12C27

[P.K.Hansen]

Does nobody use Sandvic 12C27 Steel in the US ? It's used a lot in Scandinavia, and I myself have made two huntingknives in this steel.it gets pretty hard and is rather easy to sharpen.It's about half the price of ATS 34, but does that mean half as good ?

 

[magnum .44]

you should find out what metals are in it, through the supplier, and if it's double vaccum melted it should be an excelent steel. you can find out what the best materials are in knifemaking at knives.com

 

[misque]

IMO 12c27 is a fine cutlery steel.
I think it gets overlooked a lot because of the advent of new alloys to the knife field and 12c27 kinda gets lost in the shuffle. It also does not get as high in working Rc as some other steels and high hardness seems to be all the rage these days. The steel, when properly heat treated, takes a really fine edge and holds it for a reasonble amount of time and has decent ductility.
I understand that it is made from some of the purest iron ore on the planet, and this translates into a steel with less problem causing impurities. A definite plus on a knife you trust your life with.
Finally, the Scandinavians are a knife culture, they live in a fairly harsh environment and they have many centuries of knife R&D to draw upon. They say 12c27 is THE best knife blade steel and I personally cannot argue with them at present without doing TONS of painstaking metallurgical research sooo I'm just gonna take their word for it. I have used this steel and it performed well for me.
I hope this helps.

------------------
If it's stupid but works, then it isn't stupid.

 

[Roman Landes]

Hi misque,
you where talking about doing tons of metallurgical research to proof the steel to be the best or not for a blade! To me that means you might know something about how to test, but with alot of efford.
What would you suggest to look at by doing the research to be able to say this bladesteel is superior to the others. What would be the way to get an objective result?
I am very curious about that!!!
Roman

------------------

 

[Kevin Wilkins]

Darrel should be able to help you out on a2C27. I think one of his production knives made by Outdoor edge is made from that steel.

From what I've read it's a high quality steel that makes good blades. I haven't used it myself, so I can't speak from experience.

------------------
www.wilkins-knives.com

 

[misque]

Roman,
I think our moderator is infinitly more qualified than I to answer your question.
I've used 12c27 and I found it to be a very good knife steel for a working blade. Other than that, I've not tested the steel REALLY thoroughly as others on this forum probably have. Most of the info about 12c27 (iron ore purity, etc.) is what I've read in the past.


------------------
If it's stupid but works, then it isn't stupid.

 

[bald1]

Last year I posted on thread on 12C27 after reading an article that had some quotes from Darrel Ralph. Bottomline was that this is a fine steel but particularly sensitive to proper heat treatment. There is said to be a fairly narrow range that brings out the merits of the steel; missing it and you have a very pedestrian blade at best.

-=[Bob]=-