Is Stainless Steel Good Enough for a Knife Blade?

As a knife-maker, and the moderator of knife (or knife related) forums for a few different internet bulletin boards over recent years, I very often hear people talking about high carbon steel being the only choice for a good knife. If they don’t say it directly, it is often something they have heard from someone else, saying something like “I was told if a steel doesn’t rust it wont make a good knife.”
Of course the up-shot of this is very often that stainless steel gets pandered, even unintentionally, and very good knives made of stainless are ignored or over looked. This is quite unfortunate, because the right stainless steel works extremely well.

I have a theory about this little phenomenon though - It is an issue of Carbon content.

Before we continue, let me establish a few “definitions”. Steel, in general, is divided up into two categories, and five subcategories that apply to the two main ones:

• Simple Carbon Steel – Steel of all types with less than 13% Chromium content.
• Stainless Steel – Steel of all types with more than 13% Chromium content.

Ø Very Low Carbon – Steel with up to 0.05% carbon content.

Ø Low Carbon – Containing 0.05 – 0.2%

Ø Medium Carbon – Containing 0.2 – 0.5%

Ø Medium-High Carbon – Containing 0.5 – 0.8%

Ø High Carbon – Containing 0.8% and higher

The higher the carbon content the better, but...

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Folding Utility Knives

The folding utility knife is nothing new - its been around for awhile, with some pretty good quality ones having come out in the past couple of years. I think the first one I was aware of was the SuperKnife, which is probably still the best quality of them on the market, but there are several different brands out there now. Including several, of essentially the same type, that are being logo-branded by tool companies like Husky, or Kobalt, and sold cheaply in big-box hardware stores like Lowes.
I've had one of these, a Husky labeled utility knife, for awhile now and use it to cut assorted stuff around my knife making shop. Its a good tool, well made with a solid lock and a comfortable handle.
Just yesterday at Lowe's I picked up a folding Carpet Knife, with the nice double-edged razor style blade. A liner lock, this. Good lockup too.

The "low-profile" non-weapon weapons aspect of these tools is obvious; as a more concealable successor to the venerable box cutter. I have actually carried mine in the non-permissive environment on a couple of occasions. Not my first choice, but it is an option.
The box-cutter (and similar utility knives: carpet knives, linoleum knives) have long been a favored "Street weapon". I've seen more than one homeless guy with one in his back pocket and read more than one news article about some poor sap who stepped around the wrong corner and got one to the face and throat. I recall one article about a guy who got his neck sliced open by a gang member, ran all the way to the hospital hands clamped around his neck, and lived. He was fucking lucky.
In the UK a common name for edged weapons is "Stanleys" thanks to the good old Stanley box-cutter.
There is probably not a one of us that doesnt remember the role of the meager box-cutter in the 9/11 attacks.
Going back even further, I remember....

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Desperate Circumstances call for Desperate Measures

