I have a Buck folder and it is marked  

Buck
USA
450C

I know 440C is excellent steel for blades what about 450C, Sniper_Wolfe thinks it just has a higher carbon content, increasing hardness while decreasing rust protection. Is this correct? It made sense to me, so this means this blade will hold an edge longer, right?

Thanks for any answers you can provide

Still learning a lot about knives

The old buck knives (I am talking 25-30 years ago) were hard steel, they were hard to shapen, held a edge, but took forever to sharpen, they replaced more knives on warranty because the blades snapped left and right. They came out with a softer steel, which was easy to sharpen , held a edge ok, and had almost no blade breakage. To answer your question  I think the new knives have a softer steel, and are easier to sharpen, but don't hold an edge as well.