26C3 Stability/brittleness at 66-67 HRC ?

Diego_B said:
Not to take over your thread. But I was curious on how 23C3 would work on a 8" chef ground thin with a very thin edge on it? This seems to be the steel for it from what I can tell and that you can have it treated to 64-65 with no issues in chipping?
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Add to the thread as much as you want it's not hijacking it's participating, it's everybodies thread.
It's perfect for that type of chef knife and it's what I'm using it for, I chose this steel because I think it is the best choice on the market right now. It's basically shirogami white steel +, it has no draw backs and is basically a straight upgraded shiro that can reach 1-2 HRC points harder but still just as clean and pure with low edge angle fine edge holding being it's main quality.
In my opinion you can't currently get a better grade of steel for kitchen knives than 26C3.
The funny thing is I noticed if you do 2 long 2 hour temper cycles at 150 C, the edge of the single bevel will actually roll and deform instead of chip. I was expecting brittle chips, but 26C3 is actually able to resist micro chipping and edge chips even past 65+ HRC. I've never worked with a steel that can do this before. If I did that to one of my O1 blades at 64+ HRC is would chip like a hard sheet of toffee at japanese level geometry.
It will still snap and act brittle if you bend a knife in a hardy hole it does flex up until a point, then it will catapult and ping.
Trust me this steel is the bees knees, i'm exclusively using 26C3 now after it blew everything else I used out of the water in testing.

Heres a Petty with wenge handle I just put on, got some nice 9+ inch Usuba and Kiritsuke ready to quench all clayed up now, and a Santoku.
Petty 26C3
https://imgur.com/a/IDMP2lm
 
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Londinium Armoury said:
Add to the thread as much as you want it's not hijacking it's participating, it's everybodies thread.
It's perfect for that type of chef knife and it's what I'm using it for, I chose this steel because I think it is the best choice on the market right now. It's basically shirogami white steel +, it has no draw backs and is basically a straight upgraded shiro that can reach 1-2 HRC points harder but still just as clean and pure with low edge angle fine edge holding being it's main quality.
In my opinion you can't currently get a better grade of steel for kitchen knives than 26C3.
The funny thing is I noticed if you do 2 long 2 hour temper cycles at 150 C, the edge of the single bevel will actually roll and deform instead of chip. I was expecting brittle chips, but 26C3 is actually able to resist micro chipping and edge chips even past 65+ HRC. I've never worked with a steel that can do this before. If I did that to one of my O1 blades at 64+ HRC is would chip like a hard sheet of toffee at japanese level geometry.
It will still snap and act brittle if you bend a knife in a hardy hole it does flex up until a point, then it will catapult and ping.
Trust me this steel is the bees knees, i'm exclusively using 26C3 now after it blew everything else I used out of the water in testing.

Heres a Petty with wenge handle I just put on, got some nice 9+ inch Usuba and Kiritsuke ready to quench all clayed up now, and a Santoku.
Petty 26C3
https://imgur.com/a/IDMP2lm
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Any comments on how it reacts with food and such after being used in the kitchen? I imagine that it develops a nice patina over time.
 
Does anyone know of any suppliers of 26c3 Other than Alpha Knife Supply? I’d love to try out the steel but I don’t like buying short bars it just ends up being too much waste for me.
 
As far as I know, we are the only U.S. supplier stocking 26C3. We ordered six mill runs to get what we have now. We have more mill runs on order but delivery time is several months away. Eventually another supplier will stock the alloy.

I really like 26C3. It is everything 1095 wants to be without the huge variability in the specifications. Every mill run we received has been very close in composition.

Always add in shipping cost when determining steel cost and waste. Many times it is less expensive per knife, including waste, when shipping cost is included in the steel cost. We can ship 60 pounds of steel in the US for about $20 and it usually arrives in 2-3 business days.

