Please recommend a decent folder in 440C

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Maximumbob54

Gold Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2024
Messages
1,073
Carried way too much "420 won't stay sharp steel" when I was younger. Moved to some AUS-6 and 8 and found it immediately better. Then I bought my first Spyderco Endura in VG10 and found it hard to go back. But I never had a good 440C pocketknife that I carried. So I'd like to find out what I missed out on. But it seems like the folder industry has moved on and the selection is pretty thin.

I did just buy a Boker Catalyst but that little thing has a THICK blade as in I have thinner fixed blades. Was going to try a SOG Tellus but found enough negative reviews that I'm passing that one by.

Recommendations?
 
The trick with 440C is to find an outfit which will give it an optimal heat treat.
You might look at knives from Maserin or Fox, out of Italy.

Boker Plus and Boker Magnum lines are economy lines made in offshore plants. I question the heat treat on those.

Boker Arbolito is a Boker plant in Argentina which uses Bohler N695 steel. It meets the spec for 440C. They make a couple of folders and I would bet they are done right.,
 
Maximumbob54 said:
That thing is HUGE!!! Pretty wild though being a pocket kukri.

And I know it's petty but I want it to say 440C.
Click to expand...
N690 is about as close to 440C as you are going to get commercially today. It's very good steel that won't disappoint you if heat treated correctly.
You may find some of the older custom makers who still have some genuine 440C, but as far as new factory knives go that are marked 440C, that's gonna be tough.
 
Steven65 said:
N690 is about as close to 440C as you are going to get commercially today. It's very good steel that won't disappoint you if heat treated correctly.
You may find some of the older custom makers who still have some genuine 440C, but as far as new factory knives go that are marked 440C, that's gonna be tough.
Click to expand...
OP asked for 440C

N690 is not 440C Kissing cousin, only. Actually closer to VG10 than to 440C. And it is probably my favorite melt alloy.
N695 is exactly 440C

N690 - BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG

BÖHLER N690 is a corrosion-resistant 17% Cr steel with Co, Mo and V additives that can be hardened to approx. 60 HRC and therefore offers very high wear resistance, for tools in the plastics processing and food industry and for parts in general mechanical engineering
www.bohler-edelstahl.com www.bohler-edelstahl.com

N695 - BÖHLER US

www.us.bohler.com www.us.bohler.com
 
Steven65 said:
N690 is about as close to 440C as you are going to get commercially today. It's very good steel that won't disappoint you if heat treated correctly.
You may find some of the older custom makers who still have some genuine 440C, but as far as new factory knives go that are marked 440C, that's gonna be tough.
Click to expand...

No worries, I recognize I'm chasing a bit of a white rabbit here. Some good info being learned here.
 
Not a ton of options in 440c honestly that haven't already been mentioned. Not a folder and not an optimal heat treat, but i'd pick up one of the Lightning otf's lol.

$30 bucks, plenty of people who don't like them but I've had multiple at this point and all mine have been flawless reliability wise and ive beat on them pretty good.

Mantis also has a line of USA mades otf's as well as those funky folders they collaborated with G&G Hawk on in 440c..
 
Corton93 said:
Not a ton of options in 440c honestly that haven't already been mentioned. Not a folder and not an optimal heat treat, but i'd pick up one of the Lightning otf's lol.

$30 bucks, plenty of people who don't like them but I've had multiple at this point and all mine have been flawless reliability wise and ive beat on them pretty good.

Mantis also has a line of USA mades otf's as well as those funky folders they collaborated with G&G Hawk on in 440c..
Click to expand...
I don't trust Mantis to heat treat the steel properly. A few years ago they were caught falsifying blade steel information, using different alloys than what they claimed. Sorry, but fool me once...
 
Can't carry an OTF at work but I also just assumed they were 7cr or something at best. Interesting to know they are or could be 440C.

And I'd swear I read somewhere else here that story about Mantis.
 
knarfeng said:
OP asked for 440C

N690 is not 440C Kissing cousin, only. Actually closer to VG10 than to 440C. And it is probably my favorite melt alloy.
N695 is exactly 440C

N690 - BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG

BÖHLER N690 is a corrosion-resistant 17% Cr steel with Co, Mo and V additives that can be hardened to approx. 60 HRC and therefore offers very high wear resistance, for tools in the plastics processing and food industry and for parts in general mechanical engineering
www.bohler-edelstahl.com www.bohler-edelstahl.com

N695 - BÖHLER US

www.us.bohler.com www.us.bohler.com
Click to expand...
You are right, I should have made that clearer. Unfortunately it's a bugger to find new production knives made from 440C.

I'm just trying to give the OP some other options. He could also look at some classic knives from the '70's and '80's

FYI Bohler has been our main steel supplier here in South Africa for the last 40+ years and due to U.S. sanctions it was about all we could get. Almost all our stainless custom knives made in the 70's through the mid '90's were 440C. I have many.
N690 is still heavily used here and still fully supported by Bohler. It's good stuff and I don't hesitate to by a knife made from it. Unfortunately in the U.S. it's just not that well known.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
Can't carry an OTF at work but I also just assumed they were 7cr or something at best. Interesting to know they are or could be 440C.

And I'd swear I read somewhere else here that story about Mantis.
Click to expand...

I've never had a Mantis, so definitely not vouching for them, just run across them here and there.

As knarfeng knarfeng reccomended earlier, id check out something from Fox. You could also shop around on the secondary market for one of the vintage or tribute model Buck 110 or 112's in 440c..
 
I was going to recommend the :

Boker Plus 01BO188 Titan Drop [point] Knife with 3-3/4 in. Straight Edge Blade​

Up until recently I have seen it for sale . I bought mine back in 2016. When I just went to copy the description it was out of stock.
Quite inexpensive , decent thin Titanium handle , really decent heat treat and fairly thin high performance blade .
Over all great knife !
They make a significantly smaller version that I also bought and like a lot .
 
Here is another Boker with 440C that is in stock.
I can't vouch for it because I don't have one; I just searched it out .

Boker Plus Urban Spillo Flipjoint 42 Pocket Knife - 2.99" 440C Grey Blade with Slipjoint Lock and Stainless Steel Grey Handle, Made in Asia​

 
FYI Boker has several folders in the $200 + range , locking and slip joint that have 440C that are in stock . Probably = better heat treat than that Urban
Spillo I posted .
 
Thread title on sight I thought; does anyone make any knives using 440C anymore? Others have covered most, but I would have thought best bet scour the world for a vintage 440C folder of your liking in "as new" or mint condition.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top