question on the Stainless Steel used by Case

[tek77]

I'm about ready to pick up my first case, but now I gotta decide between SS and CV versions.
Looks like most owners are less than happy with case's 440? stainless and most prefer the CV version.

I'd like to know if anyone can tell me how the stainless steel on Case compares to the stainless steel used by victorinox.

I am pretty happy with my victorinox blades. If case is similar, I have no problem with it.

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[jc57]

Case Tru-Sharp is Latrobe 420HC. I like it just fine. I like their CV carbon steel too. Not sure where you got your survey data that documents the feelings of "most owners." I would guess based on the fact that Case produces more knives in SS that most of their actual customers (which may not be represented fully by the participants of this forum) must be satisfied enough with the Tru-sharp to keep buying it.

I am no expert in steels, but from my experience with using and sharpening it, it seems to me to be similar to Victorinox SS. Vic knives usually come with a more refined edge from the factory whereas Case SS knives, in my general experience, are left with a fairly coarse grind and a burr from the factory, which needs some work out of the box to get it properly sharpened. However, once sharpened it seems to take a good edge and keep it well enough for my tasks.

 

[Old Hunter]

I'm as happy with Case Stainless as I am with Victorinox Stainless - in fact happier (cause I just like bone handled knives better) - haven't worn a SS Case out yet - but I'm trying. OH

 

[jackknife]

The stainless steel used by Case is good stuff if you learn to deal with the burr when sharpening. In most day to day use, I doubt most pocket users would notice a difference init and another stainless steel.

I can offer one observance of Case stainless steel. Bill Moran, the knife smith, was very persnickety when it car to quality. He tried a Rolex watch until it went south, Hunted with an 1848 Purdy rifle, Smoked Dunhill 965 tobacco. He liked a nice pocket knife, and used his pocket knife for everything. Bill was a bit of a showman, and new his own fame and always carried one of his own sheath knives on his hip to show folks. Usually with his famed silver wire inlays in the curly maple handle, and a clear temper line on the blade. But, that was hois show knife. When it came to cutting a chaw off the plug, or cutting some rope, or cutting anything, he reached for his pocket knife. He kept his sheath knife minty for show, but used the liven' heck out of his pocket knife.

For the last ten years of his life, Bill Moran, a man who could make knock your socks off gorgeous damascus, awesome camp knives that would cleave through a 2 inch tree limb like butter, carried a honey bone Case whittler, in stainless. At first he was not that impressed with it, then he took it in his shop and reprofiled the blades into his convex edges. Then fell in love with it, and to his dying day, literally, didn't carry another pocket knife, except for the little Victorinox classic on his keychain.

So, if anyone asks you about Case stainless steel, I can tell you it was good enough for Bill Moran to sit on his front porch and whittle with!

 

[Lee48]

Although I've been a steadfast carbon-steel-blades-in-traditionals type of guy, I just started using Case stainless knives this summer. My non-stainless blades started getting rusted due to my corrosive sweat. I hadn't paid much attention to Case Tru-sharp before. What little experience I've had thus far has been totally positive. In addition to resisting my blade killing sweat, it sharpens well on a Sharpmaker and finishes nicely on a strop. I don't put my traditional knives through any edge dulling activities so I can't comment on sharpness holding ability. Past experience with frequent use of SAKs was so long in the past, I'm not able to comment on this either.

 

[black mamba]

In addition to Case using 420HC for their Tru-Sharp stainless, Victorinox uses a modified Sandvik 12c27. By most accounts, the Case stainless is slightly harder than the Inox. Here is how they compare, they are very similar. Vic's Inox is slightly easier to sharpen, but Case's Tru-Sharp holds the edge slightly longer.

 

[rwc53]

I have, and am carrying today, a Case 6318 Pocket Worn red bone medium stockman with stainless blades. I really like this knife! It takes and holds a great edge (I, too, have re-profiled my blades, Carl!). It fits in my pocket, and is always handy to cut whatever needs cutting. I do not believe you will be disappointed with Case's stainless knives.

Ron

P.S. It also is etched on the main blade "The Rabbit Hash General Store", which was one of my favorite places as a kid! It was, and still is, a "mom and pop" grocery/general store in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, on the Ohio River. Haven't been there in a very long time, but I'm hoping they still have ice cold grape soda for the folks that can make it there!

