Quality of a 440A steel blade?
I bought my Gerber Scout for 29 bucks at the local Walmart a couple months ago, and so far it's performed better than any of my previous knives (a couple of low quality Bucks, and a Winchester). However, my friend just bought a 50 dollar Buck knife and I absolutely love it, so I'm debating trading mine in and pitching in a bit of cash for the same kind.
What troubles me is the fact that everybody seems to be bashing 440A steel. I hear a lot of bad things about it; how it is soft, chips easy, dull quickly, etc. How bad is 440A steel really, and would it be worth trading in my Gerber plus about 30 cash for a Buck Vantage Pro? Apparently the Vantage Pro uses S30V steel, so is it really that big of an upgrade, from 440A to S30V?
Thank you.
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440 steel is fine for most knives, but there are better quality steels out there for specialized uses.
If you like the knife you have, don't worry about what other people say. If you like the new knife more, trade for it.
Sometimes I question why people have to ask so many questions about what's better than what.
Its the standard for most knives and its the easiest to sharpen, I have a couple 440 steel knives and they have never failed me, my oldest one is 11 years old and I have stabbed multiple people(in self defense, cut open backpacks, seat belts, fishing string, limes, thin rope, jeans, jackets, pockets, seats, popped tires, moved hot charcoal and other stuff, it just has to be sharpened every now and then. Although I really like carbon knives like KA-BAR's those are amazing and are the only fixed blade knife I would ever buy.