Please recommend a decent folder in 440C

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The old Buck 440C 110's and 501's were extremely thick behind the edge. (In the 1960's 440C was considered brittle, so Buck beefed up the edge.) As a result, they are not good slicers. And I think that in many cutting situations, you would not get as good a performance as the steel is capable of giving. If you want to get a feel for what the steel is capable of doing, look elsewhere.
 
knarfeng said:
The old Buck 440C 110's and 501's were extremely thick behind the edge. (In the 1960's 440C was considered brittle, so Buck beefed up the edge.) As a result, they are not good slicers. And I think that in many cutting situations, you would not get as good a performance as the steel is capable of giving. If you want to get a feel for what the steel is capable of doing, look elsewhere.
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The 440C Koa 112 available on the BCCI site has Buck’s modern BOS heat treat and their modern hollow ground geometry that isn’t thick behind the edge like the old ones - the best of both worlds!
 
Hit the button on a Maserin. Will use it for a while and report back. Thank you to everyone that gave options. Even if I didn't follow them it was still interesting seeing what's still available. I also noticed some what I feel like are wide variables in listed HRC for 440C. The model I chose says 59-60 which I hope is good.
 
If I look at my collection spreadsheet I see a lot of knives from Boker in 440C :

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The 1906 is nice because of the backlock and hollow grind. In fact all Boker Solingen knives are very well built.
You also have the Swiza (alternative to Victorinox) in 440C steel.

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Is this a recent change? I've bought two different models and I would swear they were listed as 440A. And neither one holds an edge like I would expect so I was assuming it was soft 440A at that. They both have thicker blades than any Vic I have but even saying that it doesn't feel like a geometry difference.

Looking it up I see some listed just as "440" and some listed as "440C". I've always accepted that if they just list the steel as 440 or 440HC then it's most likely 440A while if it's 440B or 440C they will tell you up front since it would be a selling point. I can't see anything saying they did it as a rolling change but if so it sure would be nice. Or of course if they always were from the start that would be nice as well. Especially since I have one in my back pocket most days.
 
knarfeng said:
The old Buck 440C 110's and 501's were extremely thick behind the edge. (In the 1960's 440C was considered brittle, so Buck beefed up the edge.) As a result, they are not good slicers. And I think that in many cutting situations, you would not get as good a performance as the steel is capable of giving. If you want to get a feel for what the steel is capable of doing, look elsewhere.
Click to expand...

This is certainly true for the 110 that I bought in 1976. However, there seems to be a wide variation in edge thickness in knives from the 440C era. I have two 440C 112s (a two dot and a three dot) that are thin behind the edge, not much different from current production. I have seen at least half a dozen script/micarta 501s, and half are thicker behind the edge than I like (but still nothing like my 110) and half are pretty thin behind the edge. My first 501, which I bought in 1978/1979 is just as thin behind the edge as current production 501s.
 
I m surprised this hasn't t been mentioned already. So may be this is wrong.

I ve seen mentioned on several websites that Aus10 is almost identical to 440c. And a definite step up from AUS8 which you liked. And it s available from Cold Steel, which historically has done a good job with their heat treatments.

One knife I m carrying more and more with Aus10 is the Airlite.. Well made. Sturdy, thin and light. Other Cold Steel options with AUS10 are available.
 
whp said:
I m surprised this hasn't t been mentioned already. So may be this is wrong.

I ve seen mentioned on several websites that Aus10 is almost identical to 440c. And a definite step up from AUS8 which you liked. And it s available from Cold Steel, which historically has done a good job with their heat treatments.

One knife I m carrying more and more with Aus10 is the Airlite.. Well made. Sturdy, thin and light. Other Cold Steel options with AUS10 are available.
Click to expand...

I do have and enjoy a few Cold Steel knives in AUS10 but I'm being pedantic in that I want the blade to actually say 440C. But I very much enjoy my Mini Recon 1.
 
whp said:
I m surprised this hasn't t been mentioned already. So may be this is wrong.

I ve seen mentioned on several websites that Aus10 is almost identical to 440c. And a definite step up from AUS8 which you liked. And it s available from Cold Steel, which historically has done a good job with their heat treatments.

