Phone Hours (MST) Below shows approximate maximum hardness vs stainless rating for several stainless knife steels. But in use, Ive found nothing that withstands the abuse that 3V can take. 9Cr18MoV Steel: Full Details and Review - Bud Nealy Knife Maker We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. 14c28n is the most popular material for the knife: stainless steel and made by the Swedish company. What it is: D2 is a carbon tool steel with a relatively high chromium content, prompting some to call it a "semi-stainless" steel. Many steels are very similar to one another but go by different names from different manufacturers. BD1 is excellent budget steel, very similar in composition and performance to GIN-1, a Japanese steel used a decade ago by Spyderco. However, it falls behind the Bohler steel in corrosion resistance. Hi Jimmie, thanks for your comments. With conventional steels this limited vanadium additions to about 4-5%, and this was greatly expanded when powder metallurgy was developed. Unfortunately a high amount of it decreases strength. The main downside is the steel is more difficult to heat treat and cant go harder than about 60 or perhaps 61 Rc. Its very corrosion-resistant and quite tough. 2) you do not go into the sharpening in much detail. Typically an increase in corrosion resistance means a reduction in potential hardness for a given steel. There is no single category that means that a steel is more premium or better than another. In many cases the cost of working with the steel for the knife companies is more significant than the cost of the steel itself. However, the 14c28n provides perfect edge retention with a maximum hardness of 62Hrc and the mixture of Chromium and Carbon. Both knives were chopped through a nail. In general, the more carbide the steel has and the larger the carbides the lower is the toughness. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Quick-reference guide: Know your knife steels - KnivesShipFree High Alloy Tool Steel and High Speed Steel Ratings. But Ive found it lacking in hardness, even when compared to cheaper steels like AUS-8. 12C27 steel is extremely popular in the US knife market for its high hardness, high wear resistance, and great corrosion resistance. 14C28N steel is known to offer among the best if not the best toughness in knife steels out there. LC200N has similar properties to those two but with saltwater levels of corrosion resistance. The both blade are equally wear resistant. 14c28n vs d2 : r/chineseknives - reddit However, even in this case there is the complicating factor of carbide and abrasive hardness. But SM100 is not widely available, hard to heat treat and grind, and exceptionally expensive. This is a very important factor when selecting a steel for your knife blade, especially if you plan on spending a lot of time outdoors in an area with high humidity.. S30v is a higher ranked steel and considered a true Stainless Steel, with a 14% . The Complete Guide to Knife and Tool Steels - Heinnie Haynes Often used for combat knives. Approximately the same hardness, yes. S45VN Below shows Vanax tempered at 400F on the left and 1000F on the right after 1% saltwater for 24 hours: There are many other ways in which knife steel performance can be reduced through heat treatment but I cant cover them all in this article so hopefully these illustrative examples will be enough. The chart below has dotted lines which indicate the average effect of hardness for any given steel. One important concept I want to hammer home is that there isnt one property that is most important. That is an air-hardening- high carbon, high chromium tool steel. Im a layman trying to understand what makes the best steel for my use. I was wondering if the 14c28n sample was also prequenched like the AEB-L toughness samples? Is it similar but worse or better at one of the 3 things? Also, if you want a fishing knife, 14c28n steel will survive better in wet areas than D2. Steels that are improperly heat treated have excess retained austenite which makes them extremely difficult to deburr. LC200N The steel is similar to Sandviks 13C26. HAP40 Start comparing steels. Why do knives make the best gifts? CPM 154 Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. High Alloy Tool Steels and High Speed Steels. Most steels use carbon to increase hardness, but 14C28N uses nitrogen, boosting hardness without the normal penalty of increased corrosion. Ive found that most makers harden S30V too much, making it prone to chipping at the edge. in relation to hardness). As a side note, pure tungsten carbide blades (from brands like Sandrin) can have very high levels of edge retention, but they are not made of steel. Here, we break down how to choose a flashlight, including best flashlight LEDs, batteries, designs, and more. To reiterate the clearer part, I wonder if toughness increases faster than edge retention decreases as an edge gets thicker. D2 has been around for more than 20 years, an eternity in. What makes 1.4116 such a bad performer in regards to toughness on par with ultra high carbide steel like S125V? Could you please compare it to Shirogami #1 and Agomi #1, I didnt find anything in terms of grain size ragarding thoese steels on the Internert. 