Buck 110 440C vs 425M vs 420HC

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Ruger 44 Redhawk

Joined
Feb 19, 2021
Messages
193
Hi all, new subscriber here and knife steel nerd. Little background. I have a large collection of knives, most of which are discontinued now like the Leatherman K502X, Cold Steel Arc Angel, Gerber 06 Manual (serrated and straight edge), Gerber Freeman S30V folder w/Cocobolo, Benchmade Ritter Griptillian M390 with Applied Weapons Tech aluminum scales, 1994 Buck 650 Nighthawk satin and Ontario's SP line and RD line just to name a few. Now after owning all these "super steels" (which now collect dust in a drawer) I have been going back to the good old classic Buck 110 in 420HC. And no I don't care about the weight. I think a perfect camping and backpacking combo is an Ontario SP51, SP6 or RD7 paired with a Buck 110. The reason being is ease of sharpening 5160, 1095 or 420HC in the field if you have to. So, I've been starting to collect Buck 110's (which was the first knife I handled as a kid in '84 or '85) and I have the 2005 Idaho stamp and Copper and Clad's aluminum bolster drop point with pocket clip. Now I want more! So I'm looking at getting a 1980-81 three dot or a late 80's model in 425M. I'm aware of the years of the steel but can anyone elaborate on Buck's 440C and 425M vs 420HC? I'm reading the 440C is hard to sharpen or the 425M isn't as good as 420HC. Is it primarily the edge geometry? And if so, did Buck not grind the hollow grind back in the 80's like they do now? Sorry for the long post.
 
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Ruger 44, welcome to the Buck forum. One can read reviews that are all over the map. Here you'll get the straight skinny on all Buck products.
For my use 425m steel is quite good at edge holding and stainless features. A good step up from 420. Then 440c is a big step up from 425m. The main reason people complain that 440c is hard to sharpen is 2 fold. 1) is they don't start out with a good coarse stone. 2) the hollow grind of that era of knives was convex i.e. thick near the edge. If you thin it near the edge with a V grind on a coarse SiC stone. Then remove the burr and on to a finer stone. It takes a very sharp, long lasting edge. This grind changed in 1981, with the 3 dot knives. The 4 dot stamped blades are 425m steel.
I like 420 steel, especially on a kitchen knife. It sharpens easy, holds a decent edge and has good stainless qualities. DM
 
Wow, thanks for the quick response and information. I've been wanting a Buck 560 for a long time now and a Buck 111 Cowboy with aluminum handle from '80-'81 to name a few.
 
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The Buck 111 Classics are a great carry knife. They came with handsome tooled sheaths. Good luck on finding one and a 560 Ti handle. DM
 
Those are some sexy knives there! I have a bunch of Benchmade 551 Griptillian's with different steels and I saved all the backup pocket clips they sent me after I requested the deep pocket clips. I just taped one of those original 551 pocket clips to my 110 to see how it would feel and that clip on your 111 looks exactly like it. I also have a bunch of extra 551 thumb studs that would look awesome. Did you have those installed or attempt the drilling and threading yourself? Is that top 111 the 440C version? And what years and steels are those 560's? I'm already getting good info on this site. Why didn't I join back in 2005 when I started my knife steel quest? Thanks for the pictures.
 
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Ruger 44 Redhawk said:
Those are some sexy knives there! I have a bunch of Benchmade 551 Griptillian's with different steels and I saved all the backup pocket clips they sent me after I requested the deep pocket clips. I just taped one of those original 551 pocket clips to my 110 to see how it would feel and that clip on your 111 looks exactly like it. I also have a bunch of extra 551 thumb studs that would look awesome. Did you have those installed or attempt the drilling and threading yourself? Is that top 111 the 440C version? And what years and steels are those 560's? I'm already getting good info on this site. Why didn't I join back in 2005 when I started my knife steel quest? Thanks for the pictures.
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I have put screws in most of my 110 format pivots so I can move blades around. I have also commissioned and/or purchased custom blades. The hand tapper shown helps with threaded holes for pocket clips. In use, the blade would be removed from the handle before drilling and tapping. The thumb studs are secured with a set screw.
 
The 111 Classic was brought out during the 3 dot era stamp. Which is a 440c steel, full hollow grind blade.
Tiguy is a tinker and modifies many Buck offerings. On the 560 The darker blade is a nitride coating, s30v blade from a Cabela's offering. And the silver blade I'm not sure about. DM
 
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David Martin said:
The 111 Classic was brought out during the 3 dot era stamp. Which is a 440c steel, full hollow grind blade.
Tiguy is a tinker and modifies many Buck offerings. On the 560 The darker blade is a nitrite coating, s30v blade from a Cabela's offering. And the silver blade I'm not sure about. DM
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The Silver looking blade is a Champagne colored Buckote blade. The Ceramic coat is Zirconium Nitride at 86 HRC. The blade is chisel sharpened so that the coating is exposed on the micro edge. Because the coating is so much harder than the blade (58 HRC?), the blade wears away in preference to the coating. So the knife is self sharpening.
I like to filet grapefruit. The 420 HC is good for 2, the ZrN coated blade will do an 18 lb sack.
 
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