420JC steel?

S

Sir Housecat

Joined
May 18, 2013
Messages
146
Hey guys, I have a quick question. Does anyone know exactly what 420jc steel is? Is it
a cheap version of 440(a/c) stainless? What is the exact metallurgy
compared to 440?
 
I've never heard of 420JC, but IIRC 420J2 is has fairly good corrosion resistance, and pretty much nothing else going for it. It is frequently used for handle liners.
 
The only place I have ever seen it myself is on the package
of the Buck Pack Lite skinner in walmart. I assumed it was very cheap
as well (appropriately so, considering the only thing I have seen
there that wasn't crap was the Buck 110 and the kershaws, which
I doubt are really made In the USA). I was just curious what the
exact properties were.
 
Buck uses it and is a very good steel for kitchen knives.

That's 420 HC
 
The only place I have ever seen it myself is on the package
of the Buck Pack Lite skinner in walmart. I assumed it was very cheap
as well (appropriately so, considering the only thing I have seen
there that wasn't crap was the Buck 110 and the kershaws, which
I doubt are really made In the USA). I was just curious what the
exact properties were.
 
Sir Housecat said:
The only place I have ever seen it myself is on the package
of the Buck Pack Lite skinner in walmart. I assumed it was very cheap
as well (appropriately so, considering the only thing I have seen
there that wasn't crap was the Buck 110 and the kershaws, which
I doubt are really made In the USA). I was just curious what the
exact properties were.
Click to expand...

Mid to upper 50's Rockwell hardness, good corrosion resistance, grinds quickly with hand sharpening relative to other steels, should be able to take a very sharp edge provided it doesn't have burring issues. The Buck 110 now uses 420HC as well, which is not on the chart linked above. As with all such charts, try to find other sources that verify the information.
 
Sir Housecat said:
The only place I have ever seen it myself is on the package
of the Buck Pack Lite skinner in walmart. I assumed it was very cheap
as well (appropriately so, considering the only thing I have seen
there that wasn't crap was the Buck 110 and the kershaws, which
I doubt are really made In the USA). I was just curious what the
exact properties were.
Click to expand...
Huh? I'm pretty sure if it's marked "made in the USA" it's made in the USA
 
I am pretty sure if if Kershaw says they are USA made, they are. These are easy things to discredit and could ruin a companies image. So i doubt a stand up company like Kershaw would lie about seeing as they have knives marked as Chinese made anyways, so why lie?
 
420HC is a mid-grade reasonably respectable stainless used by Buck as their base steel, and also by Condor for their stainless machetes and knives. 420J, as others have mentioned, is nicely corrosion resistant but otherwise isn't very good cutlery steel at all.
 
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