26C3 Carbon Steel - Spicy White

Alpha Knife Supply

Alpha Knife Supply

Always Innovating
Dealer / Materials Provider
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Oct 14, 1998
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We just received our first shipment of Voestalpine 26C3 carbon steel.

The composition is between Hitachi White steel and Blue Steel. When I asked Devin Thomas about the steel he said he had used it and called the alloy "Spicy White".

We made three knives for testing. The knife shown below was partially coated about 2/3 down the blade with Rutlands cement. The knives were quenched in Parks 50. All three tested at a little below HRC 68 as quenched. The knives were tempered back to HRC 64. The spine on the knife below tested at HRC 52.

26C3-Petty-s.jpg


Here are the specifications for 26C3 with comparisons to other alloys:

tbl--elements.gif
tbl-26c3.gif
tbl-blue.gif
tbl-w2.gif
tbl-white.gif


The page for 26C3 is here:
https://www.alphaknifesupply.com/shop/26c3-carbon-steel

Beware of imitation alloys with the same name and/or composition. If the alloy was not made by Bohler/Uddeholm/Voestalpine, it will not perform as well as 26C3.

Let me know if you have any questions.
 
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Interesting. Looks kind of like a slightly deeper hardening version of White #1. Hoss, what is its closest analog as far as heat treat response?
 
That looks very like the plainer version of silver steel BS1407 I asked about here a little while ago.
I always use it and love it
Its nice to forge
It has no tungsten so I never compared it to blue
 
Can’t wait to try this stuff out. Looking forward to the thicker bars too.
Thanks Chuck!
 
I just ordered some. For those of you who have used it, would you recommend grinding the bevels pre or post heat treat. Does this steel have a tendency to warp like AEB- L?
 
Wondering how it it would look forge welded to some 15N20. Very hypereutectoid damascus once all that migrating gets done? Sounds like fun. More manganese than typical 1095 or W2, but it does have that chromium..........
 
Don't some of the Japanese makers actually use some form of Swedish plain carbon steel? Like Shigefusa. maybe? Assuming that sulphur and phosphorus are the primary "dirty' alloying elements that you want to avoid, this stuff looks like it is even cleaner than White #1. I guess the question is does it have enough chrome and manganese to make it completely suitable for oils like Parks #50 as opposed to water? Will it get a good hamon with oil like some W2 does? The as-quenched hardness that Chuck reported is certainly impressive.
dieale2 said:
So why is it called "Spicy White"?

Seems like it's a big sea change if we can have easy access to Japanese-like super hard-able carbon steels.

Here's some good info for other people who don't know much about Japanese steels.
Click to expand...
 
Alpha Knife Supply said:
Just a guess, the "White" refers to Hitachi White and "Spicy" refers to the small amount of chromium in 26C3. I like the name Spicy White. :)

We just finished updating the website with more 26C3.

Chuck
Click to expand...

This seems like a great steel to make some kitchen knives with. Is this a beginner steel at all?
 
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