Do any reputable manufacturers still use 440C?

[GrinderMcgee]

^^This.

Boker makes a heap of patterns in 440C and Entrek as others have mentioned.

[FortyTwoBlades]

TOPS knives in stainless are all 440C. As previously mentioned, Randall knives in stainless are 440B.

[birdave]

I have a number of knives with 440C blade steel...no problems...great steel. Now I know it's not one of the newer steels (for example: 154CM S30V etc.), but that doesn't change the elements that make up 440C. If it was a great steel at one time, how can that reputation be diminished because other steels have been developed?

[The Mastiff]

I usually like Boker knives and have a bunch. I have found the 440C Chinese made models are about the worst knives in 440C I've experienced. The grain structure is terrible. I have better luck with the taylor /schrade brand whatever steels, or rough riders. The Chinese made 440C blades is more wear resistant but try putting any kind of sharp/thin edge on the knife and it'll fight against you every step of the way. It doesn't want to get sharp, not cut. It rolls pretty darn bad and stays that way until it flops over to the next direction and begins again. Stropping can get the burr but it doesn't help much in whole scheme of things. Their "magnum" branded cheap damascus does better, as does their German 440C. The 1070 blades do really well when it comes to sharp edges , but you won't find that steel in the chinese made knives.

No, I have no problem with Chinese made products, nor do I find the products made there for Spyderco, Benchmade, and the above two inexpensive brands. The Spyderco and Benchmade 8C, and Benchmade 9C knives do very well in the edge department. It's too bad as Boker has some of those knives with nice wood, and even titanium models with that lousy steel.

Old Gerber and Buck models in 440C are much nicer, as is the newer benchmade and spyderco production knives.

[wackafew]

In it's day 440c was a super steel...some think it still is.

[aquaman67]

http://www.benchmade.com/products/340

[Scurvy092]

Over on the Kershaw/ZT forum people were asking Thomas W about using other steels than 14c28n as the base steel. He said no one is interested in making 440C in large quantities these days and as such it has been priced out of the market (value US made folders that it).

[knarfeng]

440C is and always has been a excellent steel. It was the premium goto stainless at one point, until it's reputation was harmed by a lot of cheap imported junk marked "440". When well treated I would put it up against any steel out there today and I doubt many users would actually notice the difference.

n2s

Polished 440 is TRULY stain/corrosion/rust 'proof' compared to other stainless in my experience. ATS-34 comes a close second.

And there you have it. An example of why 440C gets a bad rep. It's reputation is soiled by being confused with "440". Knives marked "440" are almost never 440C.

[FortyTwoBlades]

And there you have it. An example of why 440C gets a bad rep. It's reputation is soiled by being confused with "440". Knives marked "440" are almost never 440C.

Yeah. They're usually 440A.

[Gator97]

I beg pardon? super steels are primarily Japanese? Nonsense.
There are very advanced alloys from Crucible (USA), Bohler (Austria), and Carpenter (USA). There are also some from Japan.

I think, he was referring to the fact that Japanese developed more steels specifically for knives compared to western makers. Crucible did S30V and that was a big deal few years back. Can't say it's a super steel either. Carpenter also is researching, CTS-BD1, CTS-XHP, although later wasn't specifically for knives. Other than that, yeah there's plenty of very good alloys, but original design was not for knives.

GEC uses 440C in their stainless models. Does an amazing cutting job. Their edge geometry is outstanding and I find the blades will out cut others made of fancier alloys. At the end of the day, blade and edge geometry have more impact on cutting than blade steel. Proven fact.

And do you have any doubt that given the same geometry super steels will outcut the same GEC? Like you say, geometry has a huge impact, but because someone makes super or not so super steel knife with bad geometry is not alloy's fault, but the maker/design issue.

[Urban Dweller]

440C is and always has been a excellent steel. It was the premium goto stainless at one point, until it's reputation was harmed by a lot of cheap imported junk marked "440". When well treated I would put it up against any steel out there today and I doubt many users would actually notice the difference.

n2s

Exactly, it wasn't too long ago that 440C was considered a 'super steel' and was used in a lot of high end customs. The bad wrap was 440C was getting lumped into all the other '440 steel' offerings, too bad as like the OP stated it's not a bad steel at all.