 

[pinnah]

Very little to add...

By most reports, Case Tru-Sharp is 420HC. While the composition is a bit different, 420HC is similar to Victorinox Inox, Sandvik 12C27 and Aus8 in that they are all fine grain steels. This makes them capable of taking a fine edge (as opposed to a toothy edge, like you get with 440C), makes them tough (meaning they will bend, dent or roll but are unlikely to chip) but makes them less resistant to wear from abrasion (large carbide steels like 440C will hold up to abrasion better but may chip).

IMO, the steels feel a bit different at different hardness that result from the heat treatment applied by the knife maker (not the steel maker). Softer is generally tougher, dulls faster and may get more of a burr when honing. Harder will stay sharp a bit longer, may take a permanent dent if used roughly and may be easier to hone to a fine edge. Published/reported Rc numbers for some makers include:
55-56 Rc: Victorinox Inox
56 Rc: Case Tru-Sharp (420 HC)
58 Rc: Opinel Inox (Sandvik 12C27) and Buck 420HC

I suspect you won't find any real difference between Vic Inox and Case Tru-Sharp.

With respect to what you hear here on this forum... I think a lot of us have a strong love for non-stainless carbon steels. I wouldn't read too much into anything you've read that is negative about Tru-Sharp other than it simply isn't carbon.

This said, I find hard (Rc58) fine grained stainless and hard (Rc 58) carbon impossible to distinguish in use but I can tell a difference between soft (56Rc) stainless and soft (Rc56) carbon. I find soft stainless a bit gummier and burr prone on the stones.

Get a DMT fine credit card "stone" and toss it in your wallet. The Case TruSharp will pop hairs with just a few swipes on that.

 

[Primble]

It's good stuff. No worries!

 

[Dale Gribble]

All I have is my personal experience with Case's CV and Stainless as well as a good amount of experience with Vic knives and Opinels. I used to believe that carbon steel was the only way to go. My Opinels and Vics changed that, though.

If you like stainless steel, get the Case in stainless. It's good and gets good and sharp. The only difference I've found as far as cutting stuff, is that the CV steel takes a patina and the stainless won't. Both get sharp, and both stay sharp for as long as I'd expect them to. I used to be a 'carbon is king' kind of guy, but now I'm appreciating the user friendly low maintenance of stainless steel and I haven't really noticed any difference in cutting ability or sharpness. The stainless feels different when I sharpen it, if that makes sense. Apart from a different feel or feedback while sharpening, you couldn't tell the difference in a blindfold test. I can still get it arm hair shaving sharp and it stays sharp as much as my CV and Opinel carbon knives do. That's just my .02.

My Case Peanut is stainless and will shave a gnat's eyelashes. I like the looks of CV though. Nothing looks as good as Yellow Delrin and CV.

 

[Peregrin]

The stainless steel used by Case is good stuff if you learn to deal with the burr when sharpening. In most day to day use, I doubt most pocket users would notice a difference init and another stainless steel.

I can offer one observance of Case stainless steel. Bill Moran, the knife smith, was very persnickety when it car to quality. He tried a Rolex watch until it went south, Hunted with an 1848 Purdy rifle, Smoked Dunhill 965 tobacco. He liked a nice pocket knife, and used his pocket knife for everything. Bill was a bit of a showman, and new his own fame and always carried one of his own sheath knives on his hip to show folks. Usually with his famed silver wire inlays in the curly maple handle, and a clear temper line on the blade. But, that was hois show knife. When it came to cutting a chaw off the plug, or cutting some rope, or cutting anything, he reached for his pocket knife. He kept his sheath knife minty for show, but used the liven' heck out of his pocket knife.

For the last ten years of his life, Bill Moran, a man who could make knock your socks off gorgeous damascus, awesome camp knives that would cleave through a 2 inch tree limb like butter, carried a honey bone Case whittler, in stainless. At first he was not that impressed with it, then he took it in shop and reprofiled the blades into his convex edges. Then feel in love with it, and to his dying day, literally, didn't carry another pocket knife, except for the little Victorinox classic on his keychain.

So, if anyone asks you about Case stainless steel, I can tell you it was good enough for Bill Moran to sit on his front porch and whittle with!

