What became of bg-42 steel ??

I first started collecting 112's in 2007 and for the next 2 years spent many hours of research on both Ebay and especially the forum here to identify rare and odd 112's. I just KNEW there was a 'Master Series' 112 and it was a year before I was kindly told Buck never made one. The BG42 112 was the first really rare 112 I tried to find and I wasted many hours looking at the back of every 112 listed for that etch till I realized the anvil tang stamp was the only one it could be on. A BG42 112 was my 'Unicorn' or 'Grail' Buck..and still is. So many, many pages of threads talked about how great and desirable BG42 was for 110's and other model's plus high end Customs it seemed to have magical powers! With S30V and finally S35VN and even D2 the 112 is readily available with upgraded steels at a reasonable cost I still NEED a BG42 112..pjsjr that is a fantastic example! I understand why you treasure it. DOGPOUND77 every time you list a bunch of high end Customs on the bay I look 'just in case' because of so many rare Customs you somehow manage to find. Skelater88 that's a nice one you found! I know where a loose blade is but I will have to find a truly incredible Bucklite to have a shot at trading for it.. If I do manage to locate a 112 with that blade I'm really torn whether to leave it as is for the historical perspective or rip it out for a super high end custom. Nickel silver frame, auto conversion, exhibition grade MOP with a red Ruby button..
 
The only BG-42 blade I have is a 501 Master Series that my wife bought for me when they came out. I had a 112 blade replacement done, but had to sell that a while back when I was in a financial pinch.

skblades said:
I've run this question by Buck on multiple occasions. I could get them to buy some of the powdered stuff if I ordered something like 1000 knives. I sure do miss it as an option though.
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Too bad it takes that many knives to make up an order. If a CTS-B75P bladed 501 were to come out, I would be in for two of them for sure.
 
The Master Series folders look classy.. I will have Leroy make me a 112 that looks like one. Maybe use S35VN for the blade. I remember my brother saying some 110 samples were made of brown checkered wood.
 
Resurrecting this topic from the dead . . .

I saw a for sale ad today (on BF) for a knife with BG-42 and it reminded me that sadly it's virtually impossible to get new knives or blades made with BG-42. Back when Buck was doing cheap blade swaps, I had sent a plain jane Buck 110 (bought on sale for $29.99) to Buck for a BG-42 blade swap. I used the heck out of that knife and it was incredibly easy to get a "tree-topping" edge on it. When I realized I had sharpened away at least 1/16" of the edge it was about the time BG-42 was becoming a memory, so I replaced with the Cabela's Buck 110 in S30V.

I don't know if BG-42 would still hold its own against more modern powdered metallurgy steels, especially at their price point, but I really miss that knife and how well it cut.
 
I’ve never had any bg 42 but from what I’ve read up on it’s very similar to cpm 154 in performance. But cpm154 is easier to work and grind than bg42. Some say cpm154 is easier to sharpen. I think with the many newer blade steels have better characteristics and knife makers prefer using now than the older super steels like bg42 and others.
 
I remember those blade swaps😁:thumbsup:
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Lesknife said:
I’ve never had any bg 42 but from what I’ve read up on it’s very similar to cpm 154 in performance. But cpm154 is easier to work and grind than bg42. Some say cpm154 is easier to sharpen. I think with the many newer blade steels have better characteristics and knife makers prefer using now than the older super steels like bg42 and others.
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I have a CPM154 Buck 110 (BassPro). Performance might be similar, but it was definitely easier to get a super thin, sharp edge with the BG-42 Buck 110. Using similar tools and a few more years of experience, I have not yet achieved the same sharpening success with the CPM154 as I did with BG-42.
 
rhino said:
If only we had known to do a bunch of them to have a supply for the future (kind of like failing to buy tons of cheap South African M193 surplus when it was flowing like water) years ago).
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Oh yes! In this day and age that applies to so many things!
 
I like bg42 have a 110 and a fixed blade in it. good steel.

truth be told the cts-b75p is about the same just a powdered steel version which would improve on bg42. differences are tiny....

bg42 has... cts-b75p

1.15% carbon. 1.10% carbon
14.5% chromium. 14.5% chromium
0.50% manganese. 1.0% manganese
4% molybdenum. 4% molybdenum
0% phosphorus. 0.04% phosphorus
0.3% silicon. 0.3% silicon
1.2% vanadium. 1.2% vanadium


so basically identical. very differnet names and process to make. one was bearings, the other powdered. not sure of costs but in theory Buck could make knives in it if they wanted. assuming costs was not prohibitive or impossible to get or blanking issues and other issues industry wise issues. which there maybe. not so sure it would outperform other steels available though.

bg42 is pretty much dead though. Latrobe steel was gobbled up and thats that.
 
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