440C in stock
Yes, it remains a solid mid-tier stainless. 440C carries about 0.95 to 1.2% carbon and 16 to 18% chromium at 56 to 60 HRC, up to 62 with an optimized heat treat. It holds an edge better than anything else in the 440 family and was a benchmark premium stainless before the powder-metallurgy era.
For decades 440C was what a premium production stainless meant. Modern CPM steels have moved the ceiling a long way up, but that does not make 440C worse than it was; it makes it mid-range rather than top-end.
Corrosion resistance is very good, marginally behind 440A because more of the chromium is bound into carbides by the higher carbon.
Edge retention is good, toughness is good, and it takes a fine edge without much fuss. It sits comfortably alongside 9Cr18MoV, which is often described as its Chinese analog.
Against a powder steel like S35VN it gives up wear resistance, and it costs a good deal less.
Straightforward on ordinary stones, unlike the high-vanadium steels. That is a genuine practical advantage for anyone maintaining their own knives without diamond plates.
It responds well to a fine finish and a light strop.
The grid below shows 440C listings from Böker, Hogue, Böker Plus and Gerber, chosen from the catalog when this answer was written. Each one carries 440C in its own specification table, and its price is read from the live catalog every time the site is built.
The full reference entry, with the published composition and hardness range and every listing we carry in it, is 440C in the Steel Lab.