worked on it. Finally got it as sharp as it was going to get and it was not what I call "sharp". In my kitchen now is a Spyderco Ti kitchen knife...It never gets really sharp (slicing tomatoes is better done with my Henkels) but it doesn't turn my lettuce brown. It works well on firm fruits and veg, but not so hot on meats.
Mission knives has spent a lot of time and money making Ti bladed knives, and their alloy is supposed to be capable of being hardened to just over 50rc. There is almost no market for these knives outside of collectors, and small military groups that need a corrosion resistant non-ferrous knives while working around submerged explosive devices. They also use a different alloy that is much harder to grind than 6AL-4V. Kestrel's website extolls the benefits of Ti, but really doesn't mention "how sharp" it gets. Good enough might just be good enough. Maybe the state of the art in producing these blades has changed, but I have been soured by my experience. Nearly everyone makes identical knives in steel that they do in Ti.
The cost of the Kestrel knives alone makes them attractive to get one to play with. Maybe I am wrong. At 11g it is probably worth the weight to carry one in addition to my regular skinner and thus have a backup. The consensus on most of the knife forums I used to hang out on are that Ti is OK, but there is much better stuff out there that makes sharper, more functional knives, at a lower price point to boot.
The issues I see with a UL hunting knife is that animals are gritty as you skin them, and the environment you skin them in has all kinds of bumps and hard things that can damage a knife edge. You won't have too much headache if you use them to cut string, MH meals, ect. While Kestrel's website shows some big critters in the testimonials, not all of them mention Ti blades. Starting out with a so-so edge, and then damaging it would suck. I can easily reprofile my VG10 and even M2 and D2 blades in the field, if I need to. Folks more knowledgeable then me have pointed out that Ti knives sharpened on conventional setups lead to problems when sharpening carbon steel on the same setup. The Ti fills up stones incredibly fast an using the least aggressive grit you can would help.
pat
in a flat out emergency..i think a havalon would suck. especially if that was all you had. you cant even scratch a spark off of a flint..right?
Kabar potbelly. It's a large knife and you know it when it's in your' hand but talk about the feeling of confidence! I have no doubt that I can batton any wood I'd care too as well as skin any animal out there and resharpen it every day if needed and still have a nice knife at the end of my days....1095 steel I believe
