Would you buy a stainless GEC in something other than 440C?

Would you buy a stainless GEC in other than 440C?

  • Total voters
    164
I really really really REALLY want some stainless GECs, but I am just not excited about the idea of buying a 440A knife at GEC prices. It is a fine steel, but I don't lust after GECs for "fine." 440C on the other hand, is one of my all time favorite knife steels flat out. So my preference over any other option in a traditional pattern would be 440C (or 154CM, but that is already out).

All that said, 14C28N is a steel I really like. I only have one 14C28N knife, and it is a modern, but I really like the edge it takes. My personal impression with my miniscule sample size, freehand sharpening, and idiosyncratic use is that the 14C28N doesn't hold a good working edge as long as 440C, but it is easier to get to a truly razor edge, and it is definitely a high performing steel in my book.

Given my druthers, I'm going to opt for 440C over 14C28N, but I'm going to pick 14C28N over a lot of other steels. I REALLY like 440C, so that affects my attitude. But 14C28N is a seriously good steel in my mind.

Edited to add: I see other folks have brought up AEBL, and I wanted to say that I would be absolutely excited to try AEBL. I don't have direct personal experience with AEBL, but I consider it a high end steel and would welcome the option.
 
I like this poll! I'm in the small group that has little interest in a GEC with 440C but would be all over any of the Sanvik razor blade steels or AEBL ... or a US-made equivalent. I'm less excited about 440A because of all the crappy knives out there that use it soft. I'd be willing to try it hard, but can't believe that a competent marketing executive would let it happen. Not a real option in my mind.
 
I know the folks at GEC read this forum. There have been too many coincidences of something being mentioned in a discussion, then seeing that same thing produced a few months later. I would like them to make more runs in stainless. I totally understand that 440C is hard on their tooling. I'm trying to get them interested in making stainless knives out of something that won't wear their tooling, but still has a good market. Nobody wants to make knives that just sit on the shelf.
 
Good thread, and a necessary one for reasons Frank showed above ;)

Sandvik has a lot of attractions and I've been very satisfied with it on European knives so yes I'd lap it up given the chance. Would not want to give away, sell or trade the few stainless GECs I have either, so that says something.

Ideally, I'd like GEC to become so profitable that it can invest in some modern high tech tooling that CAN deal with modern stainless steels on a regular basis :cool: So, better urge others to keep buying the carbon to generate this future investment :D But in the meantime, Sandvik does very nicely all round. Believe me, a lot of users and collectors would welcome regular runs in stainless from GEC, I'm totally convinced of that.

Thanks, Will
 
knarfeng said:
A popular alloy which does not contain carbides and can be fine blanked is Sandvik 14C28N. This alloy has high corrosion resistance, takes a wicked fine edge and can be hardened to 60HRC. The downside of this alloy is that it is less well known outside of the modern knife realm. This is a modern alloy and I've not seen anyone use it for traditional patterns with the exception of one custom maker.
Click to expand...

Fontenille-Pataud uses it in some of their Laguioles, if that counts! I think some other French makers use it, too. Personally, I really like it. I find it to be easy to maintain (even I can get a super keen edge on it). AEB-L is also great.

In all honesty, I would be pretty happy if GEC used any type of decent stainless.
 
I picked everything but the 440C option. I would love a model in any stainless from them since it's the pattern, form and feel first when I get a GEC and steel is secondary. Stainless would make maintenance a lot easier.

Are there any "semi-stainless" tool steels like D2 but a lot easier to machine that could be a middle ground? I think maybe an A2 that has just a little chromium but not a lot and can be HT to various hardnesses while still being a decent blade.
 
I like variety in steel and patterns, traditional and modern. So, I voted yes to all options.

Realistically, even though I call myself a heavy user, I swap knives out regularly and keep them all sharpened to a hair whittling edge. The actual steel a blade is made from, as long as it's properly hardened, makes very little difference in the usability in the vast majority of cases. If I'm gonna cut up an apple, I'll grab a stainless blade. If I'm gonna whittle, I'll grab carbon. Other then that, it's whatever suits my fancy at the time!
 
