I'm going to step out on a limb here and say that most people would be happy with 440A blade steel if they didn't know it was 440A. It is certainly not as good as 440C, AUS8, or anything better. This can be easily demonstrated by sharpening two knives of similar blade shape and bevel. You will quickly see that an AUS8 blade is easier to get a razor sharp edge on than 440A. Then cut some cardboard. The 440A knife will start to dull quicker than the AUS8 knife. If you like your knives to be razor sharp, you won't be happy with 440A. But most folks don't keep their knives razor sharp, although many of those same people think that they do. If you can't actually shave with it, it ain't razor sharp. And shaving some hair off your arm doesn't count. I own knives that I like which have 440A blades. They're good knives with good ergonomics, but I don't expect them to be as sharp as my other knives. Let's face it, razor sharpness is not required for opening boxes and packaging, cutting string and plastic ties, or the myriad of other daily tasks that most people use their knives for. You hear it said that sharp knives are safer. That's true to a point, but an EDC knife that will cut you if you look at it wrong is probably not as safe as one that isn't quite so sharp. Put another way, 440A is good enough for most common tasks. If you don't believe me, just ask yourself "What did I cut today?" My guess is that if you're honest with yourself, you'll admit that the knife you used didn't have to be sharp enough to shave with in order to do the task safely. And once you've reached that conclusion, then ask yourself "How much did I cut today?" Again, the answer for most people will be one or two things (not counting your dinner). So do you really need a knife that can cut a mile of cardboard without being sharpened? Probably not. And if that's true, then you don't need to be carrying a knife with better steel than 440A.