That's a great piece of knife lore, Carl. Thanks.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I'm about ready to pick up my first case, but now I gotta decide between SS and CV versions.
Looks like most owners are less than happy with case's 440? stainless and most prefer the CV version.

I'd like to know if anyone can tell me how the stainless steel on Case compares to the stainless steel used by victorinox.

I am pretty happy with my victorinox blades. If case is similar, I have no problem with it.

Thanks in advance for your input.

The steel used by Victorinox is a tad 'softer' (in use & in sharpening it) than 420HC used by Case. Both are very capable of taking razor edges.

When sharpening Case's 420HC, keep pressure as light as possible, as the steel is pretty quick to form burrs that will be exacerbated by heavier pressure, especially if sharpening on ceramics (Sharpmaker, for example). Case's stainless responds excellently to many sharpening methods, from simple natural stones up through Fine/EF diamond hones. With diamond, I'd avoid using anything coarser than DMT's 'Fine' (600 mesh/25 micron), as a Coarse DMT or anything coarser will often be too aggressive for the steel (removes too much, and makes it harder to refine the edge). I've liked using wet/dry sandpaper, with edge-trailing 'stropping' strokes, to sharpen my Case blades (both stainless and CV), and they respond especially well to grits in the 320-600 range. Stropping with white compound works well for de-burring, and refining with green compound on leather really makes Case's stainless sing (this is my favorite finish for these blades).

Case gets dissed by many for the 'soft' nature of the steel they use (and you might even see this from others who rave about the Victorinox blades, in contrast, which are actually 'softer'). I've come to believe there's actually some genius in what they've done with Tru-Sharp and CV, as both can almost be indistinguishable from one another in appearance and performance, and both will sharpen up using the simplest and most widely available of tools. I've even sharpened a Case stainless blade using a piece of red southwestern sandstone, picked up off the ground and used like a waterstone. Either of these steels will cut very well (& Case's thin hollow grinds are perfectly matched to the steels, and slice like lasers), and they're almost effortless to make sharp and maintain them as such. This is where the genius is found in these blades, and I'm not surprised Case has sold countless millions of them over the span of decades.


David

 

[jackknife]

The steel used by Victorinox is a tad 'softer' (in use & in sharpening it) than 420HC used by Case. Both are very capable of taking razor edges.

When sharpening Case's 420HC, keep pressure as light as possible, as the steel is pretty quick to form burrs that will be exacerbated by heavier pressure, especially if sharpening on ceramics (Sharpmaker, for example). Case's stainless responds excellently to many sharpening methods, from simple natural stones up through Fine/EF diamond hones. With diamond, I'd avoid using anything coarser than DMT's 'Fine' (600 mesh/25 micron), as a Coarse DMT or anything coarser will often be too aggressive for the steel (removes too much, and makes it harder to refine the edge). I've liked using wet/dry sandpaper, with edge-trailing 'stropping' strokes, to sharpen my Case blades (both stainless and CV), and they respond especially well to grits in the 320-600 range. Stropping with white compound works well for de-burring, and refining with green compound on leather really makes Case's stainless sing (this is my favorite finish for these blades).

Case gets dissed by many for the 'soft' nature of the steel they use (and you might even see this from others who rave about the Victorinox blades, in contrast, which are actually 'softer'). I've come to believe there's actually some genius in what they've done with Tru-Sharp and CV, as both can almost be indistinguishable from one another in appearance and performance, and both will sharpen up using the simplest and most widely available of tools. I've even sharpened a Case stainless blade using a piece of red southwestern sandstone, picked up off the ground and used like a waterstone. Either of these steels will cut very well (& Case's thin hollow grinds are perfectly matched to the steels, and slice like lasers), and they're almost effortless to make sharp and maintain them as such. This is where the genius is found in these blades, and I'm not surprised Case has sold countless millions of them over the span of decades.


David

David, you are so on the mark. I think too many people dis the stainless because they don't really understand the fact that different steels have a different nature, and will react to different sharpening media in a different way. Like how sone guns are ammo sensitive, and shoot better with one brand or bullet weight than others. Once you find the knack for dealing with that particular steel as heat treated by that particular company, you will often find a whole different critter waiting to be used. And intended use of that blade has a lot to do with it. Case True Sharp and the Victorinox steels are very often mis judged by those who use them and unit understand what the company intended. Genius is often misunderstood. But like Victorinox, Case has been in business too long and sold too many knife for it to be pot luck.

