why I like and work in 440c stainless steel and what its good for

[@ericasedc]

Love this episode Joe!!! Thanks for everything you do! 😊❤

[@joecalton1449]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@Roberthoven]

Just the info I was looking for.

[@EDCandLace]

Lots of people sheer their nose at 440c and just don't understand how good 440c CAN be. Well done 440c is a damn capable steel when it's done well.

[@joecalton1449]

yes it is!

[@adelazzer]

Joe, enjoying the series. As many have commented (and you have known for years), there are wonderful steels out there that "appear" pedestrian compared to the latest and greatest hype-machine metal but ironically offer a rather wonderful blend of qualities and characteristics that make them a joy to use and to live with. Please keep up the commentary. I did want to ask you to expound on your reference to your favourite working edge mentioned in the video; DMT 325grit with a microlevel. Perhaps in a video, perhaps here in reply? I've been surprised just how fantastic an edge from a coarser grit stone can produce. Again the hype for high high grit finishes and 5+ grit progressions creates this confusion that THAT is the direction to pursue and yet...Anyway would love to hear you expound on the virtues of an unfussy working edge with a single grit. Can I have an amen?!

[@joecalton1449]

the biggest reason that I like single grit edges, or mostly, is just simplicity. who wants to drag 5 stones out just to put an edge on a pocketknife. while it is fun sometimes to play around with different stones and progressions, most of the time I just need to put an edge on my knife and get to work, and the quickest and simplest way to do that is what I am after.

[@MeowCat-gm5vb]

A well balanced steel done well is rare and definitely a joy to use, especially when it comes to sharpening time.

[@joecalton1449]

absolutely!

[@ericasedc]

WE WANT THE 20 YEAR 940 REVIEW ASAP!!!! ❤🎉

[@joecalton1449]

it will probably be after hunting season before I can make that one :}

[@namelesske]

@@joecalton1449Kind reminder ❤

[@prasannaparanjape5245]

Thank you for this detailed analysis of 440C 🫡

[@joecalton1449]

you are welcome!

[@moderntentcamping]

Thanks for this information. I am always looking for a better all-purpose food-prep kitchen knife and I have gravitated to a 5 inch, straight back, full belly, flat ground, blade. Most of my knives are made from 1095 but I’ve wondered about a stainless steel. I thought that 154 CM was a good choice but you explained why it may not be the best choice for a kitchen knife. Going to visit your website.

[@Wolf_K]

People are all hyped up about the latest duper steels when the older steels haven’t even been optimized (by most makers, that is) via heat treating and geometry for performance. 1095, 52100, 440C, AEB-L are some great steels. 52100 is the steel I’ve chosen to make hard use bush knives with. If I wanted stainless I’d choose AEB-L or 440C.

[@joecalton1449]

52100 is a fine choice for your hard use bush knives! yes, i have heard that finding a maker that really understands the steels they work is tougher than finding new super steels :}

[@jonenglert5809]

So people look down at 440c and don't look down on aus10a as much but from what I've heard 440c and aus10a are basically the same thing and if that's the case I love 440c cause all my cold steels with aus10a are great knives and great steel

[@mikafoxx2717]

Yep, much of the dislike is from historic opinion. Factory produced knives can have corners cut on the heat treatment and are also run extra soft, so they're hard to sharpen because it's soft metal with stubborn burr, and the carbides are almost harder than the Arkansas stones many were using before fancier stones came along. If you harden it well, it'll be a much better steel. Modern formulations like it get better reputation thanks to better sharpening equipment, knowledge, and better heat treatment in general from companies like cold steel or Spiderco that give steels better reputation

[@mannynieves493]

Good informative video I learn more about different Steel.

[@joecalton1449]

Glad you enjoyed it :}

[@mannynieves493]

@joecalton1449 sorry for my inconvenience, I want to ask the right person, what is the difference between 80CrV2 and 14c28n?

[@joecalton1449]

@@mannynieves493 i am sorry, but I dont work in either of those steels, so I cant tell you much about them.

