Ranking Slipjoint Blade Steels

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knifeaholic

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Oct 15, 2001
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How would you rate or rank the blade steels used by current slipjoint manuafactuers - specific to each manufacturer and steel type, how would you rank them in order of preference, for example Case CV, Case 420, Queen D2, Queen 1095, Buck 420, etc. Would be interested in hearing your favorites to leat favorites for sharpening/edge holding, etc. and the reasons.
 
In order of preference:

1. Queen D2-it's edge holding puts it over the top for me, it took some practise for me to learn to sharpen it, but I don't find it that hard now.

2. Case CV-A great steel for EDC, nice combination of easy sharpening and a little more corrosion resistance than straight 1095.

3. Queen 1095-Or any other makers 1095. I love it, but I am a bad "sweater" and while I love the easy sharpening and scary edge 1095 takes, I have a difficult time keeping it rust free.

4. Buck 420HC-My first choice for slipjoints in stainless, sharpens easy, holds a great edge and Buck's heat treat puts it ahead of Case 420HC for me.

5. Case 420HC-It works, I can't really say anything bad about it, it just seems a little "soft" compared to Buck's 420HC. It doesn't seem to hold an edge as well as Buck's 420HC.
 
I really like the Moore Maker 1095, relatively soft at 56 - 58 Rockwell. It holds it's edge well, and is VERY easily sharpened. Very handy when circumstances are less than ideal. Only thing is it rusts if you look at it wrong. I therefore keep a heavy patina on mine.
 
JAlexander said:
For me it's CV and 1095, since I just don't like any of the stainless steels.

James
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I'm getting the same way, can't figure it out, but I find myself more and more less enamored of stainless steel lately.
 
I don't have any experience, yet, with D2 or 420HC so can't comment on those.

My favorite slipjoint steels are CV, 1095, and to be honest, I've had good luck with 440C. Any steel needs to be heat treated right to make a good blade. I've had good luck with the 440C blades by Callimus, especially in the knives they made for Remington. I also have a late 80s hand made, fixed blade knife by a lessor maker in 440C that is excellent in terms of cutting edge, durability, and resharpening.

Mind you, I don't have hundreds of thousands of hours testing steels under harsh conditions. I just know what has worked for me over the years. I want something with a good edge that cuts well, lasts a little while, and is easy to get back to the same level of sharp.

In order of preference, I guess 1095 and CV would be interchangable in first and second. It all depends on what knife I'm getting it in. Obviously, if the knife I want is a Case, then it will be CV, but in another brand, 1095 could be the first choice. Third would be a good 440C. Mostly that is because I'm a traditionalist, I like the carbon steels, and you can't get a good patina on stainless. :D

I still have around a big MAXAM, lockback folder from the early 80s. It is ugly, big, and made in Japan (now they're Chinese), and made of 440(C I think, but could be A). It ain't nothing to excite a knife lover in terms of brand, materials, or looks. However, this thing sharpens up shaving sharp, stays sharp through a lot of work, and returns to shaving level with a few strokes on a ceramic stick or a fine stone. I used to carry it with the case duct tapped to my LBE in my early days in the Army. I never had cause to complain about its performance. Looks, level of sophisitcation, wow factor, those weren't its strong points. But it worked well where it mattered. Think of it as an old H&R top break shotgun. Not much to look at, but it sure does the job.

I guess I won't be getting any invites to the Steel Snob's Ball this year. ;)
 
Amos Iron Wolf said:
I've had good luck with the 440C blades by Callimus, especially in the knives they made for Remington.
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Are you certain that these are 440C.....not 440A or 420? I can't recall Camillus advertising the use of 440C at least for slipjoints.
 
I have one Queen D2 steel blade and another on the way. I really want to like this steel for all the edge holding reasons. But I had such a bear of a time getting a decent edge on the first one that I'm a little leery. I just hope the second will be sharper out of the box. The first one I got wouldn't cut warm butter when I got it. Also, after reading more about it, I'm a little leery of making one of these a daily user. As tough as that steel is it's also known to be brittle.

I'm beginning to think I'm a steel Luddite. 1095, 5160, and 420HC all seem to work pretty well, and I can sharpen them well.

As for S&M, I have one of their swayback Trappers and it just screams "quality". The springs are so strong it borders on hard to open. F&f are magnificent. If my Queen swing guard doesn't work out I may just look to replace it with an S&M in 420HC. Blasphemy, I know, but hey, you only go around once. I also like the C.B. Morgan gunstock, which has an ATS-34 blade.

-- Sam
 
knifeaholic said:
Are you certain that these are 440C.....not 440A or 420? I can't recall Camillus advertising the use of 440C at least for slipjoints.
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You could be right, probably are. I just pulled out the paperwork on that Remington Daddy Barlow and it just says 440 steel. It doesn't say A or C, so it may just be A. Old timer's disease getting to me again. ;) Thanks for pointing that out.

Wthhter it's A or C, it is 440 and it does do a good job in that big old blade. When I finally started to use it, I just took it out of the box its been in since the early 90s and put it in my pocket. It was nice and sharp still. I've been using it since and it still is nice and sharp. One thing on this particular knife I like is they didn't do a high polish on the blade and it makes the blade look like it's carbon steel. It really fits the look of the knife. I guess when you think about it, with all the new steels in knifedom, 440 has become kind of traditional in its own sense.

I think that given any decent steel, the heat treat and the grind play a strong part in how well a knife performs and how a person will perceive the quality of the steel in the knife. That said, some steels are better than others. :p LOL
 
440A gets a bad rap, but I agree that when properly heat treated, it's a very decent blade steel. Takes a very fine edge, and what it lacks in edge holding, it makes up for in toughness, which is a good trade off in a big blade.
 
For me, for "working knives" (which all of mine are) it's:

D2, followed closely by...
1095...then
CV.

That said, I own many more 1095 SJs than any of the others. Queen's D2 makes for really nice blades and I like the hardness of Boker's and Queen's 1095. The Case knives I have picked up recently have had nice blades, but not so good overall QC. Still, their yellow handled trapper is hard to beat...I just wish they made the same thing in a Canoe pattern w/ CV.
 
I don't think I could give a good ranking, as the only stainless steel knives I have these days are my sak's, and my old Buck Woodsman. I had an old Buck 301 stockman, but I think in the 1960's they were using 440C.

These days all my sodbusters, stockmen, barlows, and Opinels are carbon steel. The Case knives I have are the CV, and that is some pretty good stuff. I don't know what steel Eye-Brand uses in thier sodbusters, but it developes a nice deep rich patina and holds a sharp edge very well.


I like a nice simple steel that has pretty good edge holding, and is fast and easy to sharpen up. I don't want exeptional edge holding at the cost of easy sharpening.
 
I have a Queen D2 Sodbuster I really like. I just ordered some cheap Okapi knives that are not too far behind in cutting performance.. Just my 2 cents! The Okapi knife lacks fit n finish but, cuts with the best of em in my opinion!:thumbup:
 
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