Thread: For all you who deny 440C its proper due!

Okay. This is a skinner I bought about a year ago from a little knife shop in the picturesque town of Julian Ca. It was designed by a man who lives in the area. he then contracted Linder to make these knives. They made about 50 or 100 of these knives and sold them a few at a time to Quinns Knives, the shop in Julian. I picked up the last one for about 120 dollars. 4 inch handle. 3 1/2 inch blade. The handles are cocobolo and the steel is 440C. I tested this knife for edge retention in the following manner: I shaved the hair on my arm with ease all across the edge then I picked a 3 in diameter limb from a eucalyptus and used the skinner to chop it in half. It took several blows but I got it through! I then shaved my arm hairs again with equal ease as before! Pretty good for a steel that, according to some, does not have the edge retention characteristics to make a good straight.

Nice looking knife! Interesting that the blade seems to be in constant motion...

Very cool knife!


Love the shape of the point. I imagine it'd be a joy to skin with.

You and your beautiful knives -.-

Next you'll be telling us its so tough it's used for making ball bearings & valve seats...

Oh wait... it is .

C'mon Mark. Hone that baby up and run it over your face.

You know you want to. Even if it's a rough shave, it'll cut eucalyptus soooooo smooth.

Heat treatment is everything on that crappy steel... I've broken to many knives made from the junk...

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

Heat treatment is everything on that crappy steel... I've broken to many knives made from the junk...

this is where the problem lies. anything called 440, 440A, or 440B is very poor indeed. Not true of the 440C variety. In fact I have seen 440C compared to ATS 34 by those in the know. ATS 34 being a slightly better steel in their estimation.

Originally Posted by JMS

this is where the problem lies. anything called 440, 440A, or 440B is very poor indeed. Not true of the 440C variety. In fact I have seen 440C compared to ATS 34 by those in the know. ATS 34 being a slightly better steel in their estimation.

Actually, not even this is true.

Randall uses 440B in a lot of his knives. And 440 A can be decent depending on what you want to use it for.

A lot is dependant on the heat treat, edge geometry etc.

That said. I've got 2 knives out of 440C and I LOVE the stuff to death.

Not sure who's been claiming 440 can't hold an edge. The vintage Friodurs are 440C IIRC, and those are quite impressive in their edge-taking and -retaining capability.

For a long time, 440C was considered a super steel in the knifemaking community. It was the S30V of it's day.