[@davidbruner9082]

Mom and I are loving your coffee cup!😂

[@joecalton1449]

it will probbaly be a couple of videos from now, but wait till you see my new minion light cord pull handle thingies....... I took some of the minions that came with happy meals from mcdonalds, drilled holes from the tops of their heads to thier feet, and put them on my light pull cords. the best one is over the horizontal grinder, he is dressed like a disco dancer and spins around every time you pull the cord :}

[@davidbruner9082]

@@joecalton1449 freaking love it!!

[@Laurarium]

I think aeb-l and similar steels behave similarly to high carbon steels and are available in thin stocks. Actually a prblem with AEB-L 14C28N is that they are not offered in very thick flats, only in thin sheets/ strips.

[@joecalton1449]

i have heard very good things about aeb-l, if I didnt already work in 440c, i would look very hard at that steel.

[@brandensutton2324]

Ever used 440C ESR? Ray Ennis and Jay Fisher also use 440C for most of their blades.

[@joecalton1449]

i have not, but I have heard good things about them

[@Ralph-cd8cv]

Great video thank you A knife out of 440C is also a good steel to hand down to the grandsons no maintain I have a couple of your knives in 440C and 1 in 1095 both great with your thin profile blade

[@joecalton1449]

good to hear that you are enjoying them!

[@Casiomidi1]

Thanks Joe very interesting...have you ever made a straight razor out of 4-40C ?

[@joecalton1449]

absolutley, 440c makes a fine razor. i think ive only made a couple dozen out of it though.

[@ChuckinSteel]

Awesome video

[@joecalton1449]

Thanks!

[@rickwhitson2804]

I've had a case with 440 I liked it

[@joecalton1449]

as good as case's stainless knives are, they are not the same as my 440c. case keeps them on the soft side so that when folks use them as screwdrivers and paint can openers then they hopefully wont break very easy. i run 440c quite a bit harder, it still maintains a usable level of toughness, but will take a finer edge and hold it quite a bit longer.

[@rickwhitson2804]

@joecalton1449 funny you said that. I had a mini trapper and I broke my second blade on it. Your spot on my friend

[@MrExBeast]

in one sentence is "you know". But was very interesting!

[@S.Vallieres]

Joe, the reason why one would make a 1/8" thick paring knife would be to make a TactiCool one! You know, just in case you get attacked by some hungry zombies while prepping diner! Joking aside, when you mention you like to buy steels from your trusted suppliers because you know what you're going to get, do you mean that some suppliers could sell a X grade steel under the Y grade designation just to make a sale?

[@joecalton1449]

I would hope that suppliers would not deliberately swap steels out to make a sale. but I have gotten steel from other suppliers before that did not act right at all. especially with 1095. i have bought 1095 that scaled way more from one supplier than from another, didnt get as hard as it should, didnt finish the way it should, ect..... what I think happens is that some suppliers get thier steel from the same mill each time. while others go googling for the cheapest steel that they can get their hands on to resell. so lets say jantz gets thier 1095 steel from a certain mill, that they keep buying from over and over again and so they get a relationship going and since knifemakers are buying the steel from them, if there is a problem, its easy to track down and fix. then you have xyz knifemakers supply, and they get the cheapest 1095 steel they can from china for example, and lets say that 1095 was meant for an application that didnt need to be as clean, maybe for springs on toys or something, now that xyz has 1095, it says its 1095, but its nowhere near the quality as jantz's 1095, but they sell it for the same price, and unless the knifemaker does alot of testing, or doesnt use that steel much and doesnt know what to look for, then he can unknowlingly put out an inferior knife.

[@S.Vallieres]

@@joecalton1449 Thanks a lot for replying and the extra explanations.

[@mikafoxx2717]

​@@joecalton14491095 also can vary a lot in composition from cheaper mills, that might let it vary from .87C up to 1.2%C. they'd act very very differently and the hardenability can change a lot too thanks to the M.

[@twatmunro]

I'm not sure those guys are getting great results. You're paying them to learn on the job and getting them right at the start of their education. Sounds like a terrible plan to me.

[@joecalton1449]

well, we all start off somewhere. I would like to think that the ones that stay around awhile will more than likely become good makers.