1960's Buck 440C - How hard was it?

knarfeng

knarfeng

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I was doing some manila rope cutting edge retension tests with various steels and was looking for a 440C blade to use. Turned out that the only 440C blades I had were my old Buck knives from the 1960's. I put a 15° edge on my old 110 and got some pretty darn impressive results. Now I remember why I always said 440C was so good, my opinion was based it on the performance of my Bucks.

On to my question: Does anyone know what Rockwell hardness Buck was running their 440C blades at in the late 1960's?

Thanks,
 
Can't answer your rockwell question, but I can agree with you on the performance of the 440C that Buck used in the past.
 
Can't wait to hear this myself,i think it was around 56-58 on the rockwell scale,but not positive.It is definately a good steel,i can get mine so sharp it makes me wonder why buck ever changed from this steel in the first place.Edge retention is pretty darn good too!!!!
 
johnwaynesandw said:
My old 112 w/ 440C takes a darn fine edge, and keeps it a while.


John
Click to expand...

I have an old 112 in 440c also, I would buy another in a minute if Buck used the 440 instead of 420. I own several 420 Bucks and they just don't compare when you really work them.
 
I agree my 2 dot oldie has been used hard but treated good ,and basically after many sharpenings/touch ups,the blade is still looking full as if its never been re-sharpened.Very nice steel and i agree it keeps a nice edge through lots of use!
 
Those good ol 2 dots sure are solid. They seem to feel a little more beefy compared to the newer 112. It could just be the square frame, whatever it is is like it. :thumbup:


John
 
mine has no dots. Doesn't say 110. Just says "Buck USA". I was in high school when my parents gave it to me.

I may have to try to sneak this into work and get it measured in the engineering lab. I was kind of holding back on that option. Slipping a 110 in is a little difficult. Blade length limit at work is 2" and some folks there get a little fussy about it.

Maybe I can pass it off as two? It cuts like two of anything else. Maybe I can just tell people I'm happy to see them.
 
The old 440 was a b*tch to sharpen, though. Didn't have diamond hones at the time. According to Buck's CATRA tests, however, 420HC outperformed 440C, which is one reason why they switched. I find 420HC much easier to sharpen than 440C, particularly with Buck's Edge 2X edge profile.
 
I was always interested in seeing some tests with both 420hc and 440 c both blades having the same e2k edge,wonder which would outperform the other then?both are great steels imho,maybe 420 is easier to buy?
 
I don't have any of the re-designed 420HC Bucks. Got a Special and a Pathfinder and the 110, all in 440C. Also have a 303 from ~1980, think its a Camillus, and I have a 703.

When I tested the 110 in manila rope cutting against a Native III in VG10 I could not see much difference in performance. I could see a significant difference between the 440C and AUS8.

I don't think the 420HC will match that performance in that particular test.

Details are here, if you are interested:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=523331
 
Yes, I bought my first Buck in the 1960's (a 118 Personal) and they were advertising a Rockwell of 58-60. This was at a time when Gerber was using m2 and advertising a Rockwell of 60-62. Personally, I prefer 425 modified or 420hc over the old 440-c for a "using knife". There's no doubt that 440-c at 58-60 is more wear resistant than 420hc at the current hardness but I and some of my friends who tested the old 440-c thought that the steel was a bit brittle in some applications. It was a bear to sharpen with what we had available as sharpeners too. I think the newer Buck steel (420hc) is better balanced for what I want and need in a knife that I may use everyday. Also, the edge 2000 is a great improvement.
 
I am thinking of sending in an old 2 dot for some of Bucks reconditioning,I wonder if they added the and=gles they use for the new edging process to this knife,if it would really shine as a workhorse?
 
After using my most recent dot 112 dot , I would compare it to 154CM or even S30V (from Benchmade, I don't have any of those steels treated or profiled by Buck). The old 440C took a fine edge with a little work. The blade ground nicely. It seems to stay long enough for me to run out of cardboard before it gets dull. The old 440C seems to be tougher than 154CM as far as chipping on hard material such as bone.


John
 
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