14C28N Steel Review: What To Expect From This Popular Steel? - We Knives It would be interesting to try to develop a conversation between /geometry/edge retention/toughness, so we could say e.g. The D2 steel compares nicely with 14c28n steel in terms of edge retention, as it's quite hard as well. They tend to be relatively expensive and difficult to sharpen, as they have high wear resistance. It is certainly possible for a knifemaker or heat treating company to do a heat treatment that will have suboptimal properties. Keeping in mind that I have a well rounded Set of sharpening skills. I would also suggest adding a hardness rating to the ratings tables that currently include toughness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance ratings. Knifemakers use dozens of steel types to create knife blades. For instance, if a 35 edge in 1095 steel at 58 Rc provides appropriate toughness for planing hardwood, what edge angle in, say, AEB-L at 62 Rc might give us a comparable effective toughness? CROMOVA Using 10 dps sharpening (20 degrees inclusive on the chart) leads to about 5x the edge retention of 25 dps. The ESEE had significant edge damage while the MagnaCut knife did not. Both of those things are no longer an issue as I now have way too many articles and a book. This is also a powder-metal steel produced by American steel company Crucible. Become a patron and gain access to awesome rewards including early access to articles or a Knife Steel Nerds mug! If you need something that soaks up abuse, try 3V. It is most useful for steels with large amounts of carbide but also helps to be able to add certain carbide types. I would think that the label applies to either the line or the outlier, but probably not both unless the outlier is a measurement error. The vivid patterns visible in Damascus steel come from the acid etching process in a ferric chloride solution. Edge retention is the ability of a knife to maintain cutting ability during cutting. SPY27 Only a few years ago Elmax was pricey, but competition has driven it down to reasonable levels, making it a decent value. Tough steel can handle impacts without gross chipping or a tip breaking off. If you're stuck between 14C28N and 440C, here's a breakdown of the pros and cons of each type of steel. One of the more common stainless steels, and one readily available in lots of different places worldwide, AUS-8 is a decent all-around steel. Is 14c28n Steel Good For Knives? A Complete Guide - Knife Pulse But if when youre searching for tough steel for your outdoor experience camping, or hunting, it would be perfect steel but not the best choice therere other steels with better than toughness that would suit your usage. 14C28N and D2 steel are not the same. Vancron would work well in a kitchen knife. All three of these steels havechromium, molybdenum, vanadium, and tungsten components and will perform well in myriad tasks. you can easily buy a $500 knive made out of 14c28n, which has nothing in it besides cr and a trace of ni. Because of the material difference, the blades differ in toughness, edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening. Another important caveat before we get to the ratings are that these are for the steel only. 2. If the properties of a knife meet your knife needs and it has the above characteristics, then it qualifies as a quality knife. In general, higher carbon and higher vanadium steels have higher wear resistance and edge retention but lower toughness. Most of the discussion of how the ratings were generated, various caveats and details, etc. A good quality knife must have sharpness, great edge retention, and a sturdy handle. Five years ago, S30V had a premium price. I can also say from personal experience that marine grade plywood will chaw up your saw blade and battery a lot quicker than standard plywood, but that probably says more about the glue that was used than the wood. In fact Id be delighted to have your experience checking my thinking! 3) catra is (as far as i know) the only accredited (iso/en) testing method. They made planer blades out D2 for its edge retention. All rights reserved. looking at getting a nice larger flipper for a little under 100 AUD. Both steels are popular among knife manufacturers and both have their strengths and weaknesses. H2 The D2 knife blade offers high edge retention and wear resistance. Have you tested K390 sufficiently to be able to rate it? In thick forms, like a fixed blade, 1095 isa tough, low-cost steel. Your email address will not be published. They are usually chosen for their looks rather than performance. Thanks Larrin, You cant look at only the chromium content of the steel to know the level of corrosion resistance. However, many kinds of wood are REALLY tough and very hard on blades. second it might be of importance which way you sharpened because if against the edge the steels might have reacted differently to the contamination remaining on the edge. Monday-Friday High Speed steels are a subset that have significant additions of Mo and/or W that makes them resist softening when they are used for machining operations. Vancron has a very fine microstructure so it would be tough to beat. Note just because a blade is made from the premium or high-end steels listed above does not automatically mean its better than the lesser steels. XHP is an exceptionally well-balanced steel with excellent all-around attributes. They lack the carbon necessary to hold an edge, even during mild use. Vanadium carbides are among the hardest that form in steel, and chromium carbides are in between iron carbide and vanadium