"stainless steel"

I

imacf90

Joined
Oct 15, 2009
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135
you know how you look at magazines/online and all it says is that it has a 'stainless steel' blade? yeah i know you know what I'm talking about, usually with these cheap little slip joint knives. what sort of steels are these actually made of? are they any good for anything?

-ian
 
They're good for sharpening practice, or if you forgot yours and that's all you can get your hands on. Or for testing out the bits on your new rotary tool. :D
 
In general it's 420 steel or even worse. Run this query on Knife Steel Charts, it sorts knife steels based on their carbon content. Top 10-15 with the least C in them will be very likely candidates for those knives.
 
I stay away from anything that is just listed as "stainless steel" or "surgical steel" as it may be anything from a low grade steel to complete junk. If you are lucky it will be 440A, or maybe even 440C which are both good steels if properly heat treated. If it is listed as stainless or surgical steel and is cheap you are getting what you pay for, or even less.
 
how are those kissing crane knives? i need a cheap little slip joint or lock back that's people friendly, one i can abuse the crap out of and not care what happens to it
 
420J2 is a likely candidate.Alot of the art fantasy type knives advertised in catalogs are made from it.In other words,junk.
 
I've got an old little Browning knife, one of the ones with 3 different blades on it. I've tried putting an edge on it, but I can't. Though I can't sharpen to save my life, hopefully the sharpmaker gets dropped off soon. :P

I really do like the little knife, just not for cutting anything :D
 
When you see 'stainless' or 'surgical' without any other specifications, think 'China' or 'Pakistan'.
 
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