Questions about steels, particularly 420HC ...

C

c_meisenzahl

Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
51
I've read the steels faq in the past and just took a peek at it again.

My Meerkat uses 440C which seems decent.

The Kershaw Boron coated Chive I've been looking at claims to use 420HC steel, which I presume stands for High Carbon?

I gathered form the faq that 420 steel is something to avoid.

Can anyone else comment on this for me? How good is the steel Kershaw uses here?


Also, who makes the cheapest knives with ATS-34 or BG-42?


Thanks very much for all the help guys!!!


Christopher
 
420HC is only high carbon relative to basic 420 stainless (420-J2). The 420-J2 is down in the .2% carbon range (I forget just where) while 420HC is something like .4 or .45% carbon. Buck knives uses 420HC and makes it work pretty well.

There are a lot of people using ATS-34 (or its equivalent 154CM). It is hard to find BG42 in an economical folding knife. If you like the Buck 110 lockback knife you can get one made special with a BG42 blade from their semicustom shop.
 
Ok, normally 420HC is a NO NO! As in it's baddddd... Substandard.

BUT! Paul Bos heat treats it for Buck and makes there's do-able. (Is that a word?) I'm not sure who heat treats Kershaw's but I'm sure someone hear could answer that.
-Kevin
 
I don't know who does Kershaw's heat treat, but my Wife has a little Kershaw Chive that has a 420HC blade and it seems to work rather well. Perhaps because it is a little knife and so because of that it doesn't get used as heavily as something larger.
 
You have to realize that knuts here usually have better taste than most consumers. I'll bet many successful Wisconsin hunters field dressed their deer this year with a 10 dollar knife most of us would label a POS, after a minor and questionable trip down a soft Arkansas.

My Dad never had a stainless folding knife in his life. My mid-priced EDC's were an extravaganze to him.

I can't even say if my 420 Buck 110 is representative of average wear. Mine is the chisel grind titanium plated model. It won't get much use until this summer, and even then the trailing edge of the blade is the titanium, Rc 80. And I'm indifferent to the knife, only attached to it because it is traditional--and that I know it works.

I do have a semi-custom 110 on order for that reason, a 110 with a BG-42 blade. Yes, I'm a bit snobbish and spoiled by now, but like everyone else, I have doubts about 420. Not about Paul Bos, however.

My Dad had one folder his whole life, and here I am saying that if that titanium-clad 110 fails me ONCE, it gets replaced by the BG-42. I can see my Dad rolling his eyes!
 
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