schrade pro-hunter

W

WEB2

Joined
Oct 13, 2004
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442
anyone know what kind of steel was used in these knives? i know it was stainless but what kind? thanks in advance.
 
Some real techy info on the Schrade + steel

I have no idea what these actually mean. Someone save this.

440A: Ladle (sample) Chemical Composition Limits (%)
Sulfur Carbon Magnesium Silver Chrome Molybdenum Phosp.
.03 .60-.75 1.00 1.00 16.0-18.0 .75 .04


TTYL
Larry
 
WEB2,

Just to add to Larry's chemistry lesson......

I'm borrowing this from A. G. Russell's website, as I don't believe he would object to us viewing the information.......

http://www.agrussell.com/knife_information/steel_guide/index.html

It is my understanding (I'm open to correction, of course) that Schrade+ was 440A steel until the last few years of operation, when 420HC was used. I believe it was because it's possible to blank blades from coiled steel with 420HC and this was much more cost effective. It seems as though some knives and or blades that were formerly 1095 carbon steel were also replaced with 420HC because of the cost of working the steel. That said, I guess it probably depends on the age of your Pro Hunter.

My experience is that even a run of the mill (pun intended) steel, with at least .40 of carbon content (note 420J2 does NOT "CUT IT"), will take and hold a decent edge if it's PROPERLY heat treated, and has reasonable geometry.

There are about a shabbadabbazillion threads on different steels here on the forums.....so this is only my experience/opinion.

By the way, welcome to the Schrade forum.

Bill
 
OK, here's my non-expert comments, much is just from reading around here, nothing official, mostly only my opinion or educated guess:

440A and 420HC are very similar in composition, there is not much difference between old and new Schrade+, the change to 420HC was because it is available (or became available at some time) in rolls which made it easier and less expensive to work than steel that comes in sheets.

Other makers (Buck for example) which used 440C for a while, changed to somewhat softer steels (425M, 440A, 420HC, AUS6, etc.) mostly because they could be cold stamped, 440C has to be hot stamped or laser cut (also costs a bit more and is harder to grind, etc.).

In later years 420HC was used by Schrade in place of 1095 because stainless is easier to store and handle without rusting, in the old days stainless was expensive but in modern times ease of handling and storage became more important.

Heat treat is important and Schrade knew how to do it right. Schrade Pro Hunters are beautiful well designed and well made knives that will do a great job, whether they are old (440A) or new (420HC).

Luis
 
Bill,
Thanks for the great AG link.
A.G.'s sight is really helpful. if you click on the top of the coloumn where the element is highlighted, it explains what each element is used for. A.G. is also one hell of a guy. He and I talked about Switchblades a few years ago. Gave me a lot of insight into the selling of them. He is just one of us knutty knife guys.
TTYL
Larry
P.S. I found my figures in an older Schrade publication.
 
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