Buck knife question

Many many years ago when I was young and dumb and just getting into knives I tried hammering an old Buck knife through a small nail. Ruined the blade by causing a large chip out.
 
I tried a rr tie once. Got 1/2 way thru then a train came!! 🫣
John 😁
 
That demonstration was most likely done with a 440-C blade which is high (0.95-1.20%) Carbon. The new stuff, 420-HC has 0.45% Carbon.
 
tiguy7 said:
That demonstration was most likely done with a 440-C blade which is high (0.95-1.20%) Carbon. The new stuff, 420-HC has 0.45% Carbon.
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the new stuff (420HC) is significantly tougher than the old stuff (440C). In Dr. Larrin’s testing, 420HC scores a 9/10 on his “toughness” scale, whereas 440C scores a 3.5/10.

While almost any knife can baton a bolt, with the right technique, it is certainly true that at this specific task, 420HC Buck Knives will be “better” than the 440C ones.

Chart and table by Dr. Larrin, a PhD metallurgist.

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CJ Buck spoke about the bolt test in an interview, and I’ve seen it demonstrated on film. Plenty of youtube videos showing folks doing it with all sorts of Buck knives.

The trick, as described by him, is to pound the knife through the bolt slowly, with small taps instead of big whacks. Just about any blade can chip out if you whack it hard enough into a bolt, and just about any blade will instead go through that bolt if you go slow. It’s a neat trick, but once you learn about how almost all quality knives can do it, it loses its “impressiveness.”
 
Back when Buck was doing the demos, 440-C was the current steel. 440-C can be taken to a higher HRC because of the additional Carbon. Toughness is not the only parameter in nail cutting performance.
 
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Hal said:
Did anyone ever try pounding a Buck blade through a bolt?
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Used to work as a machinist. So, I have seen cutting tools accidentally go places they were not intended to go and attempt to cut things they were not intended to cut.

It's amazing what a tool can do.... once.
 
I’ll add to what was said above, the knife was tapped through an ungraded stove bolt which is soft, for a bolt.

I remember asking my dad about this when I was a kid and got my first folding Hunter. He told me he has field dressed a lot of deer and never found a bolt in them.
 
The original add came with a warning “Strike must be true”.

As stated its a soft stove bolt, I’d be more worried about hammer marks on the spine than edge damage, and you don’t want to get all the way thru to the anvil face.
 
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