What makes 440 stainless steel a good material for knives?

440c was popular in the 70`s and there`s knives that I made then that are still around…zero rust contrary to the popular belief that 440c will rust and not hold an edge. Heat treating 440c is critical from bar stock, machine work, to properly vacuum heat treating in ELECTRIC furnace with certified temperature controls. My experience came from the convenience of the aerospace industry where following procedures are critical (but have been altered long since). There are pros when 440c is done right and there are cons as well. Forged in fire furnace will not produce 440c knife blade to full quality. A “must” to buy virgin bar stock from steel manufacturers that have been consistent with their formulas…some will vary. Bar stock grain direction has been very critical in my selection of material. A hammer and anvil should remain in the storage room….just machines and files are needed. Atmospherically controlled electric furnace with proper foil wrapping to obtain scale free results are important in my past experiences. Temperature and quenching is the art and if the desired RC hardness is not there in first try… I toss the knife and saw out another piece of bar stock, however, still salvageable for those that may have lesser demands. Many fire furnaces where visual color is the temperature control factor is not nearly as accurate as some believe and scale is not acceptable IMHO! ( Yes, I do love to see the rainbow colors AFTER vacuum heat treating) Maximum hardness is over RC61+ and drawing back 2 times makes the kind of blade that meets my personal demands…So yes to 440c being a good material to make a high quality monolithic knife blade. No argument that there are more sophisticated materials available since but unfortunately knife making after 12 years of retirement remains just a good memory today.

Wanbasion Black Stainless Steel Knife Set, Sharp Kitchen Knife