Recommend me some classic slip joint knives

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DaveH1

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Mar 27, 2025
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I'm looking for a case knives or hen and rooster type knives (Slip joint with nice handles stag or something nice) but with much better steel than 420hc/440c,etc...do you know of any?

I am aware of Lionsteel bestman which uses m390

Rough rider knives cattleman - 1095

Boker trapper -D2 steel

Do you know of any other?

THanks
 
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Boker has a traditional series in D2. Stockman, trapper, copperhead, couple of others. I have two. Both are very good fit and finish.

Boker has some Solingen models in 440C

Case has some models in upgraded alloys. I have a stockman in 20CV blade steel. Very good fit and finish.
I heard Case is going to be putting out a Sodbuster this year in S35VN. I'm waiting to get my hands on one.

Cold Steel has some traditionals in 8Cr13MoV. They are made in China. Haven't tried them.
 
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Here's a Boker D2 blades, stag handles.
4sHWnnv.jpg
 
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Case makes some with S35VN

This is a nice buffalo horn #18 stockman with that steel. They also did a back pocket and a trapper (maybe others) in this combo. Personally I want to get my hands on that back pocket someday.




other than that you'll probably be after modern traditional knives for fancy steel. Companies like QSP, C. Risner, Jack Wolf etc.

Customs are an option. You could commission a knife however you like. Check out some of the stuff by K'roo or any of the awesome makers on the forum. There are a few threads.
 
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What does "much better than 420HC/440C mean?" 420HC has better edge retention than 1095 and better edge stability than D2 or ATS-34, no? So with 420HC properly hardened (Queen and Buck both did 420HC well, Queen used 420HC in the 90s and up through 2002 or so before switching to D2 as their standard steel and continued using it on some models thereafter), you can theoretically lower the edge angle further than you can with something like D2, and edge geometry matters more for edge retention than alloy does.

Sorry for the diversion lol, as far as your actual question goes I'd also suggest taking a look at AG Russell. They have some nice slipjoints, they use 8Cr etc. on their cheaper knives but use stuff like M390 on the more premium models, and lots of older models on the used market with ATS-34.
 
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Carboniferous said:
What does "much better than 420HC/440C mean?" 420HC has better edge retention than 1095 and better edge stability than D2 or ATS-34, no? So with 420HC properly hardened (Queen and Buck both did 420HC well, Queen used 420HC in the 90s and up through 2002 or so before switching to D2 as their standard steel and continued using it on some models thereafter), you can theoretically lower the edge angle further than you can with something like D2, and edge geometry matters more for edge retention than alloy does.

Sorry for the diversion lol, as far as your actual question goes I'd also suggest taking a look at AG Russell. They have some nice slipjoints, they use 8Cr etc. on their cheaper knives but use stuff like M390 on the more premium models, and lots of older models on the used market with ATS-34.
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420hc doesn't have better edge retention than 1095. That's bs, dinosaur sized

Theres 100+ videos of people doing rope cutting tests on YouTube, 420 gets around 40 cuts k390, magnacut,etc .get can do around 700 cuts

I'm not gonna go back and forth
 
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I think he meant 420 is about on par with 1095. Or I hope so. All I can say about 420 is that from Case it does a stellar job at not rusting in my pocket. And in a month of carry and primary use I had to sharpen it or at least touch it up with a ceramic rod and/or strop about weekly. The only other nice thing I can say about 420 is that it keeps costs low compared to pretty much anything else stainless.
 
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DaveH1 said:
420hc doesn't have better edge retention than 1095. That's bs, dinosaur sized

Theres 100+ videos of people doing rope cutting tests on YouTube, 420 gets around 40 cuts k390, magnacut,etc .get can do around 700 cuts

I'm not gonna go back and forth
Click to expand...
Larrin's testing disagrees. 420, not even 420HC, performed similarly to 1095 even with the 1095 at a higher HRC. Conventional wisdom isn't always right, and I frankly don't care about uncontrolled testing on YouTube. It's obviously worse than K390 and magnacut, I don't understand your point, 1095 is also much worse than K390 and magnacut.

420 at 55 HRC vs 1095 at 62HRC in the image below. Queen did 420HC at 57-59 HRC, and I think Buck aims at 59 HRC.

Notice that 420, not even 420HC, is on the same trend line as 14C28N. 420HC is underrated stuff.

edgesmall.png
 
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Carboniferous said:
Larrin's testing disagrees. 420, not even 420HC, performed similarly to 1095 even with the 1095 at a higher HRC. Conventional wisdom isn't always right, and I frankly don't care about uncontrolled testing on YouTube. It's obviously worse than K390 and magnacut, I don't understand your point, 1095 is also much worse than K390 and magnacut.

420 at 55 HRC vs 1095 at 62HRC in the image below. Queen did 420HC at 57-59 HRC, and I think Buck aims at 59 HRC.

Notice that 420, not even 420HC, is on the same trend line as 14C28N. 420HC is underrated stuff.

CATRA-edge-retention-8-23-2022.jpg
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420hc 50 cuts


S45vn 580 cuts

Like I said no competition
 
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