Which is tougher Bos 420HC or Bos 5160?

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wildmike

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Nov 17, 2007
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I'm thinking of adding a 120 to the stable.
I have two 119's one in Bos s30v, the other in Bos 5160. I really like both.
However the only options I find with the 120 are these two steels.
So, from experience, which is tougher the 420HC or the 5160.

I have no experience with 420HC in a larger blade, lots of experience with 5160.

Just tempted by that Cocobolo and brass 120.
 
They make lawn mower blades with 5160
All my machetes are carbon steel.
So if your gonna beat with it I'd go that route.

However I think 420hc holds a better edge. And I can't see anything other than abuse that would mess it up.

That's my 2 cents worth.
 
I think either one will be tough enough in normal, proper use. I did see a comparison chart that showed 420hc boss ht 58 hrc was rated higher than most other stainless and right next to 1095 and 5160 in toughness and edge holding was about the same. If I remember right the hardness was in the 56-58 range for the carbon blades I don’t remember the source or the test criteria. I’ll try to find it.
Edit; Knife Informer is the source. 5160 wasn’t on the chart and being spring steel could be a bit tougher yet.
I just don’t see Buck or any other reputable company making a long blade knife that couldn’t stand up to heavy use.

I haven’t used a lot of carbon steel fixed blades except for kitchen knives so I don’t have much to say aside from that. After that I think the biggest difference is stainless vs non stainless and if you’re concerned or not with rust or corrosion.
 
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Yes ^. Just looking at the two steels make up, I would say 5160. But the heat treat will make a difference. DM
 
5160 is tougher, and will have better edge retention also.

Also, for my carbon steel use, 5160 is not as rust aggressive as my other carbon steels.
 
Tough? 5160, definitely. Probably hold an edge better than 420HC, at least in my experience it does. Neither is a bad steel, but 5160 gets my vote all around.
 
Haven't tried Buck's, but 5160 is good stuff. It's been overshadowed, in recent years, by CPM3V and 80CrV2 in the workhorse category; but I still like it for hard use applications, and would (personally) choose it over 420HC.
 
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