440C vs. S35VN

I don't know if anyone is interested in this or not, but thought I would post it anyway.
Google Play Store has an app called "Knife Steel Comparison Chart". It's free and has about every steel on earth listed.
I don't really pay as much attention to the steel a knife is made of as much as purchasing knives from reputable makers. Having said that I found the charts interesting. Most of that chemical stuff I don't understand anyway, I judge the individual knife by performance.
 
So we don't know who produced the chart? If I could figure out who produced it, I might be able to figure out how they arrived at the results.
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I remember vaguely when he posted the first version. Seems like I recall it was pretty subjective. wear and corrosion stuff was taken from manufacturers chart and higher wear was "better", etc.
 
Rolex John said:
Actually it's not talking about any actual knives...
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As I recall, yes it was actually. Different knives, different hardnesses, different geometries. Some from the chart author's experience, some from reviews he read elsewhere and parrotted.

It does have limited value (as I said earlier, it's not too far from the ballpark). So does throwing darts at a list of alloys. ;) That's the danger of just going "Oh look, a pretty chart"... without digging up the original post we really have no clue what the methodologies were, what he's measuring or how he assigned the values. How much of that kind of limitation you're willing to accept in your research is up to you.

It's kind of a sad comment on and example of our mass media/internet-based society... as soon as something is posted on Wiki (or The Onion for that matter) or someone makes a colorful graphic, it's automatically accepted by many as hard science and repeated ad infinitum. "I read it on teh interwebz/saw it on TV, it must be true11".

Anyway, back on topic... as a maker I really see no reason to start with 440C over S35VN. As mete pointed out, this class of steels has evolved over decades and there are solid reasons for that. But if you find a knife you like from a reputable maker or manufacturer that's made of 440C, by all means give it a try.
 
James,
If someone starting out is on a tight budget there is 20-25% increase in cost of S35-VN over 440C from my supplier,http://nsm-ny.com/index.cfm?currentpage=2&fuseaction=category.display&category_id=16 I also buy Belt ground & Shear cut so I don't have to deal with the scale.

440C is also easier to work and sharpen along with if 440C came out today it would be a great new low cost excellent stainless with a toothy carbide edge and be the darling of the knife rags for at least a few issues or until another "Super Steel" comes out. lol

Ok, I admit it, I have a warm fuzzy spot for 440C being the first stainless I ever used and I still do!
Its still more of a steel than most household cooks and hunters will ever need!
 
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