Questions about 440C?

euroross

euroross

Joined
May 19, 2008
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Is 440C any good? I really dont know that much about it. Is a knife in the $200 range to much money for that steel? Thanks.
 
440C can perform quite well.

Whether a knife with that blade steel is worth $200 depends on the other factors. Size, fit and finish, overall design. There are so many other factors aside from blade alloy which determine the performance and price of a knife.
 
It all depends. 440C with a good heat treatment can be better then 154cm, S30V, VG-10 and a whole host of other steels if they haven't been heat treated well.

Just like any steel it all depends on what you are looking for. 440C has about 1.0%-1.2% Carbon and 16%-18% Chromium, so it is very stain resistant and is a fairly strong steel. 440C is similar to AUS-10 and was really the high end steel of choice for custom makers for years before all of the newfangled Super-Steels came out.

With a good maker like Boker or a custom that you know was treated and tempered well, you can't go wrong. I have a few blades in 440C and they take a super wicked edge and hold it quite well through a good bit of cutting tasks.
 
440C is a good steel. Takes an edge, polishes nicely, and can be treated relatively hard. It used to be a rather higend steel used on many expensive factory knives and customs.

These days though, for $200 I'd expect something a bit more modern than 440C. Like Knarfeng says though, the value of a knife depends on so many more factors than just the steel type used.
 
I've had a 440c Entrek Cobra for several years (older model) and I've been very happy with it. I use the knife for various tasks like cutting rope and heavy plastic packing-crate straps. It takes a very sharp edge. Naturally it will dull after a while, but that's to be expected. No complaints from me regarding 440c or Entrek.
 
I have a custom hunting knife in 440C. I ran across the maker at a local gun show a few years ago and he had it available for sale. I took a look and loved everything about it except I was a little turned off by the steel choice. I decided to give it a try anyway and I'm glad I did. It was the sharpest knife that I've ever bought. I've field-dressed about six deer with it and skinned a few and it will still shave which I find pretty unbelievable compared to other knives I've used for hunting. I don't recall for sure who does his heat treat but I believe that he mentioned it was the same guy who did Buck's, so I guess that would be Paul Bos. All in all I'm very pleased with it. It is the only knife I have in 440C so my sample size is somewhat lacking but based on this knife well executed 440C is nothing to scoff at.
 
I've owned the Entrek Survivor for a while and it's been known that the heat treat that Ennis puts on his knives are very well done. I mean it doesn't seem that long that 440C was considered to be a high tech steel in its day, similar to 154CM without the Molybdenum.

Edge holding is good, and corrosion resistance is great. By no means is it a cheap steel and with a reputable heat treat, it will perform very well for the tasks that the knives are built for.
 
Randall's are still made in 440C. It is the 440A that you have to be more concerned about as that is often used by the Chinese manufactured knives, especially the ones that say "stainless steel".
 
An Entrek knife is definitely worth $200. Don't let the steel dissuade you. Do a forum search for "Entrek" if you want to be put at ease about this.
 
I would say at 200$ a 440-c knife would be an okay choice of its a custom knife. For 200$ I personally would prefer a different steel if it were a production knife. Some of the greatest 440-C was used in the Buck knives in the 1970's.... It was hardened to the upper limits of its Rockwell potential. However Buck started making heat treating it different because of complaints of it being to hard to sharpen.
 
22-rimfire said:
Randall's are still made in 440C. It is the 440A that you have to be more concerned about as that is often used by the Chinese manufactured knives, especially the ones that say "stainless steel".
Click to expand...

I thought Randall stainless was 440B?

To reinforce what others have said, my understanding is 440c was the gold standard 30 years ago, however all else being equal one of the more modern steels might provide better all around performance. However in my experience it remains a very good all around stainless.
 
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Real 440C with a good heat treat is a high end steel. Not a supersteel these days but much better than many folks associate "440 stainless" with.
 
Entrek knives are great knives! The heat treat is very well done and consistent. They are a working mans knife and made to be used. There warranty can't be beat. He will fix or replace the knife no matter what. And last but not least is you are guaranteed a knife that is made by a true, honest, knifemaker of close to forty years.
 
Entrek knives are well made with excellent heat treatment. They are users and you can have confidence in them.
 
While the 440c us a good life , let's look at the history. It started out with 440c which was modified [improved ] to 154CM. That was improved to CPM 154. If you use the three you will find that CPM154 is the best.
 
mete said:
While the 440c us a good life , let's look at the history. It started out with 440c which was modified [improved ] to 154CM. That was improved to CPM 154. If you use the three you will find that CPM154 is the best.
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I'm no steel expert, but I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that changing a steel necessarily "improves" it. For example- if the "recipe" of a steel were changed to increase edge-retention, that change might also increase the brittleness of the steel, or result in some other negative issue. That would make the steel different, with different properties and characteristics, but not necessarily "improved". But like I said, I'm no steel expert and certainly don't pretend to be.:)

In regards to Entrek knives, according to their website, they've been in business for forty years, they've produced 7000 knives (likely more by know), and I can't find a single incident of someone breaking an Entrek through normal or even "hard" use. That's a pretty good track record. If a person were to do a search for Entrek knives they would find several very satisfied customers who have put their Entreks to hard use.

And if people like to buy American made knives, Entrek is a good choice.

I'm not affiliated with Entrek in any way. I'm just a very satisfied customer.
 
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