Ancient 440V Millie-Tell me what you can about it!

[Heatloss]

I found a 440V millie on display at a local dealer, and scooped it up quickly. However, on disassembly and further inspection, I have even more questions. Can any of you tell me about this?
What are those washers?

Is this real?

http://imgur.com/a/UJRqhtu

Thanks,
Heat

[joeldworkin307]

Nice find. That is the gen 3ish Military with markings on the blade and ricasso. It had a thinner handle and bigger jimping on the blade. Original knives had nylon washers. They need to stay lubed to keep from cracking over time (years) but were thinner than copper washers. 440V was supposed to be the great super steel but was hard to heat treat and a ***** to sharpen, so it was scrapped in favor of S90V and S110V. In serrated edge, it will last forever. Enjoy this military or PM me if you ever want to get rid of it!

[sal]

Hi Heatloss,

Welcome to our forum.

Watershed model. I'll try to get back to you with more info.

sal

[DutchBlades]

Those washers were used on the earlier Starmate as well if I recall correctly.

[Holland]

Very cool find! Thanks for sharing

[Mini2white]

A very desired model, probably carried by many here.

[Heatloss]

That's great to hear, thanks for all the help and information!
I've got a friend who wants it, so it's going to him. He plans on taking it by the factory outlet at some point, if the road trip he's planning happens.

I can still spydieflick it, which is nice, but for me, the 30V one is more useful. The only thing I'd probably want more is a DLC 4V millie!

[Heatloss]

Whoops, posted same thing twice. Once before coffee, once after. Still new to the forum, sorry about that.

[Capt'n Boatsalot]

Hey I've got one of those (except with teeth). I love the Dyno jimping and the even lighter carry. A real classic. I've never taken mine apart to see the washers.

440V is no joke to sharpen.

[JacksonKnives]

Are the washers Kapton? (Polyimide film used as a heat/electrical insulator, for example in circuit board connector ribbons.)

I haven't had any Golden-made models from that era, but the anger color of those washers looks just like Kapton tape I've used.

[Heatloss]

Hey I've got one of those (except with teeth). I love the Dyno jimping and the even lighter carry. A real classic. I've never taken mine apart to see the washers.

440V is no joke to sharpen.

Indeed!! Factory edge was about 15deg left 16deg right with no microbevel, sharpmaker took some of the scratches off but after about ten minutes, it had barely taken off material. Went to a 40 inclusive microbevel to take away edge damage from likely some drops by a confused customer.
That being said, it seems like a wonderful steel. Far better edge stability than 35VN and production M390 so far.

As for the washers, kapton seems possible. My friend suggested it, but they don't have the same feel as kapton, if you know what I mean. They seem stiffer, tougher and they hold their shape well.
Thus, why I asked here about it.

This knife really seems fundamentally different from the Millie of today. Thicker at the spine, similar BTE, thinner scales, bigger chamfers. I'd honestly like to see a "slim" military with these thinner scales, maybe in BD1N or something. But I know that's a pipe dream.

[sv4]

Hey I've got one of those (except with teeth). I love the Dyno jimping and the even lighter carry. A real classic. I've never taken mine apart to see the washers.

440V is no joke to sharpen.

The first Spyderco knife I ever bought was this exact same one (down to the A being an upside down V in the MILITARY etched on the blade), except the serrated blade was S30V instead of 440V. Excellent knife, still perfect to this day. Got it from the local hardware shop many many years ago.

[JacksonKnives]

As for the washers, kapton seems possible. My friend suggested it, but they don't have the same feel as kapton, if you know what I mean. They seem stiffer, tougher and they hold their shape well.
Thus, why I asked here about it.

Interesting. I know there exists Kapton insulation with Teflon on the sides, but I'm not sure if it looks different. (Would be a fairly good choice for washers if you had a source.)

[sal]

Some history:

I was a member of the US Custom Knifemakers Guild. I worked with many custom makers and they were my early teachers on steel. Some of the custom makers were using Crucible's powdered metals and spoke highly of them. I designed the Military on a request for a design that I would send my child into war with. I felt that the Duty issue would be used for digging an prying, so I designed a folder that was as large as I thought would be practical and as light a possible with a liner lock that could be operated with gloves.

I wanted to use a special steel and decided that a Powdered metal would work. I called up Crucible and told them that I wanted to use their steel in my new model and we would be there on Tuesday. 5 of us went. Crucible was very gracious though they had no idea about knives or why I wanted to use them. I told them that I would include their name in our ads and after much discussion, we decided that CPM 440V ( later changed to S60V) would work. We ordered the steel in out thickness and experimented for a while before we got it right.

We came out with full page ads on the Military with Crucible's CPM 440V and Hitachi's ATS-34 as the available steels. We've been working with Crucible ever since. They decided that the knife industry might be worth looking into and they have been an ardent supporter of our industry every since.

sal

[Heatloss]

Oh wow!

In the short time I've had with this, it seems pretty awesome. I'm kinda sold on 440V, 5.5%V seems like a nice upgrade from 4% but not as insane as 90V. Cheburkov in Russia still works with S60V, and claims that he can hit 61-62 Rockwell C with it. I may pick up a custom of his in this steel.

Thanks for the history, Sal!

[Woodpuppy]

Thank you for the historical perspective! Very cool to read this type of thing :spyder:

[Capt'n Boatsalot]

Sal, this is great stuff, and I too love reading this type of info. Thank you so much for sharing. And now I appreciate mine even more!