Buck 440C vs. Benchmade etc

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cckw

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I have more Benchmades then anything, and mostly D2. But looking at a Buck fixed blade with 440C as a knife to share with others.. I generally have not liked Buck, but am I being silly? A given knife of 440C would we expect it to be just as good from Buck as a 440C from Benchmade etc?
 
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cckw said:
I have more Benchmades then anything, and mostly D2. But looking at a Buck fixed blade with 440C as a knife to share with others.. I generally have not liked Buck, but am I being silly? A given knife of 440C would we expect it to be just as good from Buck as Benchmade etc?
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Not quite sure what you're asking...are you asking if knives produced in 440C by Buck are as good as knives produced in 440C by Benchmade (etc.)? Or if a Buck in 440C is as good as a Benchmade in D2? Or...?

Anyway I'd expect Buck to do 440C as well as anybody...;)

Ray :)
 
OK, I reworded a bit. the question is quality of Buck 440C VS other 440C.
 
Well, as far as Benchmade's "440C" goes, I happen to be a little suspicious. The amount of Carbon they list for their "440C" is the amount of Carbon you'd expect to find in 440A, not 440C. Take a look at their steel chart: http://www.benchmade.com/images/table_blade_steels.gif

One of the members here, Knarfeng, contacted them about this several months ago. From what he said, Benchmade stated it was a typo. Well, they've had several months to fix it and have not, and it's been listed with that amount of Carbon on their steel chart for several years, so I'm very suspicious of it.

The bottom line is, I trust very few manufacturers that claim "440C". If the knife is made in China or even Taiwan, they can say it's 440C until they're blue in the face and I won't believe 'em. What the Chinese call 440C is not 440C! This has been proven as fact by Spyderco! Taiwan doesn't make their own knife steels, they import it, so chances are, the steel is imported from China, and as such, is not 440C.

Regards,
3G
 
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Buck used 440C back in the day,like the 70's.You know,the good ole days.Now they use 420 HC and they do it very well with excellent heat treating.That's in regular production.They also offer many new and hi tech super steels.The knock on Buck with the 440 was it was hard to sharpen.With current sharpening systems that is no longer a concern and the old 440 is somewhat sought after.
 
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cckw said:
I have more Benchmades then anything, and mostly D2. But looking at a Buck fixed blade with 440C as a knife to share with others.. I generally have not liked Buck, but am I being silly? A given knife of 440C would we expect it to be just as good from Buck as a 440C from Benchmade etc?
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I have several Bucks in 440C that I got in the late 60's. (Pathfinder, Special, and 110) I do not have a Benchmade in 440C. But I have done side by side edge retention testing, cutting manila rope. And I included my 110 in 440C in the testing. This is slicing 3/8" manila rope with all blades sharpened at 30° inclusive on a Sharpmaker until I can see no light reflection off the edge using a 3X hand lens. Make 20 slicing cuts with each blade, cutting through the rope with 2" of the blade. I made a jig so that the blade is not cutting into any support board after it cuts through the rope. After the cuts, I again examine the blades using the hand lens. I rate the blades based on how much light now reflects off the blade, the light relflections indicating damage to the edge.

I'm still working out the test technique. But at this point, my opinion is that the performance goes like this.
AUS8<<< AUS10<< Buck 440C<N690<154CM<VG10.

So I would put the performance of the Buck 440C clearly in the "very good" range. There is a very clear difference between what I saw in the AUS8 vs the others. And there is a fair difference between the the Buck 440C and the AUS10. There was much less difference betwee the Buck 440C and those above it. What I stated above is my current performance estimate, but like I said, I am still working out the test technique.

I have not had the hardness of the Buck 110 measured (4" blade at work is a big no can do.) I have been told that it runs about 58HRC, which I would believe based on my test results.

So I think you will like the edge retension of that 440C Buck you are eyeing. Though be advised, those early Bucks had a different profile than the current models of the same name. All of mine have have thick edges back of the grind. So they will do good cutting and are strong, but may not be the best at slicing cardboard.

Frank R

And 3G you are right. I'm going to bug BM until either they fess up or change the bloody chart!
Best,
Frank
 
The one I am looking at is #7281 it is 2004 production, a so-called collector issue. Called a White tail hunter. Do you think this 440c is as good as your old school buck?
 
I do not know. But Buck does very good things with all the alloys it uses. They do their standard 420HC really well. Their blades in other alloys such as ATS34 and BG42 are well thought of. I would bet they did well with the current 440C offering.
 
i have a BM grip in 440C and have had no complaints of it's performance. i would rank it nearly the equal of their 154cm.
 
Benchmade used to make the Griptilians in 440c, and when I first joined I remember a lot of threads about Griptilians where people were urged to find one of the older 440c models over the 154CM.

It really may be that the chart IS incorrect, they just haven't gotten around to changing it. I emailed them probably 6 months ago to find out when they'd have more of the hard sheaths for the 210TK activators back in stock. I was told "soon."

Just now, I see they're finally back in stock. I don't know how recently they were posted to the website again, but it's been at least 6 months since they were last available.
 
I don´t like Benchmade´s 440C. Actually I don´t like any of their steels, the way they heat treat them. Easy to resharpen, miserable edge holding imho.

Best 440C I ever saw was on an Wilson Tactical "Combat Elite Level 1". Holds it´s edge for weeks.
 
I've heard that Benchmade makes good 440C, but here someone says it's soft. I've never owned it. That said, Buck has long had a reputation as a edge holder, so I would think it would be hard to beat Buck 440C.
 
I've had good results with the older Buck 110s with 440c blades. Here's what I did with one today:

IMG_0617.jpg
 
I have the 527 (Mini) and I just got the 522 today. The Mini is very easy to sharpen, but I happen to think that I'm pretty good with a diamond rod too.:)
As others mentioned, I used to own 440C Griptillians and Mini Griptillians, they worked fine for me also. It would be cool if BM went back to GIN-1 for their budget models.
 
lvbuckeye27 said:
i'm bumping an old thread, but the new 522 Presidio Ultra comes in 440c. the price is right if the steel is. should i pull the trigger? anyone have it yet?
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I don't have it, but if I liked the 522 design, then 440C as the blade alloy wouldn't be a negative factor.
 
I dont know how different BMs 440c may be, or if technically it's closer to 440A, I LOVE the stuff. My 440C Grip is sharp as a beast and doesnt give it up quick. I have the old rant bowie in 440C and I dont think I've ever had to resharpen it (only used it a few times though). As far as the 440C in the Presidio Ultra.... for the same price Id get a 154CM Grip. I'm very tempted to get a new Rant DPT in 440C, but idk if money will allow me.
 
I like 440c very much. It is very stain resistant, easy to sharpen, and pretty tough. I also have consciously backed away from the super steels a bit. It is way too easy to get caught up thinking that if you don't have X latest wonder steel, your knife isn't good enough.
 
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I like the old Buck 440C so much, I wish they would bring it back. I don't have a Benchmade 440C to compare to. But my old 110 takes and holds a very sweet edge.
Bob
 
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