 

[Beard&Owl]

I see Case get knocked for their stainless quite often but haven't ever found anything wrong with it myself. I own many Case knives with stainless blades and find they get scary sharp.

 

[slide13]

The stainless steel used by Case is good stuff if you learn to deal with the burr when sharpening. In most day to day use, I doubt most pocket users would notice a difference init and another stainless steel.

I can offer one observance of Case stainless steel. Bill Moran, the knife smith, was very persnickety when it car to quality. He tried a Rolex watch until it went south, Hunted with an 1848 Purdy rifle, Smoked Dunhill 965 tobacco. He liked a nice pocket knife, and used his pocket knife for everything. Bill was a bit of a showman, and new his own fame and always carried one of his own sheath knives on his hip to show folks. Usually with his famed silver wire inlays in the curly maple handle, and a clear temper line on the blade. But, that was hois show knife. When it came to cutting a chaw off the plug, or cutting some rope, or cutting anything, he reached for his pocket knife. He kept his sheath knife minty for show, but used the liven' heck out of his pocket knife.

For the last ten years of his life, Bill Moran, a man who could make knock your socks off gorgeous damascus, awesome camp knives that would cleave through a 2 inch tree limb like butter, carried a honey bone Case whittler, in stainless. At first he was not that impressed with it, then he took it in his shop and reprofiled the blades into his convex edges. Then fell in love with it, and to his dying day, literally, didn't carry another pocket knife, except for the little Victorinox classic on his keychain.

So, if anyone asks you about Case stainless steel, I can tell you it was good enough for Bill Moran to sit on his front porch and whittle with!

This is a great anecdote, thanks for sharing! I've often thought the Case SS had a bad rep that wasn't deserved. My couple examples of it have been fine users and I wouldn't hesitate to get another one.

 

[SAK Guy]

It's fine with thinner blades/grinds but on a fairly thick edge/grind...it's less than great in my experience.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

It's fine with thinner blades/grinds but on a fairly thick edge/grind...it's less than great in my experience.

This is true with literally any steel. Thinner grinds will always be better slicers than thick grinds (check out Queen's thick factory edge grinds in what is otherwise great steel, in D2).

Good news is, the simplicity of the steel means it's not too difficult to thin them out, when they do start out kind of thick. Back when I started accumulating Case knives (most in stainless), I felt they didn't cut well, and Case's factory grinds were thicker at the edge back then (this was in the '90s). Among the knives I accumulated were several of Case's Copperlock patterns (introduced in '97), which had flat but rather thick grinds as compared to the thin hollow grinds on many of the others. Re-bevelling one of them to a more acute edge angle has confirmed to me, it's the same exact steel as with the 'thinner' grind blades. Not an issue with the steel at all. The thicker grind means it takes a little longer to hog off enough steel to make a difference, but Case's choice of low wear-resistant steel makes that simple, with SiC abrasives or diamond in particular. A third- or half-sheet of 220-320 wet/dry sandpaper over a hard backing will get it done pretty fast.


David

 

[SAK Guy]

Thanks again for the info David! :thumbup:

 

[ms3902]

I have to agree with what's been said already, Case does a good job on their stainless. I have found in my own experience that their stainless takes a much more aggressive edge than their CV blades. They really do cut very well, and will hold their edge for a good bit.

 

[knarfeng]

I'm about ready to pick up my first case, but now I gotta decide between SS and CV versions.
Looks like most owners are less than happy with case's 440? stainless and most prefer the CV version.

I'd like to know if anyone can tell me how the stainless steel on Case compares to the stainless steel used by victorinox.

I am pretty happy with my victorinox blades. If case is similar, I have no problem with it.

Thanks in advance for your input.

If you are "happy enough" with your Victorinox blades, you'll be happy enough with Case Tru-Sharp. The performance is quite similar, even though the alloys are slightly different. While Case CV has slightly better edge retention than Case Tru-Sharp, when tested side by side, I don't notice the difference in everyday use.

As far as I can tell, most folks who prefer CV prefer it because it will develop a patina.