Can this be true?

O

OklahomaBryan

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Oct 14, 2014
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I was thinking about buying the large 4" Buck trapper made in China. The turn off for me was that it had the Chinese 420 J steel which is inferior to the Buck USA 420HC with BOS treatment.

But I have read that the Rockwell of these are 49-53!! This is barely better than a butter knife.

Can this be true? Thanks, Bryan
 
Unless you read it on Buck's website, it might not be. I've only found two retailers so far that list the 4", 384 trapper and neither show a hardness range for it. I'd suggest you contact Buck directly for a answer or look around for an older Buck model, Buck, Schrade or Camillus made.
 
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420J2 has a slightly lower carbon content than 420HC and therefore comes out about 2 points lower. Buck typically quotes 58 Rockwell for 420Hc and ***56 Rockwell for 420J2*** ... still a perfectly acceptable value for an ECONOMY knife.

*** edit, I just found a reference for 420J2 as 53-55 Rc not 56 Rc
BUCK prints the steel and Rockwell value of the backside of clamshell packaging and I just reviewed a bunch of them.
 
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If it's not in Bucks catalog I would think it's another fake.
 
DeSotoSky said:
420J2 has a slightly lower carbon content than 420HC and therefore comes out about 2 points lower. Buck typically quotes 58 Rockwell for 420Hc and 56 Rockwell for 420J2... still a perfectly acceptable value for an ECONOMY knife.
Click to expand...

Has Buck put the RC of their 420J2 at 56? They don't list it on their current knife steel FAQ page. And I thought the understood max Rc for that steel was closer to 55Rc. I seem to recall that 55Rc was the quoted hardness by Buck, but I could be mistaken.

Regardless, I guess it depends on what you mean by an ECONOMY knife.

You can get a Mora Companion for around $15 with 12C27 at 57Rc. You can also get an Opinel Inox with 12C27 at 58Rc for under $15. I just got a Buck Slimline 721 at Walmart and paid a flat $15 and that has Bos 420HC at 58Rc.

On the other hand, they were also selling a bunch of Ozark Trails knives in the $5-$10 range. I hope that's not the class of ECONOMY knives that we should put any Buck into.

My sense is there is enough decent fine-carbide stainless out there and that heat treatment processes are well enough understood and highly automated that I can't accept that their use of 420J2 is needed, even at this price point. IMO, 7CR17MoV would be a better choice than 420J2.
 
On the "Bay", I have found two different sellers which had "new" large Buck trappers that showed the RC 49-53 range. They also show other stats for the knife.

I see these knives in new condition selling for $20-$30. To me, this is not an "economy" knife. I do not think Buck should sell a knife with this low of Rockwell. It would not get close to holding an edge.

I agree with Pinnah that you can buy several other brands for far less money that will perform well. I buy the carbon Mora knives with 58-59RC for about $12.

If the low rockwell listings are correct, I will never buy that knife. I would buy a model 314 USA if Buck ever brought it back.

Thanks, Bryan
 
Makael said:
If it's not in Bucks catalog I would think it's another fake.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, the catalog never contains exclusive products made for specific vendors. You won't find knives Buck makes exclusively for WalMart, Dicks, Cabellas, Bass Pro, Smoky Mountain.... etc etc in the catalog or on the website.
 
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