15n20 experiences

Willie71

Willie71

Warren J. Krywko
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
Messages
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I have made two 4" blade all use kitchen knives out of .065" 15n20. I don't mean as part of a damascus, but as a monosteel. I am really liking it so far. Is anyone else using it as a monosteel, and how are you finding it for edge retention? I find it sharpens easily, and in the brief use thus far, seems to be holding an edge well.
 
I use lots of 15n20, I find it to be an over all great performer. The edge retention is good, it is tough and easy to keep sharp.

Like most steels it can be pushed far with the right edge geometry and heat treat.
 
A few years back I tested several knives from Christof Harper (Koyote Knives) in 15N20,

...I was very impressed by the performance of this steel with his edge geometry and HT.


The thin bladed knives took a beating, and the edge retention was better then I expected.





Big Mike
 
I used 1480, +/- 5deg to austentize. I only soaked for about 2 minutes, and quenched in unheated Maxim oil for one, and the other I quenched in Canola at 120f. I tempered at 350f twice for 90min each. I think the canola oil worked better. I did the edge below .010, .008 on one and .005 on the other. Really nice for cutting onions and tomatoes.
 
After a quick quench - 4-5 seconds, since they're so thin - to get below 7-800 degrees, pull them out of the quench and slap 'em between two aluminum plates.
This misses the pearlite nose and continues the temp fall to Ms and really helps to eliminate warp.
Just profile them, leaving them full thickness for heat treating, and do final finish grinding with sharp belts.


(I did a kerosene weld on a stack of 15N20 so I could make a full thickness hunter about .220". Knife cut like a sum-bitch!)
 
I made many, many knives from 15N20 years and it's a great performer, but doesn't hold a candle to W2 in performance.
 
I LOVE W2, but its scarce in my neck of the woods!!!! I will try the aluminum plate series with my next one. I did warp both blades, but they straightened quite easily. I will try without grinding the bevels first and see how it works. Its not O1 sharp, but better than the 1084 I tried (that discussion suggested grain refinement to improve performance.)
 
I'm a big fan of 15N20; great for kitchen or smaller utility/EDC blades.
 
I like it, that's all I have in my kitchen.
My customers like it, they keep coming back for more.

Don, is it fine edge and wear resistance, or what makes W2 superior in your estimation?
Thanks,
Andy
 
elementfe said:
Don, is it fine edge and wear resistance, or what makes W2 superior in your estimation?
Thanks,
Andy
Click to expand...
Super fine grain, highest Rc hardness as quenched of any steel I've used, very good toughness at high hardness 62-63 and very good wear resistance.
 
Hello all I am looking for some more clarification from more experience knife makers than myself on heat treating some 15n20 blades. I have been mostly using 1/8" NJ Steel Baron 1084 with no problems so far. I have a small propane fire brick forge setup for heat treating smaller blades, with a typical canola oil 120ish deg quench. For all the knives I've ht'd with this setup I've had no issues and very minimal warping. I'd like to start making some thinner .058"- .13" (mostly in the .058-.078 range) kitchen knives but have not been able to find definitive ht procedures for 15n20.
http://www.alphaknifesupply.com/zdata-bladesteelC-15N20.htm
This page from alpha is probably the best I've been able to find as far as overall tempering charts go. I haven't been able to figure out if the nickel content really requires the use of a ht oven to soak for at least 10minutes before quench or if the chemical makeup is similar enough to 1075 or 1084 coupled with thin stock getting it up to temp and holding for a shorter say 1 minuteish soak in my forge would be long enough before quenching. The idea of quenching and cooling in between two thick aluminum plates seems perfectly sound to me, as well as leaving the thin stock full thickness and doing all the profiling post ht to minimize warping. Any guidance or shared experience would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers.
 
I tried to figure this out and looked through multiple google links. If someone has a better answer, please correct me. I have understood that L6 needs a good soak to perform its best. It has .7% chromium though. Most steels with chromium benefit from a soak, such as O1, 52100. Since the 15n20 uses higher nickel, and no chromium, the long soak isn't needed. I am no expert here, so please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
That is basically what I was thinking as the 15n20 seems to still be considered a fairly standard high carbon steel not something exotic. The small amount of nickel makes it the flash in damascus that people often use 1075 or 1084 as the other main steel seemingly. Both of which require no special ht process. The nickel may be more of an issue with considerably thicker pieces, nickel can be one fickle witch of a metal to deal with, it's a s.o.b to solder. But in the sub 1/8" thicknesses and 2% max content I'm thinking it won't blow up if i do similar ht to 1084 if i include sandwiching in some aluminum plates to keep the thin stock from warping. Also it's inexpensive enough per large sheet to mess around.
 
I have a bunch of 15n20 small knives in tester's hands right now. I used a 2 minute soak, and people are reporting great things. When I get my tester, hopefully next month, I will do different soaks and see if it makes much difference. While its not W2, it is very tough, holds the edge well, and gets a really fine edge. I see myself using it for many knives that need a thin blade, that don't require the high carbon other steels have (thin kitchen slicer for example.) I have a couple general use kitchen knives, and a few bird and trout knives and the users report being exceptionally happy with them. The nickel doesn't change corrosion resistance AFAICT compared to other carbon steels. They will pit relatively easily.
 
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