Cold Steel Desparado - AUS 8A or 420?

[jag-engr]

I hope that this is the right forum of this question...

I noticed on one of the forums that Cold Steel made their Desparado in
AUS 8A for a while and then switched to 420 stainless.

I have a Desparado, but there is no label on the blade as to which steel
the knife is made from.

Are there any design or marking differences between the two generations
of the knife that would distinguish them?

 

[Jon]

I've got an older one that was advertised as AUS 8A, but doesn't state that on the blade. It does say "Made in Japan" though, if that helps?