BG-42 step above ATS Steels?

Rick Haney Design

Rick Haney Design

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Apr 15, 2002
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I've been looking at several stainless steels,How would you guys compare BG-42 to the ATS steels?I recently acquired a Strider SLCC in BG-42,I've put it through some hell and it seems to retain its edge longer than a ATS-34 blade.it seems only a few makers are using it,SOG claims BG-42 heattreated to 59-62 RC is tougher than ATS-34 at the same RC rating.Given it is properly heattreated,BG-42 seems to me to outperform ATS steels.Chime in if you have some input.





Rick
Rick Haney Design
 
I find BG42 to be the best stainless short of S30V, it is way above ATS-34 IMO, it has way better edge holding and is not that hard to sharpen(i have DMT's if you have ceramic only i see how it could be hard to sharpen). I do find though that when put through abuse it will tend to chip, i also think it is too brittle for larger fixed blades(10"+ blade) unless you lower the RC down to 58 or so and then you are giving up some edge holding.
 
If I remember correctly BG42 is a step above ATS34 due to the addition of another element which escapes memory at the moment. This steel is made by Latrobe and is a good cutter in my experience. I currently have a custom on order from Charles Marlowe and I specified this steel as I always had good results with it. I think it has a finer grain than the ATS series also.
 
BG-42 has vanadium to improve edge holding and refine the grain structure letting it take a finer edge. It is also vacuum-remelted for extra purity which enhances strength and gives a finer edge. It is one of my favorite alloys for hunting knives.
 
Jeff has it right. BG42 is superior to ATS34, because of the addition of a decent amount of Vanadium, and also the double vacuum melting, which makes for a super clean alloy. I love it; maybe more than some of the super powder steels. I have yet to get a 440V blade as scary sharp as I can get a BG42 blade.
 
Thanks guys:) With the popularity of the CPM powder metals,BG-42 has proven it's worth with many knifemakers like Lightfoot,Anderson,Strider.






Rick
Rick Haney Design
 
I'm glad to hear all this good stuff about BG-42, since I'm planning to get a Buck 110 from PCKS in stag and BG-42.

Danbo mentioned 440V...I haven't been able to get the kind of edge on it that I can on most other steels either.
 
Of the true stainless steels, BG-42 has been my favorite for a long time. The CPM steels have their fans but, they have some disadvantages for normal users. I can sharpen BG-42 with normal stuff but, the CPM steels need someone with better skill and better tools. How many of us can maintain a good edge on a Sebenza with a Spyderco Sharpmaker? The CPM's, well ....
 
but let me throw another Mongo monkey-wrench into the fray...
How do you feel about BG-42 vs D2? especially the way Bob Dozier seems to get it? I do not, as of yet, have a BG-42 knife... but my Dozier D2's seem to get scary sharp and stay that way for a long long time. I've been cutting piles of cardboard recently with my Doziers, and they seem to just keep on going without much loss of performance/sharpness at all. If my feeble non-researching spur of the moment memory is correct, isn't D2 a high Vanadium steel? Does this then confer a higher level of toughness? No flames please, I'm just curious.
Mongo
 
Dozier's D2 knives are in another world as far as cutting ability. Bob grinds them super thin, so that they slice and dice superbly. They also bring into the factor of having to take a little care of the blades, as D2 will rust and stain a little if you neglect it. With BG42, you can pretty much neglect the blade and get away with it. Mongo, if you get a properly heat treated BG42 blade that is ground thin the way a knife should be ground, you will have no complaints.
 
Not so recently,we made a steel like BG-42 as a limited edition.But it is not in general because it is hard to finish.
It is not recommended that Vanadium carbide is used in
order to increase wear-resistance. Most rational method of
increasing wear-resistance for knife edge is rising hardness of matrix.So it is recomended rising slightly quenching
temp and/or sub-zeo treatment.
 
Coonskinner, been there and done that, you'll love the Buck 110 in BG42, talk about a thin edge cutting machine.
 
In case of cutting machine edge,Vanadium Carbide in order to increase wear resistance is rational and last way.So many kind of excellent high vanadium high speed steels have been developed.In this view point,BG-42 is seemed to be a halfway material.In general,person do not want cutlery that can not be grinded easlly in Japan.However, it is not wonderful even if there is a person whom BG-42 like.
 
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