Chuck
 
HSC /// said:
dont they have the long bars that fit into the long flat rate box?
I hate the waste as well but that steel is cheap compared to many other steels
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Last I checked 23.5” was the longest and for me if I want to use that for chef knives I only get 1 full size chef out of it unless I do a hidden tang or really change my design so I end up with small pieces that are still useable for other knives but I really prefer 4’ bars. I make close to 100 knives a month so little bits of waste add up quick if I’m not being conscious of it.
 
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Alpha Knife Supply said:
As far as I know, we are the only U.S. supplier stocking 26C3. We ordered six mill runs to get what we have now. We have more mill runs on order but delivery time is several months away. Eventually another supplier will stock the alloy.

I really like 26C3. It is everything 1095 wants to be without the huge variability in the specifications. Every mill run we received has been very close in composition.

Always add in shipping cost when determining steel cost and waste. Many times it is less expensive per knife, including waste, when shipping cost is included in the steel cost. We can ship 60 pounds of steel in the US for about $20 and it usually arrives in 2-3 business days.

Chuck
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I appreciate the reply and info, if you guys ever decide to leave some in a 4’ bar I’d definitely give it a try, when I normally order steel in 4’ lengths it doesn’t cost that much more in shipping and arrives in 2 days, in my case I save a lot more in waste than shipping.
 
Joshua Fisher said:
Last I checked 23.5” was the longest and for me if I want to use that for chef knives I only get 1 full size chef out of it unless I do a hidden tang or really change my design so I end up with small pieces that are still useable for other knives but I really prefer 4’ bars. I make close to 100 knives a month so little bits of waste add up quick if I’m not being conscious of it.
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Same goes here! When I order steel I order a minimum of at least a 4ft bar. I am in the same spot when I make a chef I only can get 1 out of a bar. But there’s also the option to make a small paring knife with it as well and a few small edc’s if the stock size works
 
I'll tack on to the previous comments if you go with a 6" wide sheet you can cut out potentially three full tang 13" chef knives width wise and use the remaining 10" length for paring knives if you only use 26C3 for the kitchen or hidden tang ~6" blade petty/utility knives, I exclusively use AKS at this point.
 
imill3567 said:
I'll tack on to the previous comments if you go with a 6" wide sheet you can cut out potentially three full tang 13" chef knives width wise and use the remaining 10" length for paring knives if you only use 26C3 for the kitchen or hidden tang ~6" blade petty/utility knives, I exclusively use AKS at this point.
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I typically use 4” wide stock and on a 4” bar 48” long can get 7 full size chef knives and a few small knives, wider stock makes nesting the knives much for efficient especially at a slight bias for knives with a wider heel. I’ve been using W2 for knives with a hamon and been very happy with the results and performance but enjoy trying new steels every now and then. I won’t side track the thread any further, thank you Chuck for the Info I definitely appreciate it.
 
Just quenched 3 blades 2 Mizu Honyaki, 1 Abura Honyaki, both of the Mizu quenched blades cracked.
Sad face.
Rest in pieces
https://imgur.com/a/hX8Ywg0

The tang break was clean and big enough to make another mini kiritsuke, so thats in the oven, didn't want to waste that lovely water hamon. The Oil quenched abura usuba came out good, but i polished it and cant see hamon, but its decent straight and hard.
Usuba Hamon awol
https://imgur.com/a/vMV2WLa
 
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Diego_B said:
Any comments on how it reacts with food and such after being used in the kitchen? I imagine that it develops a nice patina over time.
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From what I can tell so far, this steel is superior to shiro white steel from Hitachi in terms of purity and being "clean" for food prep. If you check the sulphur and phosphorus levels, 26C3 is actually cleaner than white steel by 0.2%. I have tested it cutting potatoes and onions and the cuting edge will develop patina very fast. This will oxidize faster than 1095. I have licked the blade and tasted food prepped by one of the knives and it does not have a nasty taste it does have a tingle on your tongue but it has no lingering taste it goes instantly once you remove your tongue from the blade edge.
I think this is one of the cleanest steels on the market as of now, correct me if im wrong on that.
I have done Kurouchi black finish on flats and polished finish at 2000 grit.
Both finishes will prevent oxidization quite well compared to a rough grit sand, in it's rolled factory condition it will rust instantly, post HT with polish and Kuroushi finish it can be left wet for quite long before patiina formation starts. Cutting bevel with stone finish below 1000 will patina instantly if left wet for 5-10 mins.
I think Kurouchi finish is most practical for kitchens, my Petty with kurouchi finish does not rust on flats, even if left wet for 1+ hour.
 
