Cold Steel's AUS-8A claim...

allyourblood

allyourblood

Joined
Sep 3, 2003
Messages
2,432
from CS' website: "The Tanto is made of a single piece of 8A steel, a Japanese grade of cutlery stainless steel which is superior to American 440C steel."

is this so? i've always been under the impression that 440A is pretty close to AUS-8A, and 440C is superior. no? i get lost reading some of the steel charts i see out there. can someone dumb this down for me?

abe m.
 
I may be wrong but I think AUS-8 and 440C are actually very similar. I've got some knives in both steels and both are good IMO. I believe you'll find Spyderco VG-10 to be much better than either. And S30V to be even better still :D . I don't think the AUS-8 is up to some of their "proof" video claims, but it is good stuff. I've heard great things about M2 and D2 but have no personal experience, I prefer VG-10 to anything else I've ever used in a folder and 1095 (I know its old fashioned) or that Camillus Becker steel in a fixed blade.
 
yes, i've no experience in s30v but i love my knives in D2 and VG10. great stuff.

i'm still stunned to hear that 440C and AUS-8 are so dang similar. how could i have gone this long thinking the opposite?

abe m.
 
I just got a Frosts Mora from SMKW that came with a free "More Proof" dvd... I really can't wait to watch this propaganda fest, I hear it's pretty bad. Personally I'd never buy another Cold Steel, the few I've had all broke at the tips and wouldn't hold an edge cutting a pizza box.
 
Not knowing all that much,
if such a claim were true, I think that the superiority would lie in it's strength, NOT edge retention.
 
That is absolute nonsense. The steels are only "slightly" similar. Heat treat has much to do with it. 440C use to be the norm in custom knife making before the advent of all the "high end" tool steels, aircraft turbin steels, etc. for many years.

Ive been making knives of 440C for over 20 years and I have no doubt that they are superior to aus-8. Do not mistake me aus-8 is good steel, but superior, I don't think so!

I think the only more ridiculous claim they make is their aus-6 being superior to ats34 (and the like, etc.) :rolleyes:

Im not trying to be rude, but those are ridiculous claims.
 
well, what is better?
8A is more rust resistant and easier to sharpen...
it also costs less...
It depends how you want to look at it.
 
AUS-8 will not hold an edge like 440C. Its just that simple. Ive made knives out of both. With good heat treat on both, it still comes out the same.
 
True, it is harder to sharpen, but the edge holding ability I think outweighs the effort of sharpening.

A good ceramic makes short work of it, but I like to use a strop.
 
Cold Steel claims aside, I find that my Aus8 knives, my CRKT M-16 and Cold Steel R1, perform nicely and takes a razor sharp edge, They stood up nicely against every cutting task I could put to it including chopping branches off a pine tree. The only drawback was that it needed an occasional touchup and the keen edge was quickly restored. Now, I wouldn't think it would hold up well to chopping hardwood or hammered through a car hood, but for knives, they perform very well.
 
I have the m16 and the recon1, both decent knives. When comparing other factory production knives, the blades however do not stand up to the edge holding abitlity of my benchmade grip. in 440C, or even my old (Japanese made) parker stockman in 440C.
 
I'm with melancholymutt... AUS8 performs well in my Voyagers. It has a touch of vanadium, which adds to edge holding. A good, tough, highly stain resistant steel, at least as heat treated by CS. Haven't broken the tips on mine as I use them for cutting, not stabbing.
 
Just to be argumentative, I have to respectfully disagree with ya, Mutt. 440C, from all reports I've seen, is better than AUS8 in the corrosion resistance catagory. Still luv ya, man(but, only in a non gay way).
 
woah, i go to sleep and wake up to a pile of responses. now i'm seeing more people that share the same opinion that i had. i knew the two were close in terms of edge retention and corrosion resistance, but as i stated earlier i was pretty confident that 440c held a more resilient edge. once i read that statement from Cold Steel (and one post in this thread), i began to think otherwise.

back on track, thanks!

abe m.
 
440C is more resistant as long as it has a good heat treat. The harder the blade the more resistant it is to rust.

440C by far will out last aus-8 in edge retention.
 
If we look at the original post, the comparison is made between 440A and AUS8A.

In this comparison, AUS8A, from what I've read and experienced, is better than 440A.

But if you look at the Cold Steel claim that's quoted, the comparison is made between 440C and AUS8A.

Again, from what I've read and heard, 440C is the "superior" steel in edge holding, but, as mmutt said, harder to sharpen.

IF I had to choose between a folder of AUS8A and 440C, I'd go with AUS8A for the reasons mutt pointed out: RAZOR sharp edge, and ease of sharpening.

AUS8A is a really good steel, one of my faves. Some comparison to 440C, but not superior. DEFINITELY no comparison to S30V.
 
4 Ranges said:
If we look at the original post, the comparison is made between 440A and AUS8A.

In this comparison, AUS8A, from what I've read and experienced, is better than 440A.
Click to expand...
actually, my intention was to compare AUS-8A and 440C. the reason i mentioned 440A was just to show what i had been assuming for some time. sorry for the confusion.

abe m.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top