440A How bad IS IT?

fulloflead

fulloflead

Joined
May 3, 2002
Messages
6,192
There are a lot; I mean a LOT of manufacturers out there with knives that are advertised as "440 steel". Mostly CHEAP CRAP!

I think it's a fair assumption that it's 440A that they're talking about.

I actually like 440C, but I DON'T think that's what they're talking about or they'd SAY it's 440C.

I'm thinking that 440A is the bare minimum that any reputable (or not) knife manufacturer would make a blade from. And I thought even then, most GOOD manufacturers wouldn't use it.

But then, I've noticed that Cold Steel and a few other (good production companies) have started using it more often in their cheaper knives. Have they lowered their standards for PRICE on occasion or is the steel not as bad as the cheap Chinese knives have led me to believe?

What's UP with all the 440 (440A) I've been seeing more and more of lately? What's the deal?
 
It's not bad. Kershaw's heat treat is okay and it's got a nice high grind. A prybar it aint but it is a good slicer. If you fancy a knife by a reputable company and they happen to be using 440A it would make a good user. You might have to steel or strop a little more often but it will be easy to get the edge back. I've even got a couple in 420HC ,a Buck 110 and a CUDA Arclite. But I trust Buck and Camillus, they make great users. If something happens to them I wont cry, I'll just get another.

Frank
 
440A is a decent steel. Like all other steels, its good if done properly. SOG uses it and they do a pretty good job with it. Your right, alot of crap knives are also made with it and that tends to give it a bad reputation. Keep in mind that there have been plenty of knives with great steel that have been pretty bad.

Several years ago you could read on the forums of a popular knife company turning out folders with ats34. There were complaints of not being able to get them sharp, or the edges chipped far to easily with light work. The problem seems to have been fixed fairly quickly but at the time the steel was not to blame. But if you had based your opinion on those relatively few knives you would depsise ats34.

Dont expect miracles from it, but if you get it from a good company that knows what they are doing, it makes a fine steel for a working knife.
 
Originally posted by fulloflead
But then, I've noticed that Cold Steel and a few other (good production companies) have started using it more often in their cheaper knives. Have they lowered their standards for PRICE on occasion...?
Click to expand...

Yes.

440A is easy to sharpen and that is good, because you are going to have to do it a more often than with better quality steels. It is also quite corrosion resistant. When heat treated properly so that it reaches its full potential, it is an ok steel. It is acceptable on cheap knives.
 
440A isn't that bad with a good heat treat, but if you're a salesman, how the hell do you explain that to your customers?
 
I would rather have 440A than 6A and I don't hear many complaints ftom owners of CRKT or Al Mar.
 
the fact that "with proper heat treat, it isn't that bad" is the best comment yet might tell you something.Personally, I hate it when I see a great design executed in underwhelming materials
 
I have owned 440A knives at both ends of the heat treat spectrum. The 440A Gerber uses in their LST wouldn't stay sharp long enough to whittle one stick, while my Bear MGC trapper took and held a fine edge. It is certainly easy to sharpen though.
 
Yes, I prefer 440C or modern super-steels, non-stainless also hold a better edge, but 440A is fine, just touch it up as needed. I feel the same about AUS6, 420HC and 425M, My EDC since 1976 has been a Schrade stockman in 440A and it has served me well.
 
Originally posted by fudo
Personally, I hate it when I see a great design executed in underwhelming materials
Click to expand...

I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure I go along with it. Take this for example:

One interesting thing I saw that got me thinking about this is that Cold Steel makes their Ti-Lite with Titanium and Aus8 OR you can get the same knife in a cheaper option which would be Zytel and 440A. This gives people the opportunity to experience the design at a lower cost. (Sort of like when I had a really nice Ford Mustang but I had to crank down the windows by hand.:D )
 
Well, I swore off buying knives with 440a stee after owning so many that went dull instantly, or lost a point at the slightest provocation. - What was that? a stiff wind? **TING**-

Anywho- 440C is good enough for me, but 440 is really hard for me to buy. And even though I'm a big fan of Cold Steel- I'm not happy with the performance of the knife I bought with their 440A.

If the knife was for display only, well okay then. But for a using knife? I need better than 440A.

In general, AUS8 is my standard, though recently I'm spoling myself with VG-10 and CMP-S30V. Whee!
 
440a? :barf: :barf:

I recently found out the Schrade Uncle Henry stockman I used to carry has 440A blades. I guess that explains why I always thought it was a piece of crap. Not only would it not hold an edge against abrasive wear, but it was very easily damaged by accidental bumps against harder materials. We have 3 different fixed blades made from this "Schrade +" steel, and ALL THREE have deep chips, edge cracks up to a half inch deep, and get dull in a hurry, all from very light use! This junk manages to be both brittle and soft.
 
Like almost everyone else here, I prefer knives with a higher grade of steel like VG-10, ATS-34, ATS-55, or 154CM.

But there is'nt anything WRONG with 440A.
440A is certainly just as good as the blade-steel found in Victorinox Swiss Army knives--and Victorinox has a huge following even among "knife people".

Allen.
 
I've opined before that it would be interesting to do a blind test of various stainless steels to see who might determine the good from the bad. Any bets that most could tell 440a from any other? ;)
 
440A is a pretty good cutlery steel. I have a Kershaw and a Schrade with that steel and they're both very nice. Were the Kershaw a lockback with an ambidextrous clip (it's an assisted-opening Blackout with liner and right-hand clip), I'd probably wonder why I was always drooling over M2.
 
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