Because of the material difference, the blades differ in toughness, edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening. Anyway, buff up the O1v and it cuts leather easily. The Sandvik 14C28N has a very thin and sharp blade that is perfect for slicing through things. Some of these steels also have vanadium (CruForgeV) or tungsten (Blue Super, V-Toku2, 1.2519) for increased wear resistance. LC200N has similar properties to those two but with saltwater levels of corrosion resistance. Short of purposeful abuse, its all but impossible to chip an edge on an INFI blade. Now that is power planer blades, but the principle stands, less carbon and alloy isnt the best for wood working and Id use a steel like 26C3 (1.25% C .30%Cr) for my hand tools and temper them to around 62 hard and use the best angle for wood shaving, not the best angle for cutting rope. As to a difference between 8.6 and 8.5, all of the ratings here are rounded to the nearest 0.5 because better than that probably shows false precision. 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. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. In all of the cases above, properties are greatly controlled by carbides. and yet millons of knives are being made out of 1.4116 (aisi 420mov?) Below I have shown the difference in carbide volume between AEB-L, CPM-10V, and Rex 121 to get an idea of how much more carbide there is in the high edge retention steels. These are Chinese-produced steels that recently started showing up in Chinese-made knives. 14C28N VS Steel. I would like to see the rating and performance on test of the Chinese Steels, that some people use to say its cheap garbage, like 3Cr13MoV, 4Cr13, 4Cr13Mo, 4Cr14MoV, 5Cr15MoV, 6Cr13MoV, 7Cr17MoV, 8Cr13MoV, 9Cr13MoVCo, 9Cr18MoV, 9Cr19MoV, and the 14cr14MovNB to see if they are similar, worse or better than the steels that they copyi believe we gonna have some good unexpected results. For example, see the chart below for how much edge retention can change with edge geometry for a single steel (in this case 154CM and CPM-154). I made most of my leather knives from O1v (O1 with .20V) that I hold at 1475 for 15 mins and quench in 120-130 F AAA oil and Kevin Cashen is where those parameters came from btw. It also improves edge retention and strength. 12C27 1.4116 got a 2.5 for toughness and edge retention where as 420HC got a 9 for toughness and a 2.5 for edge retention. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Different types of knife steel Alleima The unique process used to make LC 200N results in a fine-grain structure. The steel is similar to Sandviks 13C26. https://knifesteelnerds.com/2020/05/01/testing-the-edge-retention-of-48-knife-steels/, Unfortunately it all comes down to marketing on everybody involved: Industry, knifemakers, users. The bump in hardness comes from precipitation of fine carbides in the steel, which include chromium carbides. its like with cars, most of them are not a corvette or a porsche. Spyderco is the only production company using this steel, though Michael Gavik of Gavko knives produced a number of customs in LC 200N. However, this edge retention comes at the cost of sharpening ease for D2. ZDP-189 can tarnish, though not as easily as 3V. Several factors arent related to the steel you choose but seriously affect the nature of your knifes performance. Between the assisted open, weird looking texture designs, and the stainless steel handle, the Cannonball has a lot of features I don't normally like, but even I have to admit it's a good design for the price. also the angle is by far the most important factor in catra testing, so such results might be irrelevant. Interesting. And below shows a chart of carbide hardness, the equation we created to predict edge retention based on edge angle, hardness, and carbide volumes, and then the chart showing the good correlation: TCC (mm) = -157 + 15.8*Hardness (Rc) 17.8*EdgeAngle() + 11.2*CrC(%) + 14.6*CrVC(%) + 26.2*MC(%) + 9.5*M6C(%) + 20.9*MN(%) + 19.4*CrN(%). Why does Maxamet and Rex 121 stay the same tcc but Zmax drops and 15v goes from below 900 to over? So for most steels they are given a rating at around 59-62 Rc, apart from a few steels that are never used at that hardness. A mirror finish is the best at resisting corrosion and a rough finish means rust and corrosion is more likely. Im looking forward to seeing if it does as well in full production. That is an air-hardening- high carbon, high chromium tool steel. I feel like it sharpens as easy as D2. Would love to see where S7 sits on the Corrosion/Edge/Toughness meter. I have a (relatively) short introduction before getting into the ratings with a few important things to put them into context. This is a powder-metal steel also produced by Crucible. There are significant differences between them because 14C28N is stainless steel, while D2 steel is a semi-stainless tool steel. 1.4116 And while it can be hard depending on the heat treat, I have found it easily chips, causing microscopic dings in the edge when hardened to a high level on a thin blade. Because of the material difference, the blades differ in toughness, edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening. However, even steel with the best corrosion resistance can rust without proper care. INFI is also quite hard and sharpens easily. But which? Steels like CPM MagnaCut, CPM M4, CPM 4V, and CPM CruWear fit in this category. quite possibly the best steel youll find on a sub-$30 production knife. I was guessing 5.5 based on your rating of CPM-154. A good quality knife must have sharpness, great edge retention, and a sturdy handle. Corrosion Resistance: D2 steel has a higher chromium content than 8Cr13MoV, which makes it better at resisting corrosion and wear. However the 14c28n steel would be great for an EDC knife with typical usage. For example, Bohler M390, CTS-204P, and CPM-20CV are all nearly identical and indistinguishable in practice. Hes already done a three part series on cryogenic treatment: Elmax https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/12/03/cryogenic-part1/ The biggest factor for cost of knife steel is whether it is produced with conventional ingot technology or powder metallurgy. The ratings I have are for an optimal heat treatment. I forgot, I got the higher carbon steels will have higher edge retention from this website. This is about comparing steels to each other rather than a limitation of an individual steel. In reality hardly difference. D2/K110 pros/cons in 2020? - Spyderco Forums Ah ok that wasnt mentioned. 