What we carry in 420HC and 8Cr13MoV
The size and shape of the knife usually settle a choice between 420HC and 8Cr13MoV before the steel does, since their ratings sit close. 420HC leads on corrosion, excellent to good, and on toughness, very good to good for its class; 8Cr13MoV leads on edge retention, fair to good against modest. Let the steel decide for wet work (420HC) or edge life (8Cr13MoV).
| 420HC | 8Cr13MoV |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| stainless | stainless (Chinese GB standard) |
| Made by | |
| Generic AISI grade; notably used by Buck Knives with a proprietary heat treat. | Generic Chinese mill grade; treated as a domestic analog of AUS-8. |
| Composition | |
C ~0.45-0.55%Cr ~13-14% | C ~0.80%Cr 13-14.5%Mo ~0.15%V ~0.10% |
| Hardness | |
| 56-58 (Buck's factory spec) HRC | 55-62 (commonly shipped around 58-60) HRC |
| Edge retention | |
| Modest by modern standards but reliable and very easy to sharpen. | Fair to good; a well-regarded value steel that outperforms lower Cr-Mo Chinese grades. |
| Toughness | |
| Very good, a big reason it remains popular for hard-use fixed blades. | Good for its class, forgiving to sharpen. |
| Corrosion resistance | |
| Excellent, among the more corrosion-resistant knife steels in common use. | Good, solid mid-chromium stainless. |
| Where it sits | |
| Entry to mid-tier; Buck's decades-long proprietary heat treat is the differentiator versus generic 420. | Ubiquitous entry-tier stainless on budget/mid folders and multi-tools; considered the compositional twin of AUS-8. |
| On this site right now | |
| 78 listings, 53 distinct models, $20.16 to $179.95 | 88 listings, 69 distinct models, $13.49 to $56.03 |
On the Kershaw listings named here, the two steels split by knife size before anything else. In 420HC, the Kershaw Chive gives a 2 inch blade in a pink aluminum handle, 2.88 inches closed, and the Kershaw Scallion a 2.5 inch bead blast blade in a black GRN handle, 3.5 inches closed. In 8Cr13MoV, the Kershaw Husker gives a 3 inch stonewash blade in a stonewash stainless handle, 3.88 inches closed, and the Kershaw Natrix Sub a 3.25 inch black TiNi coated blade in a blue G10 handle with a carbon fiber overlay, 4.25 inches closed.
Other rows follow the same line. The Chive and Scallion listings name the USA as origin, the Husker and Natrix Sub listings give China, and each 420HC Kershaw here costs more than either 8Cr13MoV one. Neither steel's record says where a knife is made; these are simply the rows these listings print. For a shopper it means the choice arrives already weighted by blade length, handle, origin and price, and with a pair of steels this close, those will usually decide first.
On the published ratings, each steel is ahead on something. 8Cr13MoV steel carries about 0.80 percent carbon to about 0.45 to 0.55 percent in 420HC, with chromium close between them, 13 to 14.5 percent against about 13 to 14. On edge retention, 8Cr13MoV is rated fair to good and described as a well-regarded value steel, while 420HC is rated modest. So an 8Cr13MoV edge should keep working a little longer between sharpenings.
The other lines lean toward 420HC. Its corrosion resistance is rated excellent against good for 8Cr13MoV, and its toughness very good against good for its class.
Both records also place their steel at the entry end of the tiers, 420HC at entry to mid tier and 8Cr13MoV at the entry tier, and none of these gaps lifts either one out of that band. A shopper choosing between a Chive and a Husker is choosing between neighbors, not between classes of steel.
The hardness windows add one more difference. 8Cr13MoV's published range runs from 55 to 62 HRC, with 58 to 60 as its common shipping band. 420HC's is 56 to 58, and its record gives that figure as Buck's factory spec. So the 8Cr13MoV range reaches higher, and its common band starts where Buck's spec tops out.
The name on that 420HC figure matters on a Kershaw page. The Chive and the Scallion are Kershaws, and the 420HC record gives a window only for Buck. Knives Now does not test the heat treat of individual knives, and none of the listings named here prints a hardness, so neither range can be read as the hardness of a knife on this page. What the windows do show is how much room each label leaves: 8Cr13MoV is published over a broad span, so two blades under that name can land in different places, while the 420HC figure is one maker's spec for its own blades. For choosing between these knives, the rating words carry more weight than either window.
With this pair, choose the knife first: its size, its handle and its shape. Shape can settle more than blade length does. Buck's 420HC listings in this comparison include fixed blades as well as folders, among them the Buck Pathfinder, a 5 inch 420HC blade in a black phenolic handle with a black leather belt sheath, and the Buck Pursuit Large Guthook, a 4.5 inch satin 420HC guthook blade in a black glass filled nylon handle, 9.5 inches overall. Deciding between a sheath knife and a pocket folder comes before any steel rating does.
Between folders you would be equally happy to carry, let the steel make the call in two cases. If the knife will live wet, ride in a sweaty pocket, or get knocked around and put away without a wipe, 420HC's excellent corrosion rating and very good toughness point to the Chive or the Scallion. If it will mostly cut dry material and you would rather sharpen a little less often, 8Cr13MoV's edge rating points to the Husker or the Natrix Sub.
Buck makes an 8Cr13MoV folder as well, the Buck Haxby Linerlock CF, a 3.88 inch satin drop point with a carbon fiber handle, whose listing gives China as origin. Once you have settled on 8Cr13MoV and want the field narrowed, the 8Cr13MoV value knife guide takes over from here; this page stops at the choice of steel.
The figures on this page are the published specification ranges for the alloy, cross-checked against manufacturer datasheets and independent metallurgical references. They describe the steel, not any one knife. Hardness in particular is a range a mill and a knifemaker work inside, and Knives Now does not test the heat treat of individual knives, so nothing here is a claim about what a specific listing measures.
Cross-checked against the sources above. Figures verified 2026-07-19.