Schrade + ???

[trapper]

Hey guys. I know the schrade plus was 440a steel. But I was wondering what your opinions were on these knives. I have a couple that seem to sharpen up fine and hold a decent edge, but how do they compare to stainless knives like buck or camillus etc ???
I would guess that these blades by schrade were hardened to around 55-56 rc- seems to be industry standard (generally speaking) Also-
Do you find that your schrade plus knives perform well or do you think the old timer carbon smokes'em?

[orvet]

I think Schrade+ steel is 440C that has been possibly tweaked to Schrade's own specifications.

I think Schrade+ steel is better than most of the 440 series steel knives on the market today, with the huge exception of Buck.
Buck currently uses 420 but the big difference is that the heat treating facility was setup & overseen by Paul Bos.
Paul's quality is legendary in the in the cutlery business!
Paul Bos gets superior performance from a lesser steel (like 420) because of his quality control. I talked to Paul at a show one time and he has triple and quadruple checks built into in his heat treating system. It kind of makes me wonder what he could do with a slightly better steel like 440C!

Heat treating is the key to the success or failure of a steel. IMO, Schrade did their heat treating very well & very consistently, better than most companies, perhaps better than Camillus or perhaps more consistent than Camillus. However, you do realize that Camillus made a good many of the Schrade knives over the years.

[coffeecup]

(What is this--"talk about steels week?" )

All the information I've seen, from various posts made by Schrade employees back when the company was still around, is that Schrade+ was originally 440A, and that a running change was made to 420HC--possibly beginning in 1998, but certainly by 2000.

Hardness on the Schrade+ blades I've tested went around 56-58.

Performance-wise, Schrade+ has never impressed me. It feels gummy on a stone when sharpening. It doesn't wire-edge as bad as some maker's blades. When I have to use it, I tend to sharpen it to a higher angle than I would with Schrade's 1095.

[tongueriver]

I have a few Schrade+ stainless knives around that I will keep for other reasons, mostly really lovely handle materials. I have a BUNCH of other Schrade+ stainless knives around that I would gladly sell, because I really enjoy the old easy-to-sharpen 1095 to use and look at. There is something about patina that pleases me greatly, probably because I am developing a fair amount of it myself. Pms are always welcome.