Buck and 440-C?

TAH

TAH

Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
6,135
I posted this question in a thread that was in the General Discussion Forum regarding Buck steel.

Thought I'd re-post it here and hopefully get a better response...

My father bought me a 105 Pathfinder in 1975 when I was 14 years old. Believe it or not, I still have it and it survived my childhood very well. Today, I continue to use it for backpacking and in the kitchen. I was always impressed with how well it held an edge. Then, through this forum, I discovered it was made with 440-C. No wonder!

So my question is:

Why was Buck able to offer 440-C blades in the 70s and not today? Were their knives considered "higher end" production knives in those days?

I read that, over the years, they went from 440-C to 425 to 420HC to "cut costs", but you would think that with today's technology, it would be less costly to offer 440-C now than it was back in the 70s.
 
I believe 420HC is available in rolls and can be stamped out while 440C would have to be laser cut, I tend to agree that using 440C today would be easier and less expensive today than in the 70´s but still more costly than 420HC, and competition today is much tougher.

They do come out on occasion with special editions in better steels for those who want and appreciate them, too bad they never send these to Mexico.
 
Was laser technology even available in the 70s? How did Buck offer 440-C back then and keep the cost down?
 
I became a Buck fan when I bought a 110 in 1980. I love the blade on that knife. I used and abused it and it never let me down. I only found out (here on BF) a couple months ago that the steel used was 440C.

edited to add: I just recieved a Buck Cabela Alaskan Guide Series 110 with S30V steel. Beautiful knife.
 
My understanding on the change from 440C to other types was that Buck had the blanking operations done by outside manufacturer companies with the 440C steel blades. When Buck was able to invest in the heavy press machinery to do the blanking operation in house (early 1980's I believe),,,,they discovered the 440C was so tough the tools would wear out very quickly and it became very expensive to replace the press tooling.

The switch to 425 steel solved the high cost problems associated with 440C. The 425 steel is a fine alloy and Buck was able to improve heat treatment control to maintain a hardness of Rc 57-58 very consistently.

Later the steel mill in NY state which supplied the special 425 steel closed and Buck changed again to the present 420HC steel.

Regards,
FK
 
Hello, Just thought I would pass some info I've come across in one of my knife ref. books. The Gun Digest Book of Knives, circa 1973, has a chapter devoted to Buck. Chapter 14, The Almighty Buck, goes into detail, of how the knives were made. The Buck plant had a 250 ton Niagara punch press which was used in blanking patterns for blades from steel sheet stock. The way the book reads, "Buck used a modified 440C." "This steel was made up to Buck specs by the Universal-Cyclops mill in Pittsburgh and is hand-rolled. The billets were heated up, and individually run through hand-cranked rollers-resembling the wringer on an old-fashioned washing machine-until reduced to the specified thickness; This process yields the same orientation of the steel molecules as might be obtained by individual hand-forging on an anvil." The article further states that the punch press was capable of the massive punch-out required for the Woodsman's Axe of the time, and thus punched out the Folding Hunter with ease. I just wanted to clear things up in re: to Buck punching out their own blades. There are many pictures in the article, one of which shows Chuck Buck in front of the giant punch press.
 
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