Do Heinz have the sharpest metal?

[Working man]

Hi Folks

I had to rely on a Buck knife 112 recently whilst stuck in a snow cave in minus 20 degrees blizzard conditions.

We had some cans/tins of Heinz baked beans and a buck knife, whilst trying not to freeze to death.

I used the knife to puncture the top of the can and to cut out a rough circle so that we could eat, our can opener was about 5,000 feet down the mountain.

The result was that we ate, but when I looked at the blade, it looked more like a serrated blade than a straight blade, the can had destroyed the blade and the can was as sharp as anything I would want to touch. Is there a reason for this and is there a different type of blade/metal I should seek for the replacement knife.

Many thanks
Frank

 

[craytab]

No.

Something here doesn't smell right.

 

[91bravo]

I've cut plenty of canned goods open with a knife and could still shave with it afterwards. Your Buck 110 shouldn't be chipping out just by opening a can with it.

 

[Sunyata]

It's 420hc?

 

[grybsh7]

Something here doesn't smell right

I’m a little confused. Were you trapped with Frank and the can of beans in the snow cave?

 

[Working man]

Yes, it's 420hc and I have had a bath since! And the blade was completely chipped out, the edge was primarily straight from handle to tip, but the very tip disappeared and one of us must have swallowed it, the edge was missing bits and looked wavy from side to side. Ive had a professional shop work on it but it feels as sharp as a kids penknife. So I hoped to learn more you folks as you clearly love your knives and I am prepared to spend c. $120 for a replacement, fixed blade knife. I'm not knocking Buck at all but the can won and I want to learn. I purchased this from a major New York department store so believe it to be real.

 

[Danke42]

I guess anyone who still packs metal cans up a mountain above the treeline but no opener will only do that a few times.

The lids will cut your fingers because they have thin jagged edges but they're not sharp or durable like our knives.

 

[Fonedork]

You can get a “mega swamp warden” from swamp rat knife works, you can find it for sale directly on their website, they are pretty sweet, a coated one is about $120, should open bean cans with aplomb.

 

[comis]

If you don't mind, could you please share the picture of the Buck you used to open the can? I'd like to how bad was the damage and the can(if you have the picture)

 

[mqqn]

Glad you made it out of that bad situation!

You had to sacrifice your tool (Buck knife) doing something with it that it is not intended to do, eg open a tin can, in order to survive. Sounds like a fair trade.

I would have expected the knife to hold up better than you describe, but at least it opened the can(s) when needed.

I have opened baked bean cans with a knife (JK Handmade fixed blade with 01 steel) and it had no damage at all.

best

mqqn

 

[A.L.]

I would go with the rostafrei mon! Is da most irie steel out there is!

 

[craytab]

Yes, it's 420hc and I have had a bath since! And the blade was completely chipped out, the edge was primarily straight from handle to tip, but the very tip disappeared and one of us must have swallowed it, the edge was missing bits and looked wavy from side to side. Ive had a professional shop work on it but it feels as sharp as a kids penknife. So I hoped to learn more you folks as you clearly love your knives and I am prepared to spend c. $120 for a replacement, fixed blade knife. I'm not knocking Buck at all but the can won and I want to learn. I purchased this from a major New York department store so believe it to be real.

Pics or it didn't happen

 

[Cvrobinson]

I recommend a new Buck, an a can opener
You didn’t perhaps do your own camp fire heat treat maybe, did you

 

[Rupestris]

Using a blade that tall to cut in a tight circle in metal causes lateral stress on the edge. Next time cut a square in the top or use a P38.

A P38 weighs .32 oz and can be found for less than a dollar (US).

A Swiss Army knife would have been a better choice and are also available at department stores.

 

[Ajack60]

@Larrin , is there any change in steels brittleness when it's exposed to cold conditions ?

 

[l1ranger]

A P38 weighs .32 oz and can be found for less than a dollar (US).
.

and its got a nice little hole in it, you can run some cord through it, or ball chain, stick it on a key ring.
heck - carry 6 of them in different places in case you lose one

 

[Stelth]

My advice is to carry a Victorinox with a can opener.

 

[palonej]

Face palm.

 

[K.O.D.]

@Larrin , is there any change in steels brittleness when it's exposed to cold conditions ?

I'm not larrin, but yes steel does become more brittle when exposed to extreme cold for long periods of time. Some steels are cryogenically quenched to achieve a higher hardness. But depending on that steel, that hardness can also cause brittleness, such as with ZDP-189 which is around 68hrc, very hard steel.

The chemical makeup of the particular steel has an effect on this too, and directly related to how hard the steel can be treated to before you lose edge stability.

 

[Ajack60]

I'm not larrin, but yes steel does become more brittle when exposed to extreme cold for long periods of time

I thought I read that it would, but being/living down South it snows about every ten years