why is my buck 119 so sharp?

F

fatherleadfoot

Joined
Apr 26, 2012
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Bought a 119 yesterday off of a friend. No plans for it really, just a great looking knife I wanted to own.

I wanted to put a mirror edge on it to go along with the rest of the knife so I take it to my sharpmaker.

Im new at this, and each subsequent sharpening seems to be better than the previous, but this knife is insanely sharp now (effortlessly push cuts paper). I put far more time and effort into the s30v on my bm 940 that I edc and it is certainly not as sharp.

Again, new here, so I just thought I'd through the question out there.

Why did the buck sharpen so easily?
Because it got so sharp so fast, does that mean that the edge wont hold?

Certainly it has to do with the qualities of the steel, but if you guys could enlighten me I'd be appreciative.
 
It's kinda a can of worms because Buck has been criticized for using 420hc which is one of the lowest grade stainless cutlery steels. Yes it is not going to hold the best of edges, like AUS8 IMO, but they do a excellent heat treatment which often means more than the steel used.

Like Jim said, its a low alloy steel so its uses on softer materials like wood and meat would be ideal while coarser cutting like cardboard, carpet, or anything abrasive would be better handled by a high alloy steel.
 
I bought the knife just because its a looker! Likely it won't ever really be used, asi have better knives.

Thanks for the info guys, there is so much to learn.
 
The other side of the coin is "Who cares about edge retention?...It's easy to sharpen!"

But I'm sure the edge retention will be good enough.
 
It's high alloy (chromium levels of stainless), but medium carbon, so hardening and carbide levels aren't through the roof.
 
Remember the coin is always two sided ;)
 
Swing by the Buck sub-forum for a few minutes... there are plenty of folks who swear by Buck's 420HC steel. No, it's not a new super-alloy like the CPM steels, but yes the folks at Buck do a great job with the heat-treating. My Buck knives in 420HC hold up well, and are real workhorses... plus, they're easy to sharpen! ;)
 
puukkoman said:
Swing by the Buck sub-forum for a few minutes... there are plenty of folks who swear by Buck's 420HC steel. No, it's not a new super-alloy like the CPM steels, but yes the folks at Buck do a great job with the heat-treating. My Buck knives in 420HC hold up well, and are real workhorses... plus, they're easy to sharpen! ;)
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Bucks blade and edge geometry really help too, the steel is what it is though, makes a nice user steel and it's very stainless.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Yes it is not going to hold the best of edges, like AUS8 IMO, but they do a excellent heat treatment which often means more than the steel used.
Click to expand...

Interesting to hear your Aus8 comparison.

I agree with you. However after reading some posts lately on this forum, particularly from "newer" members who seem to enjoy bashing manufacturers who use Aus8 (i.e. SOG), you would think Aus8 steel is the worst thing in the world and its edge evaporates after one use. :rolleyes:
 
I use several Buck knives for various tasks and they perform great.
Cost versus steel quality is in favor of the buyer in my opinion.
 
let me rephrase.

I don't know what I would use the 119 for.
What is its purpose? Skinner? Hunting knife?
I bought it because its beautiful.

I use my bk2 for camping
my 940 for edc
and my 810 contego for hard use/protection/edc.

the 119?.....i just needed to own it.
No disrespect intended to buck users. :stupid:
 
fatherleadfoot said:
let me rephrase.

I don't know what I would use the 119 for.
What is its purpose? Skinner? Hunting knife?
I bought it because its beautiful.

I use my bk2 for camping
my 940 for edc
and my 810 contego for hard use/protection/edc.

the 119?.....i just needed to own it.
No disrespect intended to buck users. :stupid:
Click to expand...


It's a general use hunting, field knife.
 
hardheart said:
It's high alloy (chromium levels of stainless), but medium carbon, so hardening and carbide levels aren't through the roof.
Click to expand...

That makes it more stainless because too much of the Chromium isn't tied up from making carbides, it's a trade off.
 
Ankerson said:
There is much more to than that, much, much more....

It's not just the steel.... ;)
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lol we can talk for pages about paul bos and his heat treat but even with that the industry has been so convoluted with super steels that the newer generation of knife collectors dont seem to care. upsets me sometimes when knife makers get flak for sticking with the same steels instead using whats the latest and greatest... some people just dont understand ;)

edit: sorry op to derail a bit. regarding what to use the 119 for?, its a classic that has been around forever.. whatever job you can possibly think of doing with it has probably already been done :)
 
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Jaiofspam said:
lol we can talk for pages about paul bos and his heat treat but even with that the industry has been so convoluted with super steels that the newer generation of knife collectors dont seem to care. upsets me sometimes when knife makers get flak for sticking with the same steels instead using whats the latest and greatest... some people just dont understand ;)

edit: sorry op to derail a bit. regarding what to use the 119 for?, its a classic that has been around forever... whatever job you can possibly think of doing with it has probably already been done :)
Click to expand...

can you point me to where I can read more about this? I'm very interested.
 
there are several threads, you can search for "paul bos" or essentially "heat treatment" and "metallurgy"
 
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