Buck Knives- steel

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SlyOne

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Sep 19, 2006
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How good is the steel in Buck knives? I noticed one of the lock back folders has 420. How does that steel rate? Thanks.
 
Buck made any steel way better then any other manufacturer. Here my edge retention testing - you may see what place Buch toke with it's steel:

http://playground.sun.com/~vasya/Manila-Rope-Results.html

Thanks, Vassili.

P.S. You may see their entry level 420HC steel ahead on many overhyped steels, and their top steels ahead of same steel from different manufacturers.
 
It gets bashed a lot but 420HC from buck is pretty good, dosen't hold a edge for a long time but its still better than most think.
 
Buck's 420 steel is a very good daily use pocket knife steel in my opinion. It does not easily chip and is very easy to get shaving sharp. Yes, it does not hold an edge like some of the new "super steels" but it sure is a lot easier to get sharp and doesn't chip so you are not afraid to REALLY use it hard.
 
Buck 420hc has a fantastic heat treat and their knives almost always have good grinds. They do am amazing job of taking what would be a mediocre steel and making it perform at levels well above what you’d expect it to.
 
If you did not know it was 420HC, you might think it was 154CM. I really like Buck's steel. I have several knives from them and they seem to hold their own with the other super steels.

Just get a Buck 110 or 119 from the local wally world and try it out, I am sure you will be happy you did.


Best of luck to you,
John
 
If you pick up a 110, you won't regret it. Mine holds a great edge and is very easy to sharpen when needed. It does everything I need it to, and then some.
 
SlyOne said:
How good is the steel in Buck knives? I noticed one of the lock back folders has 420. How does that steel rate? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Buck does not use 420. They use 420HC. Big difference. 420HC has twice the carbon content of 420.

Lots of folks use 420HC for blade steel, but Buck does a particularly good job with their 420HC. Their stated hardness is 57-59, which is makes for decent edge holding. My Buck 301 measured 59HRC.

I find Buck 420HC to be a good user steel. Easy to sharpen to a very fine edge with a simple sharpening stone, and holds an edge better than a lot of the knives with which I grew up.
 
I believe Paul Bos does their heat treating. He's the reason their 420HC performs as well as it does. Google "Paul Bos" and you'll find some pretty interesting info.

thx - cpr
 
Thanks everyone for the input, I always figured Buck made good knives but when I saw the 420HC I wasn't sure because now a days a lot of folks seem to be cutting corners and I had heard something about 420. I knew there was a better grade of 420 but couldn't remember the exact name. The 420HC, knowing the "HC" is high carbon makes it easier to remember.
On the ability to re-sharpen- I'm going to use the knife in the field, probably on some extended trips where field sharpening is needed so a knife that can be sharpened with a hand held stone and strop is desirable and what I want.
 
The earlier 110's came with 440c and 425m steel IIRC, before the switch to 420.

Buck's tend to do very well for what some consider lower end steel.
Two words... Paul Bos
He is THE MAN when it comes to heat treating
 
Well of course their ALascan Guide 110 with CPM S30V or their BassPro 110 with CPM 154 (which is different then 154CM) and custom shop 110 with BG42, all performs better then their regular 110 with 420HC. I recommend to have Bass Pro or custom shop BG42, if you looking for best their edge retention.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
Buck's 420HC is an excellent cutlery steel IMHO: tough, highly stain resistant, takes a great edge... what's not to like? Keep it honed and it will cut up there with any of the 'higher end' steels.
 
338375 said:
The earlier 110's came with 440c and 425m steel IIRC, before the switch to 420.

Buck's tend to do very well for what some consider lower end steel.
Two words... Paul Bos
He is THE MAN when it comes to heat treating
Click to expand...

Since getting the knife bug I've read every article and book I can find and watched many hours of knife making DVDs. The common comment and observation is that Heat Treatment is more important than the type of steel assuming its a good quality blade steel to begin with.

The sharpening technique, method seems to make a blade better or worse also.

I am trying to digest all the information but I am not concerned with the lastest steel just now. That is I'd rather wait until the lastest steel is proven before I pay a premium for the lastest thing.
 
wildjim said:
Since getting the knife bug I've read every article and book I can find and watched many hours of knife making DVDs. The common comment and observation is that Heat Treatment is more important than the type of steel assuming its a good quality blade steel to begin with.


.
Click to expand...

That is an oversimplification. Heat treatment only goes so far. You need both good steel and good heat treatment. (And you are right, above all you need good edge geometry.)

Given two blades with the same edge geometry, a steel with a lower carbon content can outperform steel with a higher carbon content IF the lower carbon steel is heat treated to a high hardness and the higher carbon steel is heat treated to a low hardness. But heat treat them both to the same hardness and the higher carbon steel will far outperform the lower carbon steel.

Example:
There are some producers that run their AUS8 to a lower hardness than Buck runs their 420HC, and I would bet Buck's 420HC will hold an edge better. But, Buck 420HC does not out-perform AUS8 in edge retention if both are taken to the same hardness. (I have tested blades of equal hardness and I know this to be a fact.) And AUS8 can be hardened to a higher hardness than 420HC. So there are lots of AUS8 blades out there that outperform Buck 420HC in edge retention.

You need both good steel and good heat treat.
 
knarfeng said:
That is an oversimplification. Heat treatment only goes so far. You need both good steel and good heat treatment. (And you are right, above all you need good edge geometry.)

Given two blades with the same edge geometry, a steel with a lower carbon content can outperform steel with a higher carbon content IF the lower carbon steel is heat treated to a high hardness and the higher carbon steel is heat treated to a low hardness. But heat treat them both to the same hardness and the higher carbon steel will far outperform the lower carbon steel.

Example:
There are some producers that run their AUS8 to a lower hardness than Buck runs their 420HC, and I would bet Buck's 420HC will hold an edge better. But, Buck 420HC does not out-perform AUS8 in edge retention if both are taken to the same hardness. (I have tested blades of equal hardness and I know this to be a fact.) And AUS8 can be hardened to a higher hardness than 420HC. So there are lots of AUS8 blades out there that outperform Buck 420HC in edge retention.

You need both good steel and good heat treat.
Click to expand...

When you say "outperform" can you give me an idea of magnitude - some sort of standard I can get my mind around. With cars it can be 0 to 60 mph times or MPG.
Thanks
 
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