New Knife Ideas - Queries Stainless Steels

[The General]

I have to agree about 440C.

It is underrated. I have made lots of knives with a lot of different steels in the last 27 years and 440C is my second favorite in all the Stainless Steel Alloys that are avalible right now. With proper Heat Treat , Temper , and Cryo you can get all the performance out of it that you would expect from a Stainless Alloy. I think that 440C has been overshadowed by all of the Supersteels that are very popular right now. Folks touted AUS-8 when it came avalible, then the ATS/CPM stuff came out. This somehow religated all the 440's being lumped together as just production steels. This falling by the wayside of 440C was because it didn't have the exotic appeal of steels that had more prefix's and suffix's with the numbers.

The mark of a good blade is in the hands of the maker not the steel mill.

Just my two cents,

Mike.........

I'm guessing your other fav stainless steel is Sandvick 12C27 Mike? Just putting my steel guru powers to the test!

 

[eraaij]

What? A bushcraft knife in Stainless steel? You Heretic! But if you must:

Osf Knife, lignum vitae scales, 2/3 flat zero grind in ATS-34 steel. Will shave a mouse while it sleeps

-Emile

 

[Mike Stewart]

Emile,

That is a beaufiful knife. You are most likely right about the mouse shaving. It looks like a real cutter.

Wayne,

you are corresct about my first choice in Stain Resistant alloys. I can get some remarkable Performance out of 12C27. Takes a razor edge--Holds that edge--Easy to re-sharpen. It does need a complicated Heat Treat and Temper to achieve the desired result but It is very consistant.

Mike........

 

[Burnt Ash]

Will shave a mouse while it sleeps

-Emile

What a delightful turn of phrase: "sharp enough to shave a mouse while it sleeps".

Interesting stuff on steels, BTW. There was a time not so very long ago when 440C was regarded as the dog's b***ocks and used by many top makers. I had a fixed blade from Chris Reeve (when he was in Durban) that he called the 'Backpacker'. That was in 440B. It was a great little knife and cut pretty well, though I'm sure that 440B isn't Mr Reeve's first choice of steel these days.

Burnt Ash

 

[Tvividr]

Nice pic and nice knife Emile :biggthump