How bad is 420hc?

Jeff Clark said:
Sword and Shield, How old is your Buck knife? 420HC is pretty easy to sharpen. Their older 425M and 440C were more of a problem.
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Actually I haven't had much trouble with sharpening my old 425M 112, it may be because I use a DMT hone. Those diamond hones really work quick!
 
It seems to me that 400HC performs a lot like most other best of the worst stainless steels. It's pretty soft, so when you sharpen it, you get a burr that makes the thing feel like a razor, that is why it feels quite sharp, but dulls easily after cutting the butthole of a deer. Like others have said, those buck knives our grandpas gave us will not let you down if you don't treat them like a D2 combat blade.
 
Dijos said:
I've been eyeing a few knives, from Camillus and queen (S&M), and they're in 420hc. I don't think I have any experience with the steel. Now, just for background, I'm not that much of a steel snob, I'm generally happy even with Vic's stainless, for what I use it for, and a wide variety of Carbon steel, and aus-8. I can assume that 420hc will be decent, and pretty darn stainless. Any input? Thanks.
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It makes a marginally better blade than wood. If you are spending more than $15 for a knife made with 420hc you are being ripped off. The carbon content of this steel is not even 1/2%. I used to think like others that it was an acceptable steel but my opinion has changed drastically in the last few years.

I was shocked when I compared my old Buck 110 to a new 420hc 110. The performance was pittifull. I was stripping some bark and sap wood off a stick to make a walking stick. The 420hc blade stripped less than half of a stick (2.5 ft) before there was visible flat spots on the edge.

Buck calls this knife the "Folding Hunter" That sort of implies it is made for hard use outdoor wilderness tasks, Imagine taking this knife on a hiking, hunting or camping trip. You're making some tent stakes and having to sharpen your knife halfway through the job. Imagine getting lost or injured and having to depend on that kind of performance.
 
I actually like 425M, as a cheap stainless. But I guess the sharpening problems annoyed a lot of potential customers. I've been using DMT diamonds to sharpen with for so long that the whole "hard to sharpen" thing went right over my head - I used to be such a bad sharpener that I HAD to use a jig (I had a Lansky) to get a usable edge on anything, but being able to remove steel was never my problem. :D

It has nice edgeholding - I'm really fond of the 425 in my old Timberline Timberlites.

I don't think I own any 420HC.

Now what I really wish more companies would use in their non-premium knives are the very fine grained Sandvik stainless steels like 12C27 and 13C26. Tasty.
 
Ilovetoolsteel said:
It makes a marginally better blade than wood. If you are spending more than $15 for a knife made with 420hc you are being ripped off. The carbon content of this steel is not even 1/2%. I used to think like others that it was an acceptable steel but my opinion has changed drastically in the last few years.

I was shocked when I compared my old Buck 110 to a new 420hc 110. The performance was pittifull. I was stripping some bark and sap wood off a stick to make a walking stick. The 420hc blade stripped less than half of a stick (2.5 ft) before there was visible flat spots on the edge.

Buck calls this knife the "Folding Hunter" That sort of implies it is made for hard use outdoor wilderness tasks, Imagine taking this knife on a hiking, hunting or camping trip. You're making some tent stakes and having to sharpen your knife halfway through the job. Imagine getting lost or injured and having to depend on that kind of performance.
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:eek: :eek: :eek:
Hehehehe..
Walmart likes it ! :cool:
 
I have a Cold Steel OSS in 420HC. I chopped down a few 6-8" sweetgums with it and it still shaved. A few more and it only took a few passes on a steel to bring it back to shaving sharp. If the heat treat is good it can make a good knife...

420HC, as heat treated by Paul Bos, is ok stuff.
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Paul Bos could heat treat Jell-O and make a good knife blade out of it!!!

Peace-
Cam
 
I think more important than the steel in the knife is whether it is made by a real knife making company. They will know what steel works in their products.

All things being equal you want to get the knife with the best steel for your application. The reasons are two fold. It will be tough enough for the job and it will hold an edge a long time.

The eyes lie! All the knives look real good in the magazines and in the display. I always use the potato test. Could I cut up a 50 pound bag of potatoes with it without my fingers cramping?

Here is a rather techy link to variious knife steels. It is really intended for the knife maker but has some good info that might be of interest.


http://www.ajh-knives.com/metals.html
 
Do Kershaw not use 420HC quite a lot?

You are all more knowledgeable than I on this matter, how would you rate their blades in terms of heat treatment?
 
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