420?

[cmott69]

What is the story on 420 stainless?
Is it as bad as I think(can't be hardened/will not hold an edge)?

 

[Daniel Koster]

I am not an expert, but I will share what information I have gathered.

420 is in the same family of stainless steels as 440. Sub-families are identified by letters - A, B, C...J....etc.

420 has been used by many knife manufacturing companies for a long time, mostly because it is easy to stamp and heat treat.

IIUC, it will not harden as well as 440, nor hold an edge as well, but is still ok for knife use.

Custom knifemakers don't use it much because it has to be purchased in rolls, or large sheets. It is cheaper than 440.


There ya go - somebody will probably come along and correct me, but that's how I understand it.

 

[faramir]

Note that "420J2" (used in POS and usually referred to as "surgical stainless stell") apparently differs from "420HC" which seems to be used in some decent knives. This being said i'd still feel much more confident with 440C instead of 420HC.

 

[mete]

420J2 has .15% C and 420HC has .40-.50% C.So while the 420HC is an improvement ,it's still not very good.