One knife I m carrying more and more with Aus10 is the Airlite.. Well made. Sturdy, thin and light. Other Cold Steel options with AUS10 are available.
Click to expand...
AUS 10 is closer to VG10 and 154CM than it is to 440C
AUS10, VG10 and 154CM/ATS-34 are all a step up in edge retention from 440C.
 
lambertiana said:
This is certainly true for the 110 that I bought in 1976. However, there seems to be a wide variation in edge thickness in knives from the 440C era. I have two 440C 112s (a two dot and a three dot) that are thin behind the edge, not much different from current production. I have seen at least half a dozen script/micarta 501s, and half are thicker behind the edge than I like (but still nothing like my 110) and half are pretty thin behind the edge. My first 501, which I bought in 1978/1979 is just as thin behind the edge as current production 501s.
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www.buckknives.com

How Old is My Buck Knife? - Buck® Knives OFFICIAL SITE

How old is my Buck knife? We stamp symbols onto your blade to indicate when your knife was made. Refer to our Date Code Chart to find out the age of your knife.
www.buckknives.com www.buckknives.com

Depending on what you mean by "two dot" those may have been late in the game. I've had mine since the late 60's, and it has a thick edge.
1974-1980
One dot on each side of model number

1980-1981
One dot on left side, two dots on right side

1981-1986
Two dots on each side
Click to expand...
 
knarfeng said:
www.buckknives.com

How Old is My Buck Knife? - Buck® Knives OFFICIAL SITE

How old is my Buck knife? We stamp symbols onto your blade to indicate when your knife was made. Refer to our Date Code Chart to find out the age of your knife.
www.buckknives.com www.buckknives.com

Depending on what you mean by "two dot" those may have been late in the game. I've had mine since the late 60's, and it has a thick edge.
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Two dot as in one dot on each side - 1974-1980. I bought my 110 in 1976, and one of my 112s with a thin edge is also two dot. I bought my first 501 in 1978 or 1979, and it is quite thin behind the edge.

I have some fixed blades from the 440C era. I bought a 118 and 119 in the 1977-1979 time frame, and they are a little too thick behind the edge for my taste, but not terribly thick. I have a 116 from the 60s that is thick behind the edge, as was a 103 that I sharpened for a friend many years ago. I now have my father's 118 that dates to the 1960s and it is also thick behind the edge.
 
I like this steel (between others) and had Blaser (Boeker) folder. Fantastic heat treatment. Buy something custom (and dont't spare money :-)
 
Maximumbob54 said:
Is this a recent change? I've bought two different models and I would swear they were listed as 440A. And neither one holds an edge like I would expect so I was assuming it was soft 440A at that. They both have thicker blades than any Vic I have but even saying that it doesn't feel like a geometry difference.

Looking it up I see some listed just as "440" and some listed as "440C". I've always accepted that if they just list the steel as 440 or 440HC then it's most likely 440A while if it's 440B or 440C they will tell you up front since it would be a selling point. I can't see anything saying they did it as a rolling change but if so it sure would be nice. Or of course if they always were from the start that would be nice as well. Especially since I have one in my back pocket most days.
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I believe there is no 440 steel, it’s 440A, B or C.
 
DocJD said:
Ganzo has a lot of supposed 440C folders , IDK about quality of steel or HT . 🤷‍♂️
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Their 440C is okay. While maybe not impressive versus 440C with a good heat treatment on more expensive knives, it's pretty good on a $20 knife ($15 on sale). A known issue is that their 440C has been occasionally substituted with 8Cr13Mov, although that's also a totally reasonable steel at that price level. (Coincidentally, I've seen reports of those steels being substituted both ways at the supply level in China.)

The main problem a lot of people have with Ganzo is their disregard for copyright, often copying designs or design elements in various combinations within that series of knives. For instance, they were using Axis-style locks before BM's patent expired, and did things like making what looked like an in-between size Rat (like a 1.5) with an Axis lock. They also have plenty of original designs, most of which are part of their Firebird series using Chinese D2. Still, this continued practice puts a rock in some people's shoes.
 
David Boye uses 440C in his BDS blades (Boye Dendritic Steel). The blades are cast so there are macro crystals (Dendrites) in the micro edge. He also casts Stellite 6-B to make BDC (Boye Dendritic Cobalt) blades.
 
Hi! I had Blaser (Boeker) folder and can recommend something like this. Not Boeker Magnum or Plus. Original Boeker folder in 440C. Or something even better? Harsey AF combat dagger in 440C (N690 or 154CM are the best). My personal favorite is 4.5 inch but 5.5 is for St. John's Apocalypse. If you are regular (like I am) Boeker Vollintegral is life choice. If you like something american (like I do) Entrek is only choice. If you don't have money (like I do) think of
Fox Fkmd (they are relally great).
 
I think many Buck folders re in 440
C, but can't swer to that.

The clsssic Boy Scout pocket knives can be found in SS, which I assume to be 440C. Vintage BSA folders are offered at around $80 on e-Bay. The Boy Scout website store has the current one listed for $30. It looks just like the 1990s era knife and its brand new.

In premium non-folders, I think that al of Randall's fixed ballade stainless models are in 440C.
 
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