LB7 Vs. 110 Sharpening

[Deep6Osama]

I would like to know why it seems easier to get a sharper edge on my Schrade LB7 compared to my Buck 110. Does this mean the steel is softer on the Scrade? I use a lansky deluxe down to fine.

 

[Deep6Osama]

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Codger_64]

Sorry your post slipped through the cracks. I have no idea of the steel or Rockwell of the Buck, but the LB7, depending on it's age, is either 440 or 420, and company info was of an Rc56-59. I would imagine their heat treatment improved with time, as it did in most industries, so you might have an earlier knife with less hardening, but again, that is only a guess.

Maybe someone else has a better answer.

Codger

PS-You're welcome!

 

[Don Luis]

Buck standard steel:

Before 1981.- 440C

1981 to 1994.- 425M

After 1994.- 420HC

If your 110 is from before 1981 it is 440C and likely harder to sharpen than the LB7 or a modern 110, which would both be 420HC. An older LB7 would be 440A and still easier to sharpen than the 110.

Luis

 

[lt632ret]

I like your name WELCOME. I agree with the Dons answer I believe it is correct. I have heard many people with this same question. LT

 

[ISC_RIP]

Many of Buck's hollow grind's were semi-hollow vs Schrade's full hollow grinding. The semi-hollow is more difficult to sharpen. There is a decent expaination of each type on Buck's web site. Buck claims this type of grind is stronger than a full hollow, however it was often used as the only way to increase the panel on a knife and often caused other problems.

 

[relodr36]

Buck standard steel:

Before 1981.- 440C

1981 to 1994.- 425M

After 1994.- 420HC

If your 110 is from before 1981 it is 440C and likely harder to sharpen than the LB7 or a modern 110, which would both be 420HC. An older LB7 would be 440A and still easier to sharpen than the 110.

Luis

Don Luis is right!
I have a 2-line General and Skinner and they are both difficult to sharpen. The edge lasts well,but I never tried to cut a bolt like their old trademark showed.
Give me old high-carbon steel for a user.
Ron

 

[orvet]

When I was in the cutlery business, 1981-1992, I often received complaints about Buck knives from customers.
The #1 complaint was they were hard to sharpen, which was why they brought them to us to sharpen.
The #2 complaint was that the blades tended to chip. Indeed I have sharpened the chips out of many a Buck knife, (usually from a careless hunter who hit a bone with the edge).
The strangest complaint I ever heard about a Buck knife was a customer who dropped his fixed blade on a rock and the blade broke into 4 or 5 pieces like glass.
The general explanation for this (and I am not sure of the source nor the validity if the explanation) was that Buck hardened their knives to about a Rockwell 65. I do not know if that was true, but that was what we were told, (probably by a competing sales rep).

Dale

 

[redshanks]

I have a Buck 120 General that I bought new in 1970, and it's still the hardest knife I have to sharpen. The hardness must be way up there on the Rockwell scale.