Buck does 420 OK, don't they?
- Thread starter Lavan
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Everything I've heard indicates Buck's 420HC is good.
Apparently Bos(?) does good heat treatment.
It may not be "the" steel of the moment, but the ones I've sharpened (Buck knives of what I presume was 420) seemed okay and their owners liked them fine.
Apparently Bos(?) does good heat treatment.
It may not be "the" steel of the moment, but the ones I've sharpened (Buck knives of what I presume was 420) seemed okay and their owners liked them fine.
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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420 isn't always 420. It used to be 420J2 was low-grade for a cutlery steel, but what Buck and others use is 420HC (high carbon). They seem to be doing it right.
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You can't simply compare numbers of steels. 420J is junk, but 420HC is pretty good low-cost steel. Then there's CPM-420V, better known as S90V, which is one of the longest wearing stainless steels available.
You can't always follow number/letter progressions within a steel type either. AUS-8 and 440C might be better than AUS-6 and 440A, but ATS-34 is far superior to ATS-55.
You can't always follow number/letter progressions within a steel type either. AUS-8 and 440C might be better than AUS-6 and 440A, but ATS-34 is far superior to ATS-55.
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Fact of the matter is that you can make a decent blade even from 420J2, especially for applications that involve chopping and other heavy duty usage. The crux is that 99% of those who make 420J2 knives do not heat treat them to perform anywhere near its optimum.
I've seen a 4034 (the German equivalent of 420J2, nowadays often called "Solingen steel" in the US) camp knife made by a very skillful and well-respected German maker (Frank Riedinger, member of the German Knifemakers Guild) and I have no doubt that it would perform really well for the applications it was designed for.
As others have stated before, 420HC HTed by Paul Bos is nothing to complain about.
I've seen a 4034 (the German equivalent of 420J2, nowadays often called "Solingen steel" in the US) camp knife made by a very skillful and well-respected German maker (Frank Riedinger, member of the German Knifemakers Guild) and I have no doubt that it would perform really well for the applications it was designed for.
As others have stated before, 420HC HTed by Paul Bos is nothing to complain about.
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Buck's 420HC is great, their heat treating is done to Paul Bose's spec.'s and they get the best from 420HC.
All I know about Buck is that it's some of the hardest stuff you can fool with...don't give me that super hard steel thank you,had enough when I was starting out with a Buck folder at 14 (never could sharpen that bugger)
The Buck Rush I just bought last month is a very good knife,so I'd trust your knife.
The Buck Rush I just bought last month is a very good knife,so I'd trust your knife.
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allenC said:
I gotta agree with Allen here. I just tested a brand new buck 110 against my old from the 1980's 110 and it didn't hold the edge half way through the task.
I was pruning some trees in my yard and I had 2 6' pieces of chinese elm about 2" in diameter at the base tapering to about 1" I stripped the bark off of both first with my old 110 which I hadn't sharpened in a while and then with my friends new on sale at walmart 110. My old 110 was still using sharp when I was done. The new 110 had a flat spot along the area getting the most use. You could feel how the edge had rolled over. It only stripped about half the stick. We resharpened the new 110 on my lansky with a steeper angle and it stripped the rest of the stick but the edge looked and felt the same as after the first try.
Buck has sold out their customers.
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Yes they do.
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Ilovetoolsteel said:
This raises an interesting question. Are the Buck 110's that we buy at Walmart for $23 the same knife that you had to pay $60 for ten years ago? I would imagine that production had to be ramped up tremendously to meet the demands of Walmart, and I've often wondered if that had any effect on quality. I wonder the same thing about the Spyderco S30V Natives that are available at some Walmarts for $40.
I have two 110's, an older one and an Alaskan Guide Series. I don't know anything about Bucks production issues or if they have any, or the quality of the $23 Walmart 110's. I'm just curious what other peoples thoughts and experiences are.
Lavan said:
Yes, it is well done. Normally, I see 420HC as low grade and have only a few knives in that steel. Past knives did not hold an edge well. However, I used a Buck Ranger over the holiday and the edge was fine while cutting woods, fabrics, rope and plastics. I got over zealous and wanted to cut, what I thought, was a stray piece of rolled paper. It turns out, the paper covered a piece of spring wire....it rolled the edge on the Ranger. I sharpened/ stropped it and it was back to 'hair poppin' sharp. The use bedore and the sharpness after showed, to me at least, that Buck's 420Hc is good stuff.
Hope this helps.