Paramount Blades: 420 v. 440

[tstop4me]

The higher end Paramount blades have runners fabricated from stainless steel. In a curious marketing strategy, they offer the blades in both 420 (specifically 420HC) and 440 (specifically 440C) stainless steel, with the 440 costing substantially more than the 420. If the 440 holds its edge substantially longer than the 420, then the extra initial cost may be worth it, if fewer sharpenings are needed over the service life of the blade. Edge retention is not simply a function of the alloy, however; it also depends on the specific mechanical and thermal treatment, so you can't make any general statement of 420 v. 440. I wrote to Paramount for edge retention comparison of their 420 v. 440; but the answer I got appears to have been written by a marketing guy, rather than an engineer, so I didn't get the info I was looking for.

Forum members: Anyone skate on both 420 and 440 Paramount blades? If so, how did their edge retention compare? I'd be interested even if you're not comparing the same model blade. Answers I'm looking for are along the line of:

"I first skated in Paramount Model __ in 420. I typically needed to have them sharpened after __ hrs of skating. I then switched to Paramount Model ___ in 440. I typically needed to have them sharpened after __ hrs of skating."

 

[treesprite]

A good person to ask would be a skate tech who caters to high level skayers. The one I go to, who served as an Olympics US skate tech, seems to think the 440c is better than 420, that it requires less sharpening (neither of the specific blade models is Paramount; you might get more answers if you just compare the metal type as opposed to a manufacturer).

 

[tstop4me]

A good person to ask would be a skate tech who caters to high level skayers. The one I go to, who served as an Olympics US skate tech, seems to think the 440c is better than 420, that it requires less sharpening (neither of the specific blade models is Paramount; you might get more answers if you just compare the metal type as opposed to a manufacturer).

Thanks for the response. But simply asking about 440C vs. 420HC is not enough. As I mentioned previously, the properties of the finished blade depend not only on the alloy, but also on the thermal and mechanical treatment, which in turn depends on the specific manufacturer. That is, 420HC processed by Manufacturer A can be similar to, better than, or worse than 440C processed by Manufacturer B [with respect to the properties of interest]: this has been demonstrated in knife blades. So my question is specific to Paramount, since it offers the exact same model blades in a choice of either 440C or 420HC stainless steel [other manufacturers offer a choice of either carbon steel or a single grade of stainless steel for a particular model]. I'm trying to determine whether the extra cost of the 440C is worth it [with respect to better edge retention ~ fewer sharpenings].

 

[treesprite]

Have you posted this question on other forums? There aren't many people here who would have an answer.