Geez, does 420J2 *SUCK* or what.....

M

MacTech

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Jan 7, 2006
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about 2 weeks ago, i sharpened my Buck Metro keyring knife to shaving sharpness, then ignored it, it lived on my keyring unused until today, on a whim i took it out, opened the blade, and tried cutting a piece of paper....

the sodding thing was *dull* (well, not *completely* dull, just duller than it was when i first sharpened it), and i *had not* used it, it won't even shave hair

the bottle opener sucks too, my SAK bottle opener just *works*, and doesn't need to be fiddly aligned with the bottlecap just right.... the bottle opener is *clearly* a gimmick

pathetic, absolutely pathetic, luckilly i don't care about this knife anyway, it's just there so i always have a knife on me, then again, what do i expect for $10....

i give the Buck Metro a thumbs-down rating, on a scale of 1-10, it's a 3, and that's being generous....
 
Yes, 420J2 does suck. :barf: Buck should never have put their name on stuff like that. :thumbdn:
 
420J2 is an OK stainless cutlery steel for some applications. It does probably suck for what many of us "enthusiasts" do, but for many people it serves very well. I've found that sharpening 420J2 to a sharp, but not razor or "scary" sharp, edge results in a very useable utility blade. Keep it in perspective... 150 years ago people would have worshiped it as a miracle metal, and it's not bad today.
 
GoodGuy said:
150 years ago people would have worshiped it as a miracle metal, and it's not bad today.
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While I agree that 420J2 is not as bad as some make it out to be (yes, it is bad, but not that horrible), I have to say that 150 years ago people had much better carbon steels. However, 420J2 would have been by far the best option for any knife used in humid conditions back then.
 
MacTech said:
the sodding thing was *dull* (well, not *completely* dull, just duller than it was when i first sharpened it), and i *had not* used it, it won't even shave hair
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This is, of course, breaking one of the major laws of physics. But that's okay, we don't pay much attention to them around here anyway. :p
 
about 2 weeks ago, i sharpened my Buck Metro keyring knife to shaving sharpness, then ignored it, it lived on my keyring unused until today, on a whim i took it out, opened the blade, and tried cutting a piece of paper....

the sodding thing was *dull* (well, not *completely* dull, just duller than it was when i first sharpened it), and i *had not* used it, it won't even shave hair
Click to expand...

I don't like 420J and I try to avoid it as a blade-steel, but I don't see how it could possible dull itself without any useage at all.

I think that maybe someone has been using your knife without your knowledge.
Steel simply does not dull itself.

Allen.
 
allenC said:
I don't like 420J and I try to avoid it as a blade-steel, but I don't see how it could possible dull itself without any useage at all.

I think that maybe someone has been using your knife without your knowledge.
Steel simple does not dull itself.

Allen.
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It was on keyring in the pocket I assume? In theory I can imagine some sand, dirt in the pocket may probably dull the edge. May be blurr which was on the edge and make it look like sharp fell out in time...

I know caron steel may loose sharpness sometimes due to corrosion. Actually this, probably, may happen on edge of stainless steel - it is layer of cromium oxides on the surface which make it stainless, may be on the fine edge itself it work bit diferent?

It will be nice to put knife with fine steel in the same pocket and see what will happen?

Thansk, Vassili.
 
Maybe you had a wire edge, and it broke off. The wire edge would shave easily, but is very weak. The edge would be duller than a sharp edge if the wire edge broke off.
 
I've always been amazed at how easily the 420J in Leatherman's tools rusts.
 
allenC said:
I don't like 420J and I try to avoid it as a blade-steel, but I don't see how it could possible dull itself without any useage at all.

I think that maybe someone has been using your knife without your knowledge.
Steel simple does not dull itself.

Allen.
Click to expand...
If it was put away after using, without wiping off the blade, it could have slightly oxidized the edge, thus making it seem more dull. He should just strop it real quick.
 
samhain73 said:
If it was put away after using, without wiping off the blade, it could have slightly oxidized the edge, thus making it seem more dull. He should just strop it real quick.
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It's somewhat possible that the very act of cutting the paper dulled it noticably in a short time.

The blade on this knife is less than an inch, so a single pass through a full sheet of paper is focused on a short edge.

Also consider that 420j2 sucks. When he sharpened it, it could easily have a fatigued edge making it ready to burr over very quickly. When sharpening unfriendly stainless, the burr tends to fold back and forth, but if you sharpen with extremely low pressure, like barely touching the stone, that burr will straighten out making the edge pretty sharp to touch but extremely weak.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
When did buck start using 420J2?
I have a 110 in 420HC and it holds a good edge.
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The Metro has been made in both Taiwan and China. I got one from Taiwan and the package said 420hc, but the ones made in China say 420j2.
 
allenC said:
Steel simple does not dull itself.
Click to expand...

The edge can relax if left deformed, which is a common state on v-rods and crock sticks. I have measured significant loss in sharpness. It is really noticable if you hone using smooth steels.

-Cliff
 
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