Carbon VS Stainless Steel!!!! WHICH IS BEST???

Shiny and pricey? Or cheap and rusty. This video will help you decide what to purchase!

Tools I use often:
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Drywall knives:
Mud Pan with Grip!! (This is the BOMB! You will thank me!)

Hawk and Trowels
13 inch hawk:
13 inch trowels:
12 inch trowels:
14 inch trowels:

Auto tools
Mud tubes and applicator:
Flushers
Handle adjustable
Corner roller (head only, you may need another handle)

[JohnSawtell]

Stainless Steel has chromium added in with the steel which is what makes it resistant to rusting. The chrome forms an oxide layer that acts as a barrier oxygen getting to the iron in the steel. When you abraid the stainless (like rubbing it against a bunch of powdered stone) you end up removing the chrome oxide layer which will allow oxygen to get to the iron and rust until the oxide layer has had time to reform. The higher quality the stainless, the more chromium is in the mix, and the faster the oxide layer can form which protects from rusting (it also makes it less magnetic). Since you can't prevent the abrasion on the tip of a knife you have to treat it like you would a regular steel knife and not leave it sitting in water. I would assume the reason you got uneven corrosion was due to you having more abrasion on the parts of the blade that was doing the most work.

As for bending easier I think that must just come down to the quality of the tool. Stainless is actually stronger than steel with everything else being equal, but that doesn't mean a junk stainless is going to outperform a quality spring steel.

[fordracng]

Ex-knifemaker and part time metalurgist. Stainless has less carbon and more chromium and vanadium (Above 13%) which makes it stainless. Stainless is low carbon which is why they're soft. Carbon is what makes steel harder, but it also makes it prone to rust. If you coat carbon steel with any kind of hydrophobic coating (silicone impregnated cloth, veggie oil, mineral oil, WD-40, etc) after cleaning, it will keep it from rusting. To your point about the cheap stainless corroding unevenly, this is what happens when the grains of metal are larger, so the little pieces that make up the steel at a microscopic level are not uniform and aren't fully mixed. So you may get a little chunk of carbon (there's still carbon in stainless, just less) that isn't mixed into the steel well and can corrode at a different rate.

[jaguardrywall]

Carbon steel has its benefits
1. They are generally cheaper
2. they get really sharp in case you need to cut plastic to mask windows and doors
3. once you break him in they are wonderful to work with they become flexible
4. They are super easy to clean just spray WD-40 on them before you use them and once you are done using them use another knife to scrape off the mud and respray WD-40 on them the mud never really sticks to them

[quinnycoleman]

I am a taper and an avid expensive pocket knife collector, I have a very very basic understanding of blade steels and I use carbon wherever possible for taping tools for two reasons, cheap carbon stays sharper longer and is easier to sharpen. And carbon is more flexible and stainless is more brittle and hard, you need flexibility for a good knife, that said stainless trowels are alright because carbon has been mostly fazed out here in canada, but I miss paying 50 for a good trowel, now i pay 70 80 for nela and hate getting it sharp

[anoniemoss]

For an amateur DIY'er, I recommend stainless. No matter what you get, wash it off when your done. If you don't need to use the tools every day, go for stainless. This is especially helpful if you need to use hot mud like 90 or 45 minute easy sand.

[seephor]

All stainless is not created equal. They use the lowest grade of stainless for these types of tools which is why they corrode.

[Sirmaximus]

I clean my blades with a little WD40 after initial cleaning. Never rusted. Never had an issue. Like the carbon steel more due to flexibility. Thank you for your channel. Have learned a few tips

[craigtate]

I use SS most often... but I also have learned how to care for the carbon...I dont do a ton of drywall work..but when I do I dont want to fight a rusty tool...just my 2 cents

[AnotherClown]

I had no idea they made both. However I don't do much mud work. just a little but I enjoy your tips and it made my rehabbing my house easier... Thanks

[lsellclumanetsolarenergyll]

I do use Stainless one piece up to 6" which don't corrode. On bigger blades it's sometimes hard to find stainless. But when I can I use high quality stainless 309 which doesn't corrode. Wal-Board Tools in my eyes are really great Stainless knife.

[andrewcarr]

For the amount of work (Serious DIY'er) I have used either, I tend to buy the one that fits my grip best. Clean after use and CLR/Sand if it gets really bad. I have a Richard black handle for doing prep work - which is scraping down hardened mud, cleaning out gouges, etc which lasted me a long time and was my first purchase. It too corroded due to storage in a mud pan (plastic one) but is fine for taping where the odd tram line or defect doesn't matter. Just purchased a Marshalltown low end branded 10" as my 10" trowel is getting beat up from non-drywall work (concrete, etc), plus I wanted to try a "knife vs trowel" after watching your channel.


only real advice I live by is "look after your tools, even a cheaper one" Obviously a plastic 1" knife for some wood putty work is disposable, but I try to keep my steel tools clean as possible.

[KevinsDisobedience]

Kraft stainless is great. But I don’t like their 12”. I also use Goldblatt, which I like a lot. I hate carbon tools. I don’t know why anyone prefers them, but I do know pros who do prefer them.

[SpencerOilChangeLOL]

The drywall doctor made a point about stainless taking sets and bends when dropped unlike carbon which just springs back most of the time.

[psillypsymun]

I have a bunch of Level 5 stainless knives. But I found a Hyde carbon knife laying around and it’s far and away my favorite. It is razor thin and damn near razor sharp. One time I was scraping a wall and found a nail. Full force. Not so much as a ding in the edge. I used to hate carbon because of the rust. But I just keep a can of WD40 and a rag around and hit it with that. This knife is probably 20 years old. I don’t think it will ever fail me as long as I keep it from rusting too bad.

Also, watch forged on fire if you want to know why carbon is stronger than stainless. There’s a reason swords have been made out of it for thousands of years.

[EulisesReyes]

Just always scrape mud off of the carbon steel knives once you’re done for the day and spray with WD40 and they won’t rust

[SC]

There’s stainless and there’s corrosion resistant (CRES). They’re impressive materials, but there’s more to them than the alloying ingredients. Without specific heat treating, solution treatment under certain highly controlled conditions, they’re not any kind of stainless steel. That’s why welding them is tricky. I’m not a metallurgist either, but I deal with them now and then, and even almost understand once in a great while.

[bernieyancey]

I’ve always used Wallboard Knives. Carbon and stainless although I prefer the SS.

[danielbalboa]

I like both...carbon steel for coating nails and stainless steel for taping and wiping...the six is one of my favorite tools....Corpus Christi Tx Balboa Drywall

[DanEspresso]

I usually leave my carbon steel knives in a bucket of water for a few days. They come out almost black but after a good sand they're basically brand new if not better.

[royhowdyshell]

I only use Steel as I am a DIY guy that has done a lot of mud work and kind of like it. Great video's good info