Bg-42?

T

The_Monkeyboy

Joined
Jun 20, 2008
Messages
168
Ok, I am looking at getting another weird folder, and the blade material is listed as "BG-42". What can you guys tell me about it? Is it decent? Will it hold up? If so, how well? Is there anything out there that is similar that a non-steel snob like me would recognize? I think my most exotic steels so far are D2, 440C and ATS-34 (I think).

-Mb
 
Similar to CPM S30v. More difficult to mass produce. Others will hopefully weigh in with firsthand experience.
 
I have a Buck/Strider 888 in BG-42 (Bos heat treat). Holds a good edge and very corrosion resistant.

DancesWithKnives
 
It's probably most similar to ATS. If you are familiar with S30V, then think of it as "between" ATS and S30V.
 
The way I see it it's was trusted by CRK in the sebby for a long time, so it's got pretty good marks IMHO.
 
BG-42 is an old stainless ball-bearing steel. It sharpens easily, takes a very fine edge and holds onto it for a good long while in my experience, which is rather limited. The only BG-42 knife I have is a Spyderco Military which I carried and used at work for a while.
 
See my edge retention test results here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589139

This is roughly rating for different stee, so you may see where BG42 is, but it also greatly depends on manufacturer:

1. Dozier heat treated D2.
2. Yuna Hard II ZDP-189 (second run)
3. SwampRat SR101 (52100)
4. Spyderco Mule CPM M4
5. KaBar Dozier D2
6. J.P.Holmes CPM 10V
7. Buck BG42
8. Buck CPM154
9. Yuna Hard II ZDP189
10. Buck CPM S30V
11. Kershaw CPM S110V
12. Fehrman R3V (CPM 3V)
13. G-Sakai SRS15
14. Kershaw CPM S30V
15. Buck 420HC
16. Busse INIFI
17. Benchmade M2
18. Ivan Kirpichev Bulat (wootz)
19. Kiku Matsuda OU31
20. Diamond Knives Friction Forged D2.
21. Kershaw Sandvic 1326
22. Fallkniven 3G (SGPS)
23. RosArms 110x18
24. CRKT AUS8
25. Kershaw SG2
26. Benchmade D2

Thanks, Vassili.
 
tsiloics said:
It's probably most similar to ATS. If you are familiar with S30V, then think of it as "between" ATS and S30V.
Click to expand...

Wrongo, Boogieman. ;)Think of it as superior to both, IMHO. Basically, it's ATS34, only double vacuum melted(meaning, super clean), with the addition of 1.2% Vanadium. BG42 is some awesome stuff, when heat treated properly. :thumbup:
 
Danbo said:
Wrongo, Boogieman. ;)Think of it as superior to both, IMHO. Basically, it's ATS34, only double vacuum melted(meaning, super clean), with the addition of 1.2% Vanadium. BG42 is some awesome stuff, when heat treated properly. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Agree with Danbo. Awesome stuff.
 
On my tests Buck BG42 show same performance as Buck CPM 154 (which is not same as 154 CM and ATS-34).

Thanks, Vassili.
 
Buck's BG-42 is far and away my favorite blade steel. I've tried other high grade steels and always come back to it.
Bob
 
Chris Reeves used to use BG42 in all his folders before he went with S30V. Great steel IMHO when properly heat treated.
 
I have a Chris Reeve Sebenza that uses BG42 steel in the blade. This Sebenza came sharper than a Sebenza with S30v that I bought several years later. The newer Sebenzas come with a thicker edge. If I had my choice I would rather have the BG42 steel. I have used all the major steel....ATS34, 154CM, D2, S30v, 440c, Buck 420 and the Sandvic steel Kershaw is using. With the exception of Bob Dozier's D2 which is damn great I would go with BG42. I understand that BG42 was getting harder to get. I have a couple of Tom Krein D2 small fixed blades that will hang with Bob Dozier's D2. Tom reground my S30V Sebenza and improved cutting ability big time. I think how a knife is ground and heat treated and sharpened is just as important as the type of steel. Buck does the best job with 420 I have ever used. And I like Buck knives and they will get the job done. Buck 110 is a legend from which all modern lockback knives and tacticals have come from. Just my experience over the years.

RKH
 
Danbo said:
Wrongo, Boogieman. ;)Think of it as superior to both, IMHO. Basically, it's ATS34, only double vacuum melted(meaning, super clean), with the addition of 1.2% Vanadium. BG42 is some awesome stuff, when heat treated properly. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

ATS-34 is double vacuum melted. ;) Makes it cleaner then 154CM, but it's also more costly to import. I prefer ATS over 154CM, unless the 154 is made CPM.

BG-42 is a ball bearing steel that has high marks for edge retention and stainlessness. Lower grade S30V, but rare because it's harder to manufacture. Pick one up.
 
I conducted a non-scientific test a few weeks back. I used my Buck BG-42 Zipper knife to field dress a deer, skin it, and butcher it. My wife went through 3 knives while she helped me butcher it; a Becker 7" in 0170-6C, a Benchmade 710 in ATS-34, and a Buck Nighthawk in 420HC. The non-scientific part is that our uses of the knives were slightly different because I was cutting around bones while she was trimming fat off and cubing up the meat for grinding. We were both using wooden cutting boards and she is kinda scared of my knives so I know she wasn't too aggressive with them. The point from all this is that the BG-42 outlasted the other 3 knives and they all have decent steels (the 420HC that buck uses and heat treats is actually decent from the tests that Nozh2002 showed). I realize that the conditions are not exact but the BG-42 actually went through more testing even if you only look at the butchering process by itself. I would hit the bones as I was cutting the meat off of them whereas my wife would only have to worry about the wood board. When I was done, the BG-42 was still sharp but it wouldn't shave anymore. It only took me a few minutes to get it back to hair popping goodness.
 
The_Monkeyboy said:
How hard is it to sharpen compared to something like 420 HC? Or D2?

-Mb
Click to expand...

Since it's similar to S30V, I'd say harder then 420HC. I can't comment about D2, but I hope to get my para soon. I'd guess that it's harder then 420, easier then D2.
 
As long as you don't get it horribly dull through an accident or the like, it sharpens up without a problem.

DancesWithKnives
 
I've carried the small Buck hard arkansas stone and, alternatively, a ceramic stick. Both worked fine for routine sharpening. However, if you ding the blade on a rock while cleaning a salmon on the banks of an Alaska river, a diamond steel will take the flat spot out a lot quicker.

DancesWithKnives
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top