carbide. In particular, I have found the ESEE/Rowen 1095 to be less likely to chip and better at holding an edge than the KA-BAR version even in knives with the same role, thickness, and blade length. Powder metallurgy steels with low vanadium content like CPM-1V and Z-Tuff/CD#1 have extremely high toughness. These steels are best for knives that dont see impacts and are some of the most difficult to sharpen. Also D2 is not stainless as at least 5% of its chromium is tied up in carbides where it doesnt help prevent corrosion. You said wood is not a particularly abrasive material and in absolute terms that is very true. Its high hardness and relatively high toughness also make it an excellent choice in cutlery. The hardness of the carbides does not matter much unlike with edge retention. Hi Larrin Youve occasionally mentioned cryo treatment in your posts, including here with LC200N. rex 121 For example, Bohler M390, CTS-204P, and CPM-20CV are all nearly identical and indistinguishable in practice. But then if you look at an increase of 100 mm in the CATRA test from Maxamet to Rex 121 the toughness only drops 1-2 ft-lbs. The Best D2 Steel Knives And What Makes Them Great This was not necessarily because of superior toughness but because of the superior strength of the MagnaCut from higher hardness. 14c28n Steel Review - Knives & Gear 1. When it debuted, Sal Glesser described XHP as a combination of D2s hardness and 440Cs corrosion resistance. whats even more disturbing is that cvn and fracture toughness sometimes (often?) Many custom makers enjoy AEB-L, as its easy to machine but still has a high hardness, around 62 HRc. It can withstand a lot of wear and tear. Must-Have Bowie Knives for Your Collection, What is Micarta and What Makes It a Great Knife Handle, Top 8 Reasons Why Knives Make the Best Gifts, Pocket Clips: Carry Safely and Comfortably, Make a Knife Your Own with Accessories & Customization. S110V has improved corrosion resistance at the cost of some toughness compared to S90V. He is the mind and writer behind Knife Steel Nerds, the go-to source for all knowledge about knife steel. 9cr18MOV or D2? | BladeForums.com Anthony Sculimbrene authors the blog EverydayCommentary.com. For high wear resistance and edge retention you want a large amount of hard carbides. For this perfect size that for most tasks and the slim tip allows the knife to excel at piercing and detail work. D2 is not a bad steel, but it has been around a long time and is somewhat mundane by current standards. It should get an ultra-sharp edge for easy cutting, hold the edge for long for easy maintenance, and have a sturdy and ergonomic handle for comfort and to prevent accidents. If you shop for knives based strictly on steel, you might be disappointed. Its exceedingly tough and relatively hard, but its not stainless. CRKT Bona Fide Review: 1.4116 Steel vs. D2 - Nothing But Knives 14C28N vs D2 - knifebasics.com The most balanced is CPM-MagnaCut which is in an area all by itself on the chart. This grade can be treated cryogenically to improve edge retention. Available in Kershaw knives (as of 2012) and in other . That is professionaly popular such as the Japanese designation SKD11, Uddeholm Sverker 21, German designation 1.2379, Hitachi SLD and others. While 9Cr18MoV steel is highly corrosion resistant due to the addition of Cr, and Mo. Its very similar chemically to RWL 34 and ATS-34. That comes with an excellent return of experience that makes it ideal for the manufacturer of outdoor and tactical knife blades. 8Cr13MoV is comparable to the Japanese AUS-8 but containing slightly higher carbon content. Type 8Cr, the more common formulation, is worse than AUS-8: a little more prone to corrosion and not quite as hard. It would be really useful to have the raw data that backs the charts that you produce. Both steel types don't chip easily, but 14c28n steel is easier to sharpen. Youre right I had to check my spreadsheet. Heres a brief description of their impact on the resulting steels properties. Here, read on for an in-depth look at common knife steels as well as the best knife steels around. But it would be my recommendation for applications requiring extreme corrosion resistance. The edge retention and ease of sharpening have been what we expect with D2. If you look at the chart you may notice that at high toughness levels if you increase edge retention by only a relatively small amount you get very big drops in toughness. third and most important is what happened to the burr. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The 14C28N stainless steel from Swedish manufacturer Sandvik is considered an upgrade to their 13C26 steel (described below). However, this edge retention comes at the cost of sharpening ease for D2. The following are less common steels, but theyre definitely worth tracking down. In particular, I really care about the toughness / hardness part. Vanax gives up some toughness and hardness vs MagnaCut for saltwater levels of corrosion resistance. The study of steel is now so complex and nuanced that one can acquire a graduate degree in the subject and still learn new things every day. It improves wear resistance and hardenability. European steel company Sandvik produces 14C28N, a non-powder metallurgy steel. W-2 Knife Steel Benefiting from 0.2 percent vanadium content, W-2 holds an edge well and is reasonably tough. That old pine in particular is some crazy hard stuff.