14% of Chromium: Increases corrosion resistance and wear resistance. there seems to be an optimal procedure for every alloy (provided its heat treated to industial standards). However, I would argue that pure material removal is usually not the limiting step for ease in sharpening. That provides 14% Chromium and offers excellent corrosion resistance. Question. GearJunkie Copyright 2013 2023. Below shows pictures of a 61 Rc knife that was impacted with a 3/16 rod at different energy levels. Even it enhances corrosion resistance and wear resistance. A new steel from Crucible, SPY27 launched in 2020 in the Spyderco Native 5and Para 3. just recently the idea occured tome to sharpen a planer blade like a knife and check out how it performs. 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. A hunting knife has a singlepurpose: processing meat after akill. These images are taken from my book Knife Engineering. Thanks. Larrin, thank you for this. Furthermore, because of its ultrahigh hardness, Maxamet is very prone to corrosion, probably worse than 1095. Sorry, most of my previous comment was borderline word salad. In the context of a knife this would be chipped edges or broken knives. Its hard to say. Mid-Range Steels 154CM D2 N690 VG-10 CTS BD1N 14C28N A2 1095 O1 H1 Budget Steels 440C CTS-BD1 440A 420 8Cr13MoV AUS-8 The Steels Should you continue to scroll further, you may find yourself lost in a seemingly endless list of knife steel wealth and knowledge. I have the average composition of the steels rated above (plus some extras) so you can see what the different names refer to. Its OK to be a steel snob, but keep in mind that you dont have to if you want a good knife. REX 121 is a powder steel produced by Crucible. The solid lockup and decent blade design make these two knives well suited for camping. Is that accurate? 14C28N knives offer better toughness than D2 knives. Are you familiar with anything similar on the metallurgy/knife steel side of things? Its probably in between Vanadis 8 and 10V. Its an update of its 12C27 and 13C26 steels, which were developed for use in shaving razors. Who looking for latest, high carbon, then the Kershaw Natrix Copper Pocketknife. Another important caveat before we get to the ratings are that these are for the steel only. I have a Spyderco K390 knife and I cut leather with it as it is only .090 thick and I seldom have to strop it on 1 micron diamond compound on leather. 8670 and 5160 are good choices for large knives that need very high toughness. a burr might have developped on some of the steels and not on others, it might have ben reduced or even removed by the process. The Kershaw Leek is a most popular EDC knife that design by legendary custom knife maker Ken Onion. https://www.patreon.com/Knifesteelnerds, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). Ease of sharpening refers to how difficult it is to remove material with a sharpening stone. For example, D2 has enough chromium to be stainless (~12%) but its high carbon means that too much chromium carbide is formed to leave enough chromium for stainless levels of corrosion resistance. what does a cvn of 40 v.s 20 mean? Did you change the estimate based on more testing? This guide explains important features to consider when buying a new knife for the outdoors. https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/12/17/cryogenic-processing-of-steel-part-3/. BD1 is excellent budget steel, very similar in composition and performance to GIN-1, a Japanese steel used a decade ago by Spyderco. A2 is a tool steel renowned for toughness. The maximum edge retention available in this group is not particularly high because most of the wear resistance comes from iron carbide, also called cementite, which is the softest of the different carbide types. LC200N has similar properties to those two but with saltwater levels of corrosion resistance. There is no single category that means that a steel is more premium or better than another. You said wood is not a particularly abrasive material and in absolute terms that is very true. It richly deserves its reputation for high-quality gained over the years by Sandvik, a Swedish manufacturer of world-renowned steel. Here, read on for an in-depth look at common knife steels as well as the best knife steels around. This is one of the fundamental tradeoffs in steel. Steel is a combination of iron and carbon with other elements. 14c28n Steel - Is it Good for the knife? (Composition Analysis) SPY27 The very good toughness of MagnaCut meant that it didnt chip despite this relatively high hardness and the difficulty of the test. Sandvik later came out with 14C28N which is a slightly improved version of 13C26. How do its properties compare to other steels? There is a powder form, CPM-D2, and PSF27 is also very chemically similar. CROMOVA Rowens heat treat on ESEE knives that use 1095 is exceptional; KA-BARs is less so. The edge retention and ease of sharpening have been what we expect with D2. CPM 10V These steels have sufficient toughness to handle thinner edge geometry. The steel is an air-hardness tool steel that is considered semi-stainless because of its high chromium content. 5 Best Knife Steels in 2023 (Steel Charts & Guide by a Marine) These two knives are a little bit more than a pretty face. Note:There is a powder-metal version called CPM154 thats purer than the non-powder version, making it easier for knifemakers to grind. I did a large study of different knives with identical sharpening and edge geometry. Nitro V vs 14C28N Last but not least, 14C28N contains comparatively more vanadium elements which makes the carbides more harder and strong, which gives 14C28N a better edge retention. rust resistance.Best of all most knives made from this steel can be had for well under $75.In my opinion Sandvik 14c28n is a better overall steel than that of Aus8,420hc,or ANY of the .