Horsewright said:
Profiling 43 blades from 26C3 right now.
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You've been working with it for awhile now, what do you recommend for oil hamons, parks 50 equiv fast enough for it? Because the water quenches are all cracking on me, I tried a medium speed oil and it got the blade nice and hard, cant see any activity behind the clay though once polished. Seems mono through hardened to me.

Your hamons are coming out good, whats your quench method if you dont mind sharing.
 
Parks 50 is plenty fast for this steel. I was getting 67HRC+ when using P50 at around 90°F (outside summer temp) 1475°F with a 10 minute soak. I like that it is spheroidized very well and is ready to harden as received. When it first came out, I grabbed a few sticks of it and was very impressed with performance. Hamon potential is what I would call "good", not "great". It has almost 0.4% Mn and also 0.3% Cr, neither of which are conducive for hamon. But it gets screaming hard, that's for sure, and is an excellent kitchen knife steel. When I think of very clean carbon steel, I think of Japan (Hitachi/Yasuki) and Sweden, and 26c3 comes from Bohler/Uddeholm.
 
samuraistuart said:
Parks 50 is plenty fast for this steel. I was getting 67HRC+ when using P50 at around 90°F (outside summer temp) 1475°F with a 10 minute soak. I like that it is spheroidized very well and is ready to harden as received. When it first came out, I grabbed a few sticks of it and was very impressed with performance. Hamon potential is what I would call "good", not "great". It has almost 0.4% Mn and also 0.3% Cr, neither of which are conducive for hamon. But it gets screaming hard, that's for sure, and is an excellent kitchen knife steel. When I think of very clean carbon steel, I think of Japan (Hitachi/Yasuki) and Sweden, and 26c3 comes from Bohler/Uddeholm.
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I'm loving this steel it's perfect for anything that needs a fine edge I made a few wood working tools with it as well, I'm thinking fine planing shaves and chisels, or wood carving tools possibly.
I'm just having issues with hamons, I might be doing too thin of a clay layer, or just not grinding and revealing enough, thats normally my hamon issue, I don't grind enough of the surface decarb off, but I think this latest Usuba is through hardened, seems to have hardened through the clay somehow, I think it's the Chromium making it harden too fast, the clay can't even stop it getting hard, I'm using traditional thin layer of clay painted on, like 1-2mm thick. I might try caking a 4mm layer on next time.
Shrugs*
 
Londinium Armoury said:
You've been working with it for awhile now, what do you recommend for oil hamons, parks 50 equiv fast enough for it? Because the water quenches are all cracking on me, I tried a medium speed oil and it got the blade nice and hard, cant see any activity behind the clay though once polished. Seems mono through hardened to me.

Your hamons are coming out good, whats your quench method if you dont mind sharing.
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Many years ago I started sending out my heat treat. So I couldn't give ya actual processes. I guess I've done about 150 blades out of this steel now.
 
Horsewright said:
Many years ago I started sending out my heat treat. So I couldn't give ya actual processes. I guess I've done about 150 blades out of this steel now.
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Wow I don't think we have any services like that over here in London, people who offer clay hardening heat treatments, I see everyone offering mono hardening services all over the place, but not clay/hamon etc. Can you even tell them what pattern you want, like midare, suehiro etc?
 
That I don't know. As far as telling em what pattern. I clay coat em before I send em off. Got that batch of 43 all profiled and drilled and got 24 of them beveled ground yesterday. Finish off the rest today.
 
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