# What type of steel was used on the Leatherman Wave



## KevinL (May 17, 2005)

What kind of steel was used on the Leatherman Wave knife blade? Curiosity is killing the cat. Leatherman says "optimal grade of steel".. not that it tells me much /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I'm just wondering how it stacks up against some of the other popular kinds of steel. The Charge Ti makes a big deal of its 154CM blade. 

Also, if anybody knows what they used in the Swiss Army Knives, that would be good too.


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## JML (May 17, 2005)

Ordinary, garden-variety, cheap, easy-to-stamp 420. The same stuff found in most cheap folders.

154CM is far better -- but I wish they exercised care in grinding the blade. Every one I've seen has been pretty awful and in need of reshaping. 

I believe that Victorinox uses a 440-series variant or the equivalent for the blades.


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## cdf (May 17, 2005)

It might be 425 modified , a slightly improved 420 .


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## JML (May 17, 2005)

It is plain 420. Do a Google search on "Leatherman blade 420" and you'll see. Or read the dozens of reviews on various websites!


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## KevinL (May 17, 2005)

*Re: What type of steel was used on the Leatherman*

Thanks, I always suspected it was 420 but thought I'd ask those who do know /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I did follow up with a search as you've recommended, and guess what I found.. a Charge Ti in black. Another thing I never knew existed. Interesting stuff!


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## slick228 (May 17, 2005)

*Re: What type of steel was used on the Leatherman*

KevinL,

That’s the standard color of the Leatherman TI. It’s dark gray, not black.


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## bwaites (May 17, 2005)

*Re: What type of steel was used on the Leatherman*

Actually, Kevin posted a link to the page and both the gray and black are listed as seperate options.

Bill


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## acv (May 18, 2005)

Not that it matters much but Leatherman emailed me and said they use 440. But it's the low end of the spectrum for steel. 

Adam


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## Zackerty (May 18, 2005)

440A, same as Victorinox...


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## JML (May 18, 2005)

Doug Ritter and others report that Leatherman uses 420HC. I corresponded with Leatherman when the Wave was released, pleading for a 154CM blade, and they told me the steel was 420. Funny, they said it was too expensive to do 154CM -- guess they changed their mind. But I sure wish they'd do a better job on the grind, and put a slight bevel on the thumb hole.

Their two upcoming jumbo-sized tools will use 420HC, too.


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## tvodrd (May 19, 2005)

*Re: What type of steel was used on the Leatherman*

OT, but for a simple but useful Wave mod, Use a mototool and cut-off wheel to grind some notches in the "housing" where your thumb goes to open a blade. Then you know which blade you are opening by feel. On topic, mine has held up very well and I've yet to feel the need to resharpen it after several years worth of campouts, which is the only occasion I have for using mine. (The bottle opener is like new, which is surprising! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif )

Larry


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## MaxaBaker (May 19, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*JML said:*
Ordinary, garden-variety, cheap, easy-to-stamp 420. The same stuff found in most cheap folders.


[/ QUOTE ]


/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif I was under the impression that it is very very strong. I haven't found anything that mine can't cut through. It seems incredably strong to me.


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## Haesslich (May 20, 2005)

*Re: What type of steel was used on the Leatherman*

As far as I'm aware, Leatherman has used 420 or 440 steel almost exclusively for all of their multitools with the sole exception of the Charge Ti and XTi series, for which just the main blade is laser-cut 154CM. Even the Surge and Core do not seem to use 154CM, at least from what I remember reading of the literature. 

Honestly, I don't recall ever really USING the knives on previous Leatherman products - the Juice's blade dulled pretty quickly with just MILD use (_cardboard_ wore down the edge, for crying out loud). In contrast, my previous knives have either had AUS-4 or 154CM steel; my cheapest knife was a CKRT M-16, and while the edge wore down pretty fast it made my Leatherman Juice's blade look like a butterknife in comparison.


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## JML (May 23, 2005)

*Re: What type of steel was used on the Leatherman*

"Strength" is not the proper term in this context. If you mean ability to cut, all sharpened knives are "strong" and can cut stuff. 420 steel is good steel, used when cost-savings is important -- it can be stamped, which is a cheap method of roughing out a blank for a blade, it's rust-resitant, and strong. But the edge isn't going to last as long or be as durable as a higher-quality much more expensive "super" steel, such as 154CM or S30V. Properly heat-treated and hardened, of course. 440-series steel is an early generation "modern" stainless, which can be mediocre or excellent (compare Benchmade's Griptilian blades to a SAK blade, and you'll experience quite a difference); it doesn't lend itself to stamping like 420, however. 

For rough cost, figure this ranking, roughly cheapest to more expensive (generally ranked same for performance): 420, AUS-6, 440C, AUS-8, G-10, ATS-34, 154CM, S30V.


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