A dumb question from one of your Aussie correspondents about how to make sense of steel specs. <br>For example, the description of a Swedish knife goes thus: "VG-10 stainless steel, hardened to 59 HRC."<br>No doubt this is meaningful to an expert, but I claim no knowledge of steel qualities. Is there a knife experts out there to help me with the basic guidelines I should look for in choosing a knife for a maritime environment?<br>I realise this is a matter of horses for courses. My knife use is in seakayaking; so I would be looking at cutting a mixture of marine rope and line, and in extremis, possibly defending myself against shark attack. Are there standards of stainless steel used for divers knife manufacture? I already carry a Sypderco folding knife which is small enough to be attached permanently to my pfd, [ lifejacket ] and operated one handed, but am looking for a backup tool.<br>thanks guys 'n' gals. BTW I enjoyed the recent thread on survival knives, which got me thinking... cheers, <br>PeterR