Pulled the trigger on a 301 and a 373

[A.P.F.]

I am almost ashamed to admit it, but the 301 'saw cut' and the 373 'special' in burl, will be my first two Buck slip joints. I have always meant to get a 301, but somehow I just never got around to it. I want it to serve as a go-to knife for around the town and house. I have GEC, Case and Canal Street knives, but I have a hunch that the Bucks will be the users. I got the 373 coming because I want to see the quality of construction of a Chinese Buck, and I like burl.

One question though, is the 420HC of the same quality of heat treat between the 301 and 373?

 

[DeSotoSky]

One question though, is the 420HC of the same quality of heat treat between the 301 and 373?

I suspect it's not the "QUALITY" of the heat treatment that makes a difference in the two knives so much as a difference in the steel used and how it responds to the heat treatment. The USA made 301 uses 420HC. The HC stands for High Carbon. That allows Buck to attain Rockwell 58-60 in the blade. My understanding is that 420HC is not a standard steel designation but specially made up for BUCK. The steel closest to Buck's USA made 420HC available internationally for the Chinese made 373 is 420J2. 420J2 has slightly less carbon content so it comes out a little lower on the Rockwell scale after heat treatment. I collect them but don't use them so I do not know if you will notice a real world difference in performance or not. Hopefully others will join in.

I do get a little confused on the issue of Buck using both 420HC and 420J2 in the China made knives. I have older Chinese made Bucks listed as 420HC but it was my understanding the 420HC was only available to BUCK in the USA. I did a quick spot check. In the 2006 catalog the 373 is listed as having 420HC. In the 2009 catalog the steel used in the 373 is listed as 420J2. That makes me wonder if BUCK was supplying either the blades or the steel for the earlier China Bucks. I wish someone would clear me up on this.

 

[A.P.F.]

Thanks for the reply, DeSotoSky. Either one should work fine for me, as they will probably be an easy touch-up on Arkansas stones. I have never used 420J2, so this will be a learning experience.