? for Ontario... 440A heat treatment being listed as 49 to 52 range...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

Joined
Aug 4, 2013
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A thank you in advance for any insight you can share with us :)
Ontario lists the P4 model as having a 440A stainless steel blade with a hardness of only 49 to 52... Is there a reason for it being hardened to a level considered too soft by the majority of folks?

Thanks again :)
 
The P4 carries this low hardness heat treating on it's 440A steel. It is actually sold pretty pricey, so the heat treat should not be at wall hanger levels... And, I think most would agree that we want our Ontario knives to be well heat treated and functional, no matter if they are a bit dolled up or not... imo.
 
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PKJ,

That Hardness reading is not correct. I'm thinking the 440A blade and a 420 blade spec got reversed.
A good 440A hardness reading should be around 55-57HRc. 49-52 HRc is appropriate for a spring steel such as 420.
we are investigating that Hardness reading and it will most likely change.

Best Regards,


Paul Tsujimoto
Director of Engineering
Ontario Knife Company
 
Hey Guys,

Toooj spent most of last week at the Modern Day Marine show. We'll get back to figuring this out now that he's back.
 
All,

Sorry for the late response. As OKC said; I was at the Modern Day Marine Show last week. Good weather and it is ALWAYS great to interact with our Men and Women in service (especially the Marine Corp) It is a show for Big Boy Toys to the extreme.

Okay; let's get back to the business at hand. I went out and hardness tested a batch of unassembled P-3 Blades (same material as the P-4 blades). The average Hardness reading was 55HRc. (Hardness Rockwell C scale) That is a good reading for 440A.
So please disregard the 49-52HRc. That is a Catalog error.
Hope this helps.

Best Regards,


Paul Tsujimoto
Director of Engineering
Ontario Knife Company
 
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