It's OK to own 420hc.

IMO the difficulty is in how you determine the value of this knife, and there are two ways of doing it.

Way 1: It's has the design of a Strider with a decent steel at less than half the price of a normal strider. Sounds like a good deal.

Way 2: This knife is nearly twice the price of knives with better steal and excellent design. Sounds like a poor deal.

I'm a way 2 person, as are many in this thread, they are betting there are alot of way 1 people.
 
Droppoints said:
You have to have good raw materials to heat treat. This is sort of a silk purse, sow's ear thing. 420HC is the "sow's ear" of knife steels.

I'm sure Bos gets everything there is to get out of the 420HC, but the "everything" isn't that much. Better steels have more potential and, if properly heat treated, will have better properties. Yes, poorly heat treated ATS-34, D2, etc. won't be as good as excellently heat treated 420HC but, properly heat treated they will far exceed it.
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For some reason that seems hard to grasp. Can't figure out why people think a Paul Bos HT can somehow magically change the properties of the steel, and make it something it isn't :rolleyes:

...and yeah, I've got several Bos HT'd knives, but they sure aren't 420HC.
 
I think what they are saying, and it's been said before. That most people think of 420HC as such a poor steel because we have experienced it with poor heat treat. And if we had an open mind about it, we'd be surprised at how well 420HC performs.

Maybe Buck Knives should do a passaround with this model? :p
 
I have several knives with 420HC steel. They're not expensive and are not super-steels, but they get the job done when needed and are easy to keep sharp. These new fixed blades do seem pricey for 420HC blades and I feel that any production knife with the Strider name attached to it is going to be priced higher than similar knives by other factory brands. As long as there is a demand for Strider knives, prices will most likely be set high. I think Buck has done a good job with their Buck/Strider collaborations and for those who can't afford the real deal, then these are good alternatives. If you don't don't like or don't really care for them, there are plety of other knives to choose from.
 
Its certainly true I have yet to use, test or try a 420HC knife that held a good edge for anything like a reasonable length of time.

Perhaps I need to give 420HC another chance, but not with this knife I can tell you! Not at that price!

I suppose 420HC must be a great steel if Buck have made it their standard steel in pocket knives where wear resistance is the major factor. This knife must have fantastic wear resistance compared to the old steel they used, 440C...

I guess I am just stupid... Or perhaps its a cheaper steel to grind, work and buy?

The argument that the normal user would not notice the difference and can not sharpen the higher grade steels is quite interesting. Translated "you can't handle any better than this, so this is what you get"

Oooooo Kkkkkk..... :eek:

I would love to buy a vintage 110 in 440C steel in good condition, that was a great knife at a great price. I object to the build your own 110 at a greatly inflated price...
 
Buck uses 420HC because it is the best steel that can be blanked, and not have to be hand cut. And please dont associate Buck 420HC with junk like 420J and that ilk. It is not. The steel can still hold its own, and Buck puts a terrific edge on their knives which is every bit as important as the steel.

What some have not realized is that 420HC is not a super steel, it is the right steel for this piece though. It has what they feel are the best atributes that meet the needs. If they had specified wear resistance, dont you think another would have been at the top? This is after all not a knife that you open every letter you get with after all.

And I still dont get why people are not hearing that this will not be the price that the majority of knife dealers charge!
 
It's the whole sharpened prybar bit. Edge retention apparently isn't even necessary for this knife because of the steel. I dunno, but the blade profiles, handle shape, and length seem pretty poor for the role of chopper, so I'm not sure what these knives are meant to do. Maybe just look 'tactical', how very Frost or United.
 
Had some time, did some searching, Now a fair question...many of you were not thrilled at $159 for the Buck 890. now that the price has dropped considerably, is it a more reasonable risk?? I'm not familiar with some of the knives that were compared, how do they compare now??
Conversation and opinion only No flames please.
thanks guy
 
mschwoeb said:
Buck uses 420HC because it is the best steel that can be blanked, and not have to be hand cut.
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I believe this is incorrect. It's hard to know (without asking Buck) why they use 420HC - I believe the answer is that it is is cheap to buy, inexpensive to machine, and easily available in a range of thicknesses, with no curent supply bottleneck. (There was an article in one of the rags - Blade? - three or four months ago about production reasons that many outfits are using 420HC as their new entry level stainless.)

But 420HC is far from the best steel that can be fine-blanked. You can't fine-blank ATS34, D2, or a number of our other favorites. But quite a few very reasonable steels - 8A, N690, 440A - can be, and are, blanked, and that's part of the reason they are in reasonably priced knives made in both the US and overseas.
 
mschwoeb said:
Buck uses 420HC because it is the best steel that can be blanked, and not have to be hand cut.
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Steels like ATS-34, BG-42, and S30V are cut by laser or waterjet for most production knives.


hardheart said:
It's the whole sharpened prybar bit. Edge retention apparently isn't even necessary for this knife because of the steel. I dunno, but the blade profiles, handle shape, and length seem pretty poor for the role of chopper, so I'm not sure what these knives are meant to do. Maybe just look 'tactical', how very Frost or United.
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Edge retention is traded for ease of sharpening and lower cost, probably a fair trade in the minds of the target audience. What if Strider produced the same knife in ATS-34 and priced it at $400? They make a few models with similar blade profiles, handle shapes, and length. Your comments would have to apply to Strider knives as well, not only because they designed the knife, but also because their knives adhere to the same design philosophy. Perhaps some Strider users here could help you understand what these knives are meant to do.

Remember, Buck may produce a limited run of these in a premium stainless steel. It will be interesting to see that MSRP and market price.
 
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