Shrade+ steel. Opinions?

[fatcat55]

I have a 30+yr old LB7, an 8 or 9 year old Uncle Henry stockman and another small Shrade folder that all have the Shrade+ steel blades.

What kind of steel is Shrade + ? How is the quality compared with others of that price and type?

I admit I am lousy at sharpening knives but it seems like I have never gotten a good edge on any of these.

Thanks in advance.

 

[knarfeng]

Schrade+ was 440A.
I can't speak as to quality. I never had one. I grew up in Southern California, home of the Buck knife. (Well it was then, anyway.) So you can guess what I've always used.

I'm sure you could likely get more information on the Schrade collector's forum here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=732

 

[Gramps]

I've owned quite a few Schrades in my lifetime. Their stainless was adequate stuff....some say not quite a good as Buck's Bos treated 420HC. In my experience they perform similarly. Schrade + certainly doesn't take an edge like SV30, but many deer were successfully processed and countless foreman on the jobsite have been well served by the LB7. You could do a lot worse.

- regards

 

[mnblade]

I have a 30+yr old LB7, an 8 or 9 year old Uncle Henry stockman and another small Shrade folder that all have the Shrade+ steel blades.

...

I admit I am lousy at sharpening knives but it seems like I have never gotten a good edge on any of these.

I think a lot of it has to do with edge geometry. I've had a couple of different LB7s over the years and, while I don't carry that sort of knife these days, I loved 'em. From age 13 or so until my mid 20s, the LB7 was my go-to knife for outdoors and I was always able to get and maintain a great edge.

However, I also had an Uncle Henry stockman for a time and, like you, I could never get a great edge on it so I traded it off. I suspect, however, that if I had re-profiled the edges a bit on a coarse stone and then sharpened normally, it might have been a different story. IMO, the edges they put on these in the factory were too obtuse and need to be knocked down a bit. That still won't make it a great steel, but it will be perfectly suitable as an EDC for most folks.

Schrade + certainly doesn't take an edge like SV30, but many deer were successfully processed and countless foreman on the jobsite have been well served by the LB7. You could do a lot worse.

You speak the truth, my friend.

 

[Col. Cornelius]

I've owned quite a few Schrades in my lifetime. Their stainless was adequate stuff....some say not quite a good as Buck's Bos treated 420HC. In my experience they perform similarly. Schrade + certainly doesn't take an edge like SV30, but many deer were successfully processed and countless foreman on the jobsite have been well served by the LB7. You could do a lot worse.

- regards

+2 I've field dress deer with a Schrade PH2 and it worked great.

I have and use several different USA made Schrade knifes for years, and have been very happy with them. I rebeveled all of them and they take a great, hair popping edge. When they get dull, I sharpen them. Heck, before I joined the bladeforums website, I didn't even know about steels such as S30V. To this day, I still carry a Schrade some of the time when I'm deer or elk hunting.