garddogg56 wrote:I had a Black Gulch ll past on to me today she's a solid Kershaw.Anyone know the type of steel in these??
The original Officer Ranch Series, including the Black Gulch were made with AUS 8-A.
To the best of my knowledge all the Japanese Kershaws of the 1980s were made from AUS 8-A.
The Black Horse II came out in the late 1980s or early 1990s if I remember correctly.
I believe it and the other IIs (like the Black Gulch II) were still AUS 8-A when they were first introduced.
I am not sure when they downgraded the whole series to AUS-6, but they are still serviceable.
One website compared AUS-6 to 420 which is what Buck uses in the Buck 110; with good heat treating it is quite serviceable. http://www.bladehq.com/cat--Steel-Types--332
I found the AUS 8-A in the Kershaws of the 1980s to some of my favorite user knives!
From Wikipedia:
AUS series
The AUS stainless steel series is produced by Aichi Steel Corporation, Japan. They differ from the AISI 4xx series because they have vanadium added to them. Vanadium improves the wear resistance, toughness, and ease of sharpening.[8] In the alloy name the appended 'A' indicates the alloy has been annealed.
AUS-6 (6A) is comparable to 440A with a carbon content close to 0.65%.[8] It is a low cost steel, slightly higher wear resistance compared to 420J.
AUS-8 (8A) is comparable to 440B with a carbon content close to 0.75%.[8] AUS-8 is often used instead of 440C.[8] SOG knives uses AUS-8 extensively.
AUS-10 (10A) is comparable to 440C with a carbon content close to 1.10%.[8] It is slightly tougher than 440C.