Bos' Recipe on 425M and 420HC

""I'd recheck that carbon figure for 420.As I keep finding around .15%. A big difference!There are others as well.DM ""
the data come from here
http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/blade_materials.html#S_420HC
as i said there are charts by others and differences are not suprising at all
two charts i seen list as MIN of .15 or greater then .15
once i found some nat steel sanity chart but again
most have a range for each alloy ...
every one you hand a peace of long string to and
ask to cut out a peace of short string will cut some thing different ..
 
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420 steel is not the same as 420HC steel.

There is no industry-wide specification for 420HC. So the composition can vary depending on the steel supplier. The only requirement for a steel to be called 420HC is that the Carbon content be above the 0.15% of standard 420 and have the same chromium content. Latrobe adds Vanadium to their 420HC, but Vanadium is not a requirement for the steel to be called 420HC. And I do not know if Buck uses Latrobe 420HC.
http://www.latrobesteel.com/assets/documents/datasheets/LSS_420_HC.pdf

Typically, the corrosion resistance of a steel increases with increased Chromium. However, corrosion resistance of stainless steel decreases with increasing Carbon content. That's why 440C is less corrosion resistant than 440A. But it would not surprise me to find that 440C has less corrosion resistance than 425M since 440C has twice the carbon content.
 
Knarf,I wonder if ZDP-189 owners would agree w/ your statement?
Joe H.told me at the 20 yr.Reunion that their 420HC was specially made for Buck and that it is a special steel. But was most like 420J2.Hence, I used that figure off the Spyderco chart.Which has numbers missing form your notes or memory.DM
 
I've heard that Latrobe is Buck's supplier for its 420HC. Maybe Buck doesn't publish what the component %'s on purpose...ie propriatory info.
 
could be privet data..
the 425M was not bad
and 440 C would rust some times
i dont have much experance useing the 420HC
it seems a good steel
i dont have any issues with it
i loved the S30V using it to cut fiberglass insulation!!!
wish i had another user with it ..
heck would even welcome a 112 with s30v for a user!
i may put a bg42 to use ...
point is with all the fudge factors involved with chemistry
it is hard to say exality what is in any steel..
once it is in the usa much is "changed"
the crucible steel is all i would be sure of as
they know exality what they put in it ...
but then who really knows
it is all "approximately" one thing or the other..
 
Yes Dave. But I'll noticed this type topic will bring guys out like a magnet. So, most eat this up and opinons fly.DM
 
but then who really knows
it is all "approximately" one thing or the other..
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All approximately one thing or the other????

Now Dave that just ought to win the wordsmithing award for tonight! Were you ever a speech writer for the Democratic National Committee? :)
 
"it is all "approximately" one thing or the other.."

True, but it depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.

To be serious for a moment, it is a real learning experience for a neophite such as myself to be able to learn a lot about metalurgy just by reading the post on here. Thanks guys, keep up the good work.
 
Snotwad said:
"it is all "approximately" one thing or the other.."
True, but it depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.
Thanks guys, keep up the good work.
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.is is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Iceland. .is registration is open to foreigners without restriction.

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there you go!:p
 
Having actually ground, heat treated and real world used many different steels I'll add my 2 cents.Dr. Verhoeven's finding I'll not challenge.As the Univ. of INdiana has some good metallurgist.However, as in most univ.studies they tend to be weak in real world use outside the classroom. Having said that, he did state somethings that would be useful in our discussion here to clear up some misunderstandings on C and Cr. As Cr content increases it borrows from C to form Chromium carbides(a good thing) which in turn reduces free Chromium.11% Cr in bonding and 3% surface Cr creates a good stainless.Thats all thats needed.When you give it a .5% more I've noticed its a better stainless.As Cr is increased beyond these levels say 16-18% steels don't become weak.They can become brittle as pushed for hardness during heat treating.Hence, 440C is best @ 58-59 range.Perhaps w/ good cryogenics 60RC.Maybe.I've not observed this steel rusting and I've left it in some nasty stuff over night.blood,carcasses,sea water ect..Another Buck Life member has told me he noticed 420 rusting in Hawaii w/ the knife just laying out on his work bench.I've not ever noticed such but I live in the desert.A more appealing climate for knives.Most all the good stainsteels I've left in goo just to see. I've not found rust on much of anything.Heck, 300 Bucks left a 102 at a Antelope fielddress site in Colo.for a year or two! Before he could return to retrive it and it had no rust.So, what do I know.The top handful of stainless steels we have are real good.They have other little quirks. Like carbide size, the methods of mfg., elements ie.V which improves edge retention.But like some others here have said you'll then trade off toughness or something else.To me the bottom line is purchase any of these top ones and you'll do fine.What sets the best ones apart is blade configuration,handle ergonomics and heat treat.Thanks guys for discussing and not going blastic.DM
 
any cook will tell you that if you hurry the prep and dont mix well you can get bits of intense flavor ...
i would assume that this holds true for steel..
as said above i have left knives out and nothing happened
and as i said i have seen corrosion on some blades..
i have seen buck blades warn to were they can not hold an edge and
some with over half the blade gone and still will get to shave hair..
these are the extreams in the 110 i have seen in 40+ years
seen this with a gruber blades also.. one was fantastic the other 5 jest ok

i would venture that no two batches of steel are identical..
approximately ideal and what they intended but some times are only close and
then there is heat treating which can varry some also!!

it is the over all intent that a good knife results.
and Buck does so very well ...

so far i like using s30v best of all
i wont say other steels are not great
most any thing can and will cut you..
 
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