Years ago, I'd never heard a lot about 440A, but I was a Cold Steel fan. Lyn Thompson put out several runs of new knives with it and it seemed fine. The Recon One, Night Force, Pro-Lite lines all were made with 440A, and these knives came so wickedly sharp that several reviewers nicked themselves taking them out of the box. I spoke to a CS rep about them and it was clear he didn't like it. Cold Steel had bought a big chunk of the stuff, and the new lines of knives seemed to come out of box sharp and ready to use.
But once the 440A was gone, CS switched to AUS8A with no drop in quality. I'm still using many of those 440A knives with no complaint and they seem to perform as well as the AUS8A, and they're easily sharpened.
Since then, 440A has become the staple steel for cheap knives. And very few of them are adequately heat treated. My first bad experience with 440A came with the purchase of a couple of Böker Magnum knives. The blades were dull as butter knives and can't be sharpened. And recently, S&W went from using 440C stainless steel in its Homeland Security fixed-blade tantos to 7Cr17 (Chinese version of 440A). I've not used any knife made with 7Cr17, but I know S&W cut corners not only in its steel, but in their sheaths as well. The new HS knives may be just fine; I don't know how S&W heat treats its steel (I know it farms out its knives to other manufacturers). And my old HS was a good, heavy duty knife.
In the old days (a few years ago), cheap blades used to be made from 420 stock. In fact, my first locking knife was bought at a Dollar Store. Soon the paint began to flake off the frame, but datgum that blade took a sharp edge! Soon after, I bought a couple of Maxams. (I'm carrying one of them now around the house. It's got a 420 blade that needs sharpening because I cut a plastic tab that dulled it.) But normally I carry my Spyderco Endura. The cheap Böker Magnum knives I picked up on a whim as beaters betrayed me, though. Made with 440A, the knives had lousy heat treat and wouldn't take an edge. You could file the points off and give them to an infant to play with and wouldn't have to worry!
Another useful knife I bought was a $13 Frost knock-off of the S&W Homeland Security. Made with 420, it's gotten plenty of use around the house. We use it for digging weeds and cleaning out the wet grass I the lawn mower in the summer and chopping ice out of the wheel wells of our cars during the winter. The camo paint on the blade is still going strong and it's now in the trunk of my car with a sharp edge in the event of trouble. If anyone stuffs me there, they're going to find out how much damage a $13 Frost blade can do when they open her up!
So what's responsible for the 440A craze and is it cheaper than the 420 that used to be the staple in cheap knives? And why doesn't it take an edge like the cheap 420? Do any of you have cheap knives you use around the house? If so, how about some photos? I'll try to get a few photos of mine if anyone's interested.
But once the 440A was gone, CS switched to AUS8A with no drop in quality. I'm still using many of those 440A knives with no complaint and they seem to perform as well as the AUS8A, and they're easily sharpened.
Since then, 440A has become the staple steel for cheap knives. And very few of them are adequately heat treated. My first bad experience with 440A came with the purchase of a couple of Böker Magnum knives. The blades were dull as butter knives and can't be sharpened. And recently, S&W went from using 440C stainless steel in its Homeland Security fixed-blade tantos to 7Cr17 (Chinese version of 440A). I've not used any knife made with 7Cr17, but I know S&W cut corners not only in its steel, but in their sheaths as well. The new HS knives may be just fine; I don't know how S&W heat treats its steel (I know it farms out its knives to other manufacturers). And my old HS was a good, heavy duty knife.
In the old days (a few years ago), cheap blades used to be made from 420 stock. In fact, my first locking knife was bought at a Dollar Store. Soon the paint began to flake off the frame, but datgum that blade took a sharp edge! Soon after, I bought a couple of Maxams. (I'm carrying one of them now around the house. It's got a 420 blade that needs sharpening because I cut a plastic tab that dulled it.) But normally I carry my Spyderco Endura. The cheap Böker Magnum knives I picked up on a whim as beaters betrayed me, though. Made with 440A, the knives had lousy heat treat and wouldn't take an edge. You could file the points off and give them to an infant to play with and wouldn't have to worry!
Another useful knife I bought was a $13 Frost knock-off of the S&W Homeland Security. Made with 420, it's gotten plenty of use around the house. We use it for digging weeds and cleaning out the wet grass I the lawn mower in the summer and chopping ice out of the wheel wells of our cars during the winter. The camo paint on the blade is still going strong and it's now in the trunk of my car with a sharp edge in the event of trouble. If anyone stuffs me there, they're going to find out how much damage a $13 Frost blade can do when they open her up!
So what's responsible for the 440A craze and is it cheaper than the 420 that used to be the staple in cheap knives? And why doesn't it take an edge like the cheap 420? Do any of you have cheap knives you use around the house? If so, how about some photos? I'll try to get a few photos of mine if anyone's interested.
