Which Production Company's 440C do you trust

That's the thing about a question like this, "trust."

440C, I thought, was a designation as to a basic list of constituents in the steel. BUT, not all steels so designated will be of equal purity or quality.

Then, you have to take into account heat treatment.

I was rather suprised to read that the Gerber Guardian I had during the 80's was 440C. I recall that blade being easy to sharpen and having good edge retention (may be rose tinted glasses, its been a while). Still, that experience is in conflict to recent (last few years) experience.

So, what are the properties a properly heat treated 440C blade supposed to display? Besides a great shine, that is.
 
Right now the only company that I trust and manufactures only 440C is Entrek USA. Because it's material, heat treat and cryo is all done here in the U.S. I can say it outperforms my BM in 154cm in overall uses.

I have done a side by side cutting test with my Entrek and Timberline Zambezi in 440c and the Entrek made 20 vs. Timberline's 10 cuts on a 1.5" thick dirt impregnated cotton shirt.:thumbup:
 
orthogonal1 said:
So, what are the properties a properly heat treated 440C blade supposed to display? Besides a great shine, that is.
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Another good question.;) 440C should display very good corrosion resistance, above average (think AUS-6/AUS-8 & 440A/440B) wear resistance/edge-holding, be somewhat easy to touch up, and like you said, have a "great shine".

Best wishes,
3G
 
Nimravus Nut said:
Right now the only company that I trust and manufactures only 440C is Entrek USA. Because it's material, heat treat and cryo is all done here in the U.S. I can say it outperforms my BM in 154cm in overall uses.

I have done a side by side cutting test with my Entrek and Timberline Zambezi in 440c and the Entrek made 20 vs. Timberline's 10 cuts on a 1.5" thick dirt impregnated cotton shirt.:thumbup:
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Thanks for the input, Nimravus Nut. I have not as of yet had experience with Entrek, so I'll have to take a closer look.:thumbup:

Best wishes,
3G
 
I have been very impressed with the cutting edge I can get on my Benchmade Griptilians.
So Benchmade's 440C is okay with me!

Good luck,
Allen.
 
allenC said:
I have been very impressed with the cutting edge I can get on my Benchmade Griptilians.
So Benchmade's 440C is okay with me!

Good luck,
Allen.
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I must admit, I have seen no difference in performance between my two BM 530s. One is 440C, and the other is 154CM.

Regards,
3G
 
I've got a few knives in 440C, and it has been doing quite well. Two of those three knives are Benchmades. The other one is obscure, but performs fine also.

In fact, if I were to replace my D2 Cabela's minigrip tomorrow, I'd actually save the bucks and get the 440C version.

In general, however, I think 440C is underrated...
 
Cliff Stamp said:
8Cr13MoV has a much higher obtainable hardness than 440C but a lower primary carbide fraction as it is on a tie line which is down from 440C and to the left. It is to the right on the same tie-line as AEB-L, so it is basically a higher carbide version of that steel.

-Cliff
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Sorta off topic:

Cliff, what's your opinion of this steel overall, in use?
 
Most of the chinese crap that I see at the gun shows is marked "440" so I would assume it to be something like 440A rather than 440C.

I saw on the spyderco subforum that Sal said the new Spyderco "S", made in Taiwain, is 440Mime. That was the first I heard of that. Does anyone know what it's properties or composition?
Thanks
 
It short, I see it like as a lower carbide version of VG-10. It doesn't have the high abrasion resistance of the very high carbide steels but it offers significantly higher hardness than most of the "tough" stainless and thus combines a high ease of sharpening with solid overall edge retention. It is a hell of a package considering the price of the Byrd line.

-Cliff
 
I vote with Cliff on the Byrd line , I got one in trade , am very impressed .

Chris
 
But when I see a Taylor Cutlery ('Smith & Wesson'), Fury, Jaguar, Frost, MTech, for $12.95, claiming to be 440C, I say s-u-u-u-u-u-r-e it is, and keep looking.
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Buck was marketing knives in 440C, in the sub $20 range, and I would continue to trust them. I believe that the realy out of 440 C, based on personal experience,and the fact that they had to stop and switch to a lesser steel for what I presume are business reasons- since pricing stayed the same.

Some of the junker Chinese knives are 440C, but I agree that many are not. I have bought some in the past, that started getting corroded thumbprints after a few days, but for trashers, they did the job.

Besically, if it is from a respectable brand, I would trust it.
 
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