To answer the original question, Boker does make a lot of 440C blades you might want to look at some of the Jens Anso collab's like the Whale and others. Boker can be hit or miss with QC, but decent especially the collaborations..

[6734]

I have had really good luck with Benchmade's 440C, seems like they do a good job on the heat treat and it is easy to put a wicked edge on it.

[stevomiller]

It's not just the alloy in the 'unnamed' 440 alloys. If they won't tell you exactly what it is, there's a good chance they aren't giving it the best possible heat treat. 440a or 440b with top shelf heat treatment is more than just serviceable, heck, look at what Paul Bos has gotten 420hc to perform like.

I understand possible reasons to not want to buy from main land China, but curious about Taiwan? It's not a communist country, and they have very good manufacturing capabilities.

[crom]

I have a Boye Basic 2 in 440C, as far as I know he is still using that steel along with dendritic cobalt. Oh, it's a sweet knife too.

[Aidansdaddy17]

Klotzli...

[Free2game]

I usually like Boker knives and have a bunch. I have found the 440C Chinese made models are about the worst knives in 440C I've experienced. The grain structure is terrible. I have better luck with the taylor /schrade brand whatever steels, or rough riders. The Chinese made 440C blades is more wear resistant but try putting any kind of sharp/thin edge on the knife and it'll fight against you every step of the way. It doesn't want to get sharp, not cut. It rolls pretty darn bad and stays that way until it flops over to the next direction and begins again. Stropping can get the burr but it doesn't help much in whole scheme of things. Their "magnum" branded cheap damascus does better, as does their German 440C. The 1070 blades do really well when it comes to sharp edges , but you won't find that steel in the chinese made knives.

No, I have no problem with Chinese made products, nor do I find the products made there for Spyderco, Benchmade, and the above two inexpensive brands. The Spyderco and Benchmade 8C, and Benchmade 9C knives do very well in the edge department. It's too bad as Boker has some of those knives with nice wood, and even titanium models with that lousy steel.

Old Gerber and Buck models in 440C are much nicer, as is the newer benchmade and spyderco production knives.

I had a Boker Plus Titan Drop that out of the box wasn't very sharp, it wasn't because of the steel I believe, it was more because of the obtuse edge. I backed the edge off to 20 degrees on each side, which was very easy to do BTW, and it was hair whittling sharp.

[Squashfan]

It's not just the alloy in the 'unnamed' 440 alloys. If they won't tell you exactly what it is, there's a good chance they aren't giving it the best possible heat treat. 440a or 440b with top shelf heat treatment is more than just serviceable, heck, look at what Paul Bos has gotten 420hc to perform like.

I understand possible reasons to not want to buy from main land China, but curious about Taiwan? It's not a communist country, and they have very good manufacturing capabilities.

When I think of Taiwan, I think of Boker Plus, which doesn't seem to have the greatest quality control.
On the topice of steels, some of my favorite EDCs are in 420HC. Leatherman Wave, Buck 110, and reportedly the Case Stockman. 420HC is among my favorite steels. In fact, the excellent performance of 420HC IS what got me interested in 440C.

Edit: one second after... Boker Plus also has Chinese models so maybe that is where Boker Plus gets its bad name.

[broe]

Hell, nothing wrong with 440C and it is still readily available. I use it in knives that needs some corrosion resistance and not have to do something with a coating on hard use blades. What makes a difference is the Heat Treat.....That is where the difference is made in quality of a knife. It is always heat treat. A maker could take Elmax and screw it up....

[Creaky Bones]

I have an Entrek Javalina that I think is an awesome knife. Watch one of the youtube videos where Ray Ennis makes a Badger. Pretty impressive, and his warranty is as good as anyones. The sheaths are thin kydex, and aren't the best, but they work. I didn't love the bead blasted finish, but a little microabrasion paper and some elbow grease put a really nice satin finish on mine. I did that more because I work around salt water than for looks. Hard to beat knives made by a regular guy. I'll be handing this one down to my son someday.

[woody d]

i recently bought the Cat in 440 and im very pleased with it.... its holding up well to alotta cardboard cutting, and several of my Griptillians are 440.



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