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Boker 440c
- Thread starter 65steve65
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I would also like to know. Albatros in VG10 will be here tomorrow and looking at the new Sniper Bladeworks Dark Hollow when it comes out, but kinda skeptical of the 440C. I have used VG10 and 8CR13MOV and had no problem with any of those steels, but right now I'm a fan of CTS XHP and CTS 204P 
t1mpani
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Once upon a time, 440C was the "super stainless" for knives. Just like plain old' 1070 carbon steel slip joints which were skinning large animals, opening feed sacks, trimming hooves and--you know--actually being used as tools very effectively for generations before we had Internet forums to sit around on and theorize about what a few points of Vanadium might mean here and there, I think you'll find that 440C from a good manufacturer will provide you with a capable blade that will do anything reasonable you ask of it, except perhaps impress the rest of we knife nerds. If you prefer very thin edge geometries, like 10 degrees per side, then a finer/smaller carbide steel will work better for you. At 15 per side, or so, you'll do absolutely fine.
As time (and a great deal of experience) goes by, I find myself less dismissive of the older alloys, and less believing of the hype for the new ones. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying no advances have been made, but the plain truth is that the knife world is extremely fad-ish, and most regurgitate manufacturers' claims versus actually witnessing these incredible new levels of performance for themselves.
As time (and a great deal of experience) goes by, I find myself less dismissive of the older alloys, and less believing of the hype for the new ones. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying no advances have been made, but the plain truth is that the knife world is extremely fad-ish, and most regurgitate manufacturers' claims versus actually witnessing these incredible new levels of performance for themselves.
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I was about to say the exact same thing. I remember when 440C was the super steel of the day. That's back when manufactures actually advertised that they used 440a as a selling point.
However, it's all in the heat treatment anyway. Properly heat treated 440C is an excellent steel. If I liked a knife, that it was 440C would not be a detractor to me in any way. In fact I prefer it in some cases as it offers exceptional corrosion resistance, in addition to the qualities of good edge holding and ease of sharpening.
Best of luck!
However, it's all in the heat treatment anyway. Properly heat treated 440C is an excellent steel. If I liked a knife, that it was 440C would not be a detractor to me in any way. In fact I prefer it in some cases as it offers exceptional corrosion resistance, in addition to the qualities of good edge holding and ease of sharpening.
Best of luck!
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Its a very decent, all-round stainless steel. And since Boker almost exclusively uses it, one could guess they know how to HT this stuff.
And they do indeed, my personal experience with their knives (mainly the Plus-line) verifies this. Never had any problems with it.
Are there better steels, sure. But they know how to do 440C, and I'd rather have them use stuff they know well.
And they do indeed, my personal experience with their knives (mainly the Plus-line) verifies this. Never had any problems with it.
Are there better steels, sure. But they know how to do 440C, and I'd rather have them use stuff they know well.
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Some good points made about Boker's 440C. Love my Albatros so far and want another beefy framelock. Will have to pull the trigger on the DH when its released
May not be a Boker, but the Spyderco Techno is unreal and not crazy expensive either. I just recently got one and now am looking for an Albatros because I love the small, thick, titanium framelock design
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t1pani, pbcg and C_Becker have it right. It used to be the Supersteel of its day. Many 440a & 440b were just stamped 440 to sucker the unwary.
Easy to sharpen and better corrosiopn resistance than many other supersteels on the market. I buy supersteels for their snob appeal (and to see how they perform) but my benchmark is how do they compare to 440C. I have a Boker Plus Bushcraft in 440C, typical bushcraft shape (very similar proportion to a Wilkinson Sword/Ray Mears woodlore) micarta handles stainless corbys/rivets, usual bushcrafter sheath with a firesteel and button compass in turned knurled steel "kubotan" sized lump, comes in a presentation box with magnetic clasps all for about £43. If you know UK knife prices, you know that's incredibly cheap. The fit and finish was good but the finishing grind left a bit to be desired. Primary bevel is around 11 degrees and most come with a secondary bevel added after. As an experiment and to answer a question on the other forum I belong to, I took it down to zero edge. It tended to chip out a bit doing the usual bushcraft tasks (including batonning). I then slightly convexed the edge, probably to around 14 degrees. It slices paper, shaves hair and I've batonned it through 15kg of venison leg bones for the marrow. It had 2 microchips in the edge after all that, one too small to spot with the naked eye. I stropped them out using micromesh laid over the strop. Boker really know their stuff when it comes to 440C heat treat.
Easy to sharpen and better corrosiopn resistance than many other supersteels on the market. I buy supersteels for their snob appeal (and to see how they perform) but my benchmark is how do they compare to 440C. I have a Boker Plus Bushcraft in 440C, typical bushcraft shape (very similar proportion to a Wilkinson Sword/Ray Mears woodlore) micarta handles stainless corbys/rivets, usual bushcrafter sheath with a firesteel and button compass in turned knurled steel "kubotan" sized lump, comes in a presentation box with magnetic clasps all for about £43. If you know UK knife prices, you know that's incredibly cheap. The fit and finish was good but the finishing grind left a bit to be desired. Primary bevel is around 11 degrees and most come with a secondary bevel added after. As an experiment and to answer a question on the other forum I belong to, I took it down to zero edge. It tended to chip out a bit doing the usual bushcraft tasks (including batonning). I then slightly convexed the edge, probably to around 14 degrees. It slices paper, shaves hair and I've batonned it through 15kg of venison leg bones for the marrow. It had 2 microchips in the edge after all that, one too small to spot with the naked eye. I stropped them out using micromesh laid over the strop. Boker really know their stuff when it comes to 440C heat treat.
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This sums up a lot of questions asked in the General section about their first knife, choice of steels and endless pursuit of bladeducation.
Many of us (yes myself included) frowned whenever we see a "440C" slapped on the steel and walked away. There are a lot of potential for it and we must not ignore that it's not just the steel that does wonders- design,HT, grinding skills, balance, ergo and price-point all becomes a concern in choosing a fine cutlery.
Looking back, there aren't much reviews done on modern steels but plenty in the last 10 years or more;
440C for stainless , spring/ball bearing/railway track steel have always been proven again and again that got the job done and still hanging tough.
I'm salivating over the new GTC X Boker, as well as the Colubris!
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