In emergency situations no one thinks quite like they do normally. I've always been proud of myself for being a "cool head" when things are seriously going wrong but as I have read more and studied more about mental processes and particularly the decision making process under stress, and paid more attention to my own mind, even I know that the way I think under stress is not the way I think when I am calm, comfortable and safe.
Something I think a lot of people are prone to under stress is making decisions that, for a more immediate or easier reward, add a small, temporary, amount of risk to the situation.
At a certain point some additional risks bring about a greater benefit than not taking them - I can remember being 14 and driving 70 down a dirt road it could be dangerous to go 45 on, with my mom in the passenger seat apparently having a heart attack. It was a near-fatal potassium imbalance, as it turned out, but no less dangerous. There was risk to driving that fast, although the road was in good condition it was also un-predictable to a certain extent and not safe at higher speeds. There was also a greater risk if not driving fast - at a normal speed of 35mph its an hours drive to meet the ambulance. At 70, its half an hour. I knew I could handle the vehicle at 70, I wasnt an inexperienced driver. The risk, under the circumstances, was worth the reward.
But some risks arent.
People tend to say "desperate circumstances call for desperate measures" when faced with an emergency situation, as a way to justify driving a little faster or taking other additional risks for perceived gains - but it can be dangerous.
Tonight was the first night of the season we've needed to heat the house. This is a 60+ year old ranch house and is still dependant on wood-fired heat. For fun, and to at least encourage my skills, I built the fire somewhat by-hand, using a knife to break large kindling into splinters and make fuzz sticks and starting a little pile of shavings burning with some flakes off a magnesium block, then adding to it with larger pieces until I had a fire. Nice, cedar and pinon fire that went from a little bit of flame to a great roaring fire.
But, I had to stop myself at one point while I was splitting cedar into fine kindling. I caught myself slipping the knife blade under a large splinter and starting to pull it back towards my hand holding the piece of wood. The first lesson my dad ever taught me about a knife, when I got my first one at 6 years old, was to never cut toward myself. I've proved him right many times, and gone with him to the hospital when he proved himself extremely right one day a few years ago. I never want to cut myself, it sucks. As a knife-maker, I do it a lot, but it still sucks and I still dont like it. I like $1000.01 bills (the exact bill the last time I had stitches) for less than ten stitches even less.
But, it struck me, if I was really stuck somewhere miserable and cold (on a night like tonight, its still early fall but the temp has dropped fast and its snowing but earlier today I was out in short-sleeves), trying to build a fire, how much would I hurt myself to cut my hand, even minorly? How handicapped would I be with my hand cut, bandaged and maybe restricted or completely useless? What if I seriously injured myself, hit the artery in my arm, or slipped even further trying not to cut myself and stuck it in my thigh?
And would it have been worth it? No. It was taking a short-cut to something it would have only taken me a second longer to do right, turn the stick around and whittle the splinter off from a safe direction.
Easily learned lesson - no pain, no suffering. Most good lessons dont come so easily.
Desperate circumstances can call for desperate measures - but not stupid ones. Theres never an excuse for being stupid and dangerous.

"Women Should Be Dressed in White, Like Other Kitchen Appliances"

I think by now we've all heard the line that is this posts title, and know the stink it caused when the honcho of Formula 1 said it about, and to, Danica Patrick (Indy 500 4th place finisher). I'm not a racing fan, at all, and I heard it. If not, JFGI
What relevance does racing, or misogyny in that good ol' boys club have to self defense/combatives?
The former, not much, the latter? A lot.
Like a lot of male dominated fields, there is a lot of misogynistic behavior in the communities of firearms and combatives enthusiasts/practicioners/instructors.
Just recently on one of the forums I frequent there was a discussion that came up on what "women need to know" to successfully protect themselves. Several of the comments were less than heartening....

"Bring her man with her..."

"The most important thing a woman needs to know? The PIN number to the debit card."

This is, sad to say, typical.
This field is, pretty much, a boys club - particularly when we start talking about the serious innovators, those who work and train hard and distill the best, most cutting edge, software from their experience and study.
Now, most of these gentlemen, are just that - Gentlemen. But, theres the occasional internet poster, or range officer, or gun-store clerk who has the "Women should be dressed in white, like other kitchen appliances attitude."
And generally, even those of us who do not like that attitude, we ignore it. We dont call people on it, dont make waves.
The problem with that is when our daughters, wives, mothers, or girlfriends run into that attitude - on one of the boards we post on, and have encouraged them to visit, or in a gun store or at a range. Especially if they are new to the whole thing, just getting their feet wet, and maybe already a little bit uncomfortable.
That kind of attitude can be like running into a brick wall - If it was just starting to get interesting, or fun, one nasty run in like that can end the fun.
It just takes once, and the whole thing is over - you wont get her to go back to the range, or back on the board, again.

We may think its funny - But the women in our lives dont. I can be a sexist bastard just jokingly (I laughed at the "Women should be dressed..." comment), but not around my girl.
Frankly, any woman who puts up with our shit, deserves better - especially if she is beginning to accept her responsibility to protect herself, and expressing an interest in learning more about it.
Sexism, misogyny, even in fun, has no place in serious discussion, or training, involving women.
There's some real pieces of shit out there, who want to do horrible things to our queens. The ladies in our lives need every chance they can have, to get every advantage they can get.

Now, in answer to the "Whats the most important thing for a woman to know question", here is an excellent comment from James Yeager of Tactical Response:

"That it is just as right and just for her to defend herself as it is to defend her children."