I was a fishing guide in Tampa Bay for 12 years. A pocket knife was an essential tool I couldn’t do without. I was getting tired of buying expensive knives and no matter how much I washed them off in fresh water at the end of the day, they always rusted fairly quickly. Some of them became completely useless after a week of use. 

So, I went on a mission to find a “rust-proof” knife. And, I finally found it. The knives made by Spyderco with H1 steel were the ticket!

I’ve owned several of them over the years and none have ever rusted. One of them I lost in the bilge of my boat while working on wiring and I didn’t find it again until a year later and it still had not rusted. 

H1 steel is an alloy steel that contains a small amount of chromium and replaces carbon with nitrogen, which gives it resistance to corrosion. Because of this feature, H1 steel will not rust. This makes it an ideal choice for knives used in a saltwater environment. 

The only downside I found is that it doesn’t hold an edge as well as other commonly used steels used in top-grade knives. But, if you spend a lot of time on saltwater, spending a few minutes sharpening your knife is a lot better than replacing your knife frequently due to rust.