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- May 26, 1999
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In a previous thread about the Military, I stated in an offhand manner that 440V may be prone to chipping. Someone took issue with that comment, so I thought it might be appropriate to start another thread on it. I know this topic has been discussed frequently in the past, but I'd like to figure out once and for all what is going on with this steel.
I'll state first of all that I personally have no experience with 440V chipping. I believe that my Military is of the newer variety with the lower RC, and I have experienced no problems with it. I like 440V and will continue to buy it, but I'd like to get a straight answer on it's toughness.
The May 2000 issue of "Tactical Knives" magazine does a review on the Starmate and plainly states that 440V chips easily. They show a picture of a chip in the Starmate's edge with the caption, "The 440V edge easily chipped when flexed against a brass rod- a byproduct of the extremely abrasion resistant, but low toughness qualities of that steel."
The article goes on to state, "At normal folding knife-edge thickness, a 440V-edge bevel will often chip if it comes in contact with a staple, bone or other hard object while cutting." It should be noted that the Rockwell "C" of this knife was 59-61, which may have been too hard. However, I think we've heard something about 440V and staples before.
Anyway, it seems apparent that 440V is prone to chipping, at least at a high RC. I don't believe that the edge is rolling in these cases; I believe that chunks of steel are being knocked off the blade. Keep in mind that 440V has way more carbon in it than most high-carbon, non-stainless steels.
Please give your thoughts. It's frustrating that we can't come to a consensus on this issue. (By the way, here's a thread on this topic from a couple months ago... www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum20/HTML/001700.html )
I'll state first of all that I personally have no experience with 440V chipping. I believe that my Military is of the newer variety with the lower RC, and I have experienced no problems with it. I like 440V and will continue to buy it, but I'd like to get a straight answer on it's toughness.
The May 2000 issue of "Tactical Knives" magazine does a review on the Starmate and plainly states that 440V chips easily. They show a picture of a chip in the Starmate's edge with the caption, "The 440V edge easily chipped when flexed against a brass rod- a byproduct of the extremely abrasion resistant, but low toughness qualities of that steel."
The article goes on to state, "At normal folding knife-edge thickness, a 440V-edge bevel will often chip if it comes in contact with a staple, bone or other hard object while cutting." It should be noted that the Rockwell "C" of this knife was 59-61, which may have been too hard. However, I think we've heard something about 440V and staples before.
Anyway, it seems apparent that 440V is prone to chipping, at least at a high RC. I don't believe that the edge is rolling in these cases; I believe that chunks of steel are being knocked off the blade. Keep in mind that 440V has way more carbon in it than most high-carbon, non-stainless steels.
Please give your thoughts. It's frustrating that we can't come to a consensus on this issue. (By the way, here's a thread on this topic from a couple months ago... www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum20/HTML/001700.html )
