Humor me here...so if a guy wanted a knife that sharpened up quickly at the expense of maybe doing one critter rather than several--a 59Rc would be more applicable?
I would think it depends on what kind of critter and what "doing one" means.....is it a field dress or complete butchering? Do you cut through bone or around it? Variables aplenty. Deer are not much of a challenge. They are clean and lightly constructed. Dirty animals with thick hides like hogs or perhaps elk that like to wallow in the mud are going to work an edge a lot harder.
As to the OP question, I think Buck's 420 is pretty optimal for edge holding, ease of sharpening, and value. I would never feel handicapped with one. With a good edge applied, they will cut a long time. You do have to be careful to remove burrs when sharpening to get the best performance out of it but that is likely true with any steel. I also see that they are starting to bring out models with S30V steel at reasonable prices.....roughly twice what they charge for the 420 models. I have read on here that S30V is "10 times better" than 420. If that is true, then getting it for twice the price is a great deal. I would not mind trying one myself to see how it performs and how hard it is to sharpen. I like sharpening knives and would consider it a challenge.