Interesting point above about going into competition with RR. It would probably be a mistake for GEC to use the same steel as RR.
GEC has to know there are other stainless seels. Maybe they're convinced that their buyers are overwhelmingly rust-lovers.
I voted for the Sandvik. I like it on my Scandians and Opinels; a harder one would have to be good.

Anyway, I'm not likely to buy another GEC before Danielle comes to my door with the PCH Prize Team.
 
Emphatically YES I would. If they did a 420 like Buck, or 14C28N, or AEB-L, or 12C27, or 13C26 - any of these I would love and they would be just fine. Usually, I get a better cutting edge easier on those Sandviks and AEB-L than I do on 1095 anyway, and I don't think anyone who likes the performance of 1095 would be disappointed in them.

Edit - I don't actually want the 420.
 
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No to 440A. Bias too strong to pay GEC prices for 440A.
Yes to 14C. Fine grain takes a great edge. Good hardness potential and toughness makes it a solid choice.

Yes to 440C. Really wish I had gotten one of the 15 Clips in 440C. :(
 
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I said no, not wanting anything of lower quality than 440C. I'm definitely not looking for more 440A or 420HC at this point in time. I can hit an auction site and get a ton of that stuff for next to nothing. I don't know enough about 14C28N to say yes.

I'm looking for something with edge holding closer to 440C or 154CM. Watching GEC take a step backwards would be pretty lame.
 
Heck, I'd be happy with more 440C - however a small, but noticeable upgrade (IMO) to 14C28N would be very welcomed. It shouldn't add a lot of cost either (depending on tariffs).

Using a non-U.S. steel may be a deal breaker to GEC though.
 
I'm sticking with 440A hardened to 57 -58 on the Rockwell scale and edited out my comment about 420HC.

Why couldn't GEC just farm out stamped, stainless, blades for their knives or just suck it up and buy the necessary equipment to stamp stainless regardless of makeup?

Someone mentioned Rough Rider above. I've been happy with their 440A.
 
Would only buy GEC knives in 440C or better stainless. Other companies use 154CM, BG42, etc, GEC can too. Tooling wear doesn't matter, replace tooling when necessary. That's the price of doing business if you want to corner the market.

BladeCommander BladeCommander there is a stainless 15 on the big auction site but the price is pretty high. Single clip 15s are a great knife for the pocket, think I'll start carrying one again, probably an elk.

GECss15s1.jpg
 
I can't say that I would never purchase a GEC slippie in 440A. But I would prefer that they don't use this steel over 14C28N. There needs to be something that separates GEC from other traditional manufacturers. Yes, they have really well put together knives, but still there needs to be something more overall.

Honestly, I would probably buy more Rough Rider knives over GEC if they used 440A as the price differential does not justify the general higher cost of GEC knives over the imported Rough Riders. I tend to buy Rough Riders over many Case knives if given the side by side choice of the same pattern. As you might guess, I don't buy many Case branded slip joints any more although I did buy a peanut this year.

I can visit the "Rough Rider store" and look at a broad selection of the knives at the same time and not be looking at pictures to make a choice. There is a point however, when I simply say I have enough slip joints. I have only purchased the #43 this year. (I edited out that I bought no GEC knives as I didn't recall the #43 Oregon Trapper.)

If given the choice of a particular GEC knife in either 1095 or 440A, I would pretty much always choose the 1095 version. It would take some serious convincing for me to choose the 440A knife. 440C... yeah.
 
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I voted yes to buying a GEC in 14C28N blade steel. Make some 15s in blue & oily creek smooth camel bone and I'm down for one of each.;)
 
How do you like the 440A in your RR 1284 Loom Fixer Frank? You seemed to happy with it in your post about it the other day.
 
I am not anti stainless and for something like a GEC my primary concern would be ease of hand sharpening.

So I suspect that that would tend to be one of the not so hard on factory tooling alloys.
 
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