steel ques by dummy

[shooter_250]

Hay Guys...got a question ,,,one of those just so i "just know" things....i was looking for an inexpense folder of reasonable quality as a giveaway for Christmas...i saw one i liked for around 25 bucks...then i saw the blade steel identified as...420HC...now i can't find where i saw it, doesn't matter, turned off by 420 steel...my question is ...what is 420HC?...does that stand for High Carbon?...if so...why would some one mix a high quantity of Carbon steel with 420 steel??

thanks in advance

God Bless and Merry Christmas

Lee

 

[james terrio]

420HC does stand for high carbon. It's used by Buck in many of thier knives, and if properly heat-treated (as Buck does) it makes a reasonably good blade. 420HC is appropriate for a $25 knife, but I wouldn't pay more than that for it.

 

[shooter_250]

Thanks James...surprises me about Buck...surprises me about 420HC...i reckon it's true

Life is full of surprises...

thanks again

Lee

 

[JasonSCarter]

What James said. The reason they use it for their cheap blades is because it's cost effective. This steel is great for abuse. With 95% of the population not caring about the differences in steel alloys as we do, It makes sense to use a lower quality steel. Buck does have other higher quality steels like S30v and 154cm they use in their higher end blades, for us picky guys.

Jason