Why does every one hate 440c stainless steel so much ?

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carbonsteelfan

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I truly am curious. I was getting a gift for my grandfather this morning . A knife ( of course ;) ). He mainly prefers carbon steels like 1095 or tool steels like A2 and D2. The only stainless steel he ever liked is 440c. He is most comfortable with it. His birthday is coming this Sunday. So l did a search in all my local knife stores and even online. Bit every one seems to despise 440c. Why is that ? I personally own a Jack Crain custom made Machete in 440c stainless steel and it works really well on saplings and such. So why does every one hate it ?
 
carbonsteelfan said:
I truly am curious. I was getting a gift for my grandfather this morning . A knife ( of course ;) ). He mainly prefers carbon steels like 1095 or tool steels like A2 and D2. The only stainless steel he ever liked is 440c. He is most comfortable with it. His birthday is coming this Sunday. So l did a search in all my local knife stores and even online. Bit every one seems to despise 440c. Why is that ? I personally own a Jack Crain custom made Machete in 440c stainless steel and it works really well on saplings and such. So why does every one hate it ?
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Nobody HATES 440c...it just isn't the flavor of the month. It's a great steel....I have no problem with it, and Boker uses it in the Chinese knives they make(or so they say), and frankly, in that format, it has served me much better than the products of "Alphabet Steel".

I will say that I don't care for 440C as a machete or sword BECAUSE most of the guys using it for those purposes leave it pretty thick, and that doesn't make for a very "FAST" blade, which is what I like in a machete/sword. Barry Dawson does a pretty fine job on it for a sword....still a little thick.

Properly heat treated 440c is a fine steel and anyone who knows anything about knives will admit that.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
440C is and always has been a fine blade steel.

When it was first introduced it was the hot ticket in stainless.

It's still a fine steel, used by many makers.

It's not as sexy as all the new steels, but don't let that fool you.

Sounds like your grandfather appreciates good steels. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:



Big Mike
 
I think the big problem is tons of cheap Chinese knives are labeled 440c and that has tarnished it's reputation. That coupled with all the new high end and super steels that have been hitting the market in the last few years, 440c just doesn't stand up. 440c used to be THE standard steel but now I'd wager to say s30v is.
 
Sounds like your grandfather appreciates good steels. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:
Yeah ; he was in the navy back until the 1980s. He told me why he is so fond of 440c . Until he joined the navy he always used 1095 carbon steel hunting knives and folders. After joining the navy he realized that as much as he likes it ; carbon steel.is not a good choice in a wet environment. Then he was introduced to 440c which back in the 70s was a miracle steel. He never quite used any other stainless steel. He has some pretty picky tastes.
For ease of sharpening he used to prefer 1095 ( now days its A2)
For edge holding he likes D2
For corrosion resistance its 440c.
Till now he doesn't own a folder in A2 so originally l wanted to gift him an A2 folding knife but l don't think.any exist. So l decided to go.for ya 440c knife.


Big Mike[/QUOTE]
 
I like 440C. I think too many people associate 440 with cheap poorly heat treated steel. Cheap Chinese knives are most likely mislabeled. My Canal Street trapper in 440C is one of my favorite knives. Takes a sharp edge, cuts things, resists corrosion. Works for me.
 
Probably for the same reason why people look down on base model, inexpensive economy cars. There are so many vehicles which are better in every measurable respect out there that those econoboxes aren't highly regarded.

But if your whole town was stuck in the horse and carriage days, I'm sure a Honda Civic would look like the top of the world! So, it's all a matter or perspective! :D
 
sweet_hitch-hiker said:
I think the big problem is tons of cheap Chinese knives are labeled 440c and that has tarnished it's reputation.
Click to expand...

Thats probably the main reason. People just read 440 and assume its crap regardless if its A,B or C.
But then even 440A isn't that miserable when HTed properly.

The weird thing is, AUS8 still seems to be quite popular and not so controversial. Yet I would put them in roughly the same category with 440C a little better in edge retention and AUS8 somewhat tougher and easier to sharpen.
 
Nothing at all wrong with 440C, if HT'd properly......As STeven said....."It's just not the flavor of the month".

I have a (Boker made) Henckels stockman from '91 or '92 which is a respectable knife....The same knife is

listed now as the Boker 4474.
 
My impression is that a lot of your inexpensive knives made in China that use "440" is 440A versus 440C. 440C is far superior to 440A. I believe Randall still uses 440C and few people have issue with their knives. Like most steels used in knife making, the heat treat is the key or more importantlly matching the heat treat to the steel to give an optimium hardness for a particular steel and use.
 
440C is great with a good heat treat, just look at Entrek. There's nothing wrong with 440C. I think the problems most people have are with 440A. Not all 440s are the same!
 
Good clean 440C with appropriate HT is a fine alloy. Unfortunately, a lot of the "440C" coming out of mills today is far off spec and riddled with inclusions. I don't even bother with it.

If you like 440C, you're gonna really like CPM-154... and flat-out LOVE Elmax and CTS-XHP.
 
440c borrows money with no intention of paying people back, dines and dashes, has terrible breath, and hooked up with your mom and told everybody about it.

That's all I could think of, because it simply happens to be the case that knives I like aren't made in 440c, so I have no experience with it.
 
Nothing wrong with 440C. It works. It was a go-to stainless for a longtime. But why bother with old technology? CPM-154 or even 154CM are better values at this point in time.
 
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