Do any reputable manufacturers still use 440C?

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Squashfan

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Jun 6, 2012
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I am looking for a good manufacturer (Kershaw, Spyderco, Etc...) who still uses 440C. Benchmade made some Griptillians in 440c in the past, but those have been discontinued and I am not sure I could track an actual 440C model down. I am just curious about this steel more than anything else. Also, I prefer non-Chinese or non-Taiwanese knives.

Thanks in advance,
Squashfan
 
benchmade 527 and 522. i have the 527 and it is a decent little cutter. why do you want 440c? its not that great of a steel now days. you would be better off with a 154cm or s30v knife at the price of those knives
 
Boker does. And I think Benchmade still have some knives in this steel. I do not remember the models, but if you check Benchmade and Harley-Davidson brand you should be able to find something. Benchmade H&K 14100, 517, more fixed and folders. Go to some internet shop and use search for 440C - there should be plenty of choice.
 
I have heard stories of this steel from one of the "old timers" and his stories have me curious. Coupled with the fact that 440C seems to be a hard to find blade steel. But I agree with you, imbryan715, that ~$100 is more money than I think 440C is worth.

Edit for the great replies!
I've tried some searching but most of the time I turn up Chinese knives in "440C"

Also, I had forgotten the Cat and Chicago.
 
Squashfan said:
~$100 is more money than I think 440C is worth.
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I would pay a lot more than a hundred for 440C if it was a first version Buck 110. The steel often has little to do with stratifying regular production knives. S30V in a Native or Vantage is the same S30V in a Sebenza or Strider.

Now jacking up the price on a limited edition knife and not upgrading the steel from the standard, I'm not a fan of that.
 
hardheart said:
I would pay a lot more than a hundred for 440C if it was a first version Buck 110. The steel often has little to do with stratifying regular production knives. S30V in a Native or Vantage is the same S30V in a Sebenza or Strider.

Now jacking up the price on a limited edition knife and not upgrading the steel from the standard, I'm not a fan of that.
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What I should have said is: I don't think 440C is worth ~$100 for a NEW, go to Smokey Mountain Knife Works and buy it out of their case, knife. I would gladly, very gladly buy a Buck 110 in 440C, because I my Buck 110 is near my heart.
 
I believe Randall knives are still made in 440C. 440C is used in the Chinese made knives for Frost. There are others that still use 440C. It is actually not a bad steel even if it has lost some of its luster due to some of the new super steels that are primarily Japanese.
 
Master knife maker Ray Ennis who owns and operates Entrek Knives, USA uses nothing but 440C in all of fixed blade and folders and his knives are all over a 100 dollars and worth every penny. Entrek Knives is a solid stand up company that produces and sells well made quality knives. Do a forum search of Entrek or Ray Ennis and there are a lot of positive comments about his knives and remember their all 440C that is all he uses. So the short answer to your question yes, its just difficult for most on here to imagine if its not benchmade, spyderco or kershaw. Their not the only 3 just the big 3, there are a lot of makers, and other knife companies out there you just have to look.
 
22-rimfire said:
I believe Randall knives are still made in 440C. 440C is used in the Chinese made knives for Frost. There are others that still use 440C. It is actually not a bad steel even if it has lost some of its luster due to some of the new super steels that are primarily Japanese.
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I beg pardon? super steels are primarily Japanese? Nonsense.
There are very advanced alloys from Crucible (USA), Bohler (Austria), and Carpenter (USA). There are also some from Japan.


GEC uses 440C in their stainless models. Does an amazing cutting job. Their edge geometry is outstanding and I find the blades will out cut others made of fancier alloys. At the end of the day, blade and edge geometry have more impact on cutting than blade steel. Proven fact. I'm still quite partial to 440C if the rest of the knife is done well.
 
I believe that Randall knives have a lower Carbon content than 440C. I believe they are made with 440 B.
 
Squashfan said:
I would gladly, very gladly buy a Buck 110 in 440C, because I my Buck 110 is near my heart.
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Well, buy the Cabela'a Buck Alaskan 110. It's a beautiful rosewood knife with teflon-coated S30V blades. The grind lacks polish, but hey, it's an S30V! All the Alaskan knives have S30V blades.
 
I do believe that you are correct. IIRC, They also still forge it like they do with their O1 blades.
tiguy7 said:
I believe that Randall knives have a lower Carbon content than 440C. I believe they are made with 440 B.
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I have several older models in this alloy, but in my collection the only relatively new one in 440C is the Spyderco P'kal trainer. The actual P'kal is made of another steel.
 
440C is and always has been a excellent steel. It was the premium goto stainless at one point, until it's reputation was harmed by a lot of cheap imported junk marked "440". When well treated I would put it up against any steel out there today and I doubt many users would actually notice the difference.

n2s
 
Polished 440 is TRULY stain/corrosion/rust 'proof' compared to other stainless in my experience. ATS-34 comes a close second.
 
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