Anybody else disappointed with 14C28n

3Guardsmen

3Guardsmen

Joined
Mar 16, 2005
Messages
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After not carrying my Kershaw Skyline and JYDs (large and small) for quite a while due to rust spots continually developing on the blades just from being in my pockets, I was really looking forward to Kershaw's 'upgrade' to 14C28n, especially since the new steel was touted as having superior corrosion resistance to 13C26. I figured, based on what I'd read from Sandvik, that a bead-blast finish on 13C26 was just corrosion waiting to happen, so I put away, after using copius amounts of Flitz, my bead-blasted knives with that steel and eagerly awaited knives with the new steel.

Well, after two days of carrying my new Zing, with 14C28n blade steel, it too has developed rust spots all over the blade. Perhaps I was expecting too much, but I'm bummed. I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed rust spots forming on their Zings, OD-1s, or Shallots? The reason I ask is because I've carried all sorts of bead-blast finished knives, in various steels, and short of one particular Benchmade/Emerson CQC-7 with a terribly coarse bead-blast finish, I haven't experienced experience this problem just from carrying (and not using) a knife in my pocket. I can't be the only one to have experienced this!

Thanks,
3G
 
I've been carrying my OD-1 in rather muggy and humid conditions (I live in Louisiana) and I'm not having any problems whatsoever. I've had it about 2 weeks and I carry it every day. I don't use any oil or special cloths, I just wipe it down with a dry cloth after I use it on anything wet. When the blade gets dirty or gunky I clean it with a damp rag and dry it with a paper towel.
 
ive never had a problem with any of my sandvic steel blades rusting, then again i also live in arizona and its pretty dry here
 
I've never had any problems with Sandvic steel either, 3G, but then I have heard of some peoples skin salts and acids causing problems.

It sounds like you are a candidate for Spyderco's H-1 steel.
 
A.P.F. said:
I've never had any problems with Sandvic steel either, 3G, but then I have heard of some peoples skin salts and acids causing problems.

It sounds like you are a candidate for Spyderco's H-1 steel.
Click to expand...

+ 1:thumbup:. 3G do you have any H-1?
 
I guess I'm lucky. I never had problems with 13C26, much less the new 14C with improved corrosion resistance. They are both great steels, easy to get extra sharp and are great user steels IMO.

I have heard of some people that cause corrosion on blades at greater incidence than normal. Kind of like my irritating habit of causing malfunctions in electronic watches, yet mechanical movements do fine.

H1 is a good steel for such circumstances. Another way is to keep a silicone gun & knife cloth ( Outers "tri care gun cloth") for instance, wiping it down and insuring there are no fingerprints left on your blade anywhere.

If you already have salt hiding in the steels pores/scratches you might want to wash it, dry it, then relube and treat it as once salt is on it, consider it contaminated. Joe
 
Hmm that is weird. I experienced the same problem in my Storm 2, but when I got my Od-1 I havent had any rust problems. I feel for you man. Maybe you got a bad one?
 
This is one of the reasons I stopped buying Kershaws. As far as I can see, it's choosing aesthetics over functionality. 13C26 is a pretty corrosion resistant steel based on what I know. The bead blast coating does a good job of making sure you'll never know that, though. It's a shame because I like 13C26 for lower cost knives. It performs well all across the board. But the decision to bead blast it has always sat wrong with me. I really don't see any advantage over it compared to a bare blade, except I think it reduces manufacturing costs compare dto giving the blade a more polished finish (Could be wrong).

I'd say you can just polished the blade, but with the grooves in the blade that would be a big PITA.

I'd second the motion for Spyderco's H1. I've been carrying around a Pacific Salt and Tasman Salt lately as my EDC pair. I like them both so much that I bought back ups of each knife in yellow.

I haven't used 14C28N but compared to 13C26 I've found H1 to grind more easily, take a hair whittling sharp edge more easily and edge holding seems about the same or a notch better in my PE models, with the SE H1 edge retention completely blowing away 13C26. Oh, and no rust whatsoever after letting the blades get completely soaked in my corrosive sweat and not rinsing them off until hours or days later. Worth a try in my opinion.

Here's a video showing the kind of edges my H1 knives will easily take.

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2wf8sqc&s=5
 
The only time I have had rusting issues with Sandvic steels is when salt or salt water came in contact with them. Even then it was minor rust that was easily removed. You may have acidic skin. I was the same way, so much that news print from any type paper would come off onto my hands. I would have to wipe down any knife or gun that I touched or it would rust. It turned out that my acid touch was being caused by a case of severe sleep apnea. This was causing low O2 and high CO2 levels in my blood which in turn turned it acidic along with the skin oils. When I started using a CPAP machine it went away after a few weeks as my blood PH leveled out. If you snore so loud that you wake yourself up you probably need to get checked out for sleep apnea.
 
As Vivi said, while the steel itself is relatively corrosion resistant, the BB finish makes many Kershaw susceptible to rust. On the ET and two Storms that I've had experience with, all were susceptible to rust or at least staining.

This problem was, however, remedied by polishing the blade(s). While it sounds like a lot of work, about ten minutes with (insert your favorite metal polish here) and *BAM*! Significantly better stain resistance.
 
Honestly when I got some of it I couldn't tell you in a blind test side by side with a 13C26 blade which was which. I think it just gave Kershaw something unique they can call their own but although it may be different than the one they started out with I couldn't see it in cutting or sharpening of it.

They both seem to be good push cutting steels and if there is any difference at all it may lie in the make up of the carbides and size of the carbides that could technically make the new 14C28 slice better and I suppose its supposed to have a better corrosion resistance but when you don't really see a lot of corrosion with any stainless its hard to appreciate that. As for the slicing, well, again if its better its so marginal that I couldn't see it really.

STR
 
No rust on my 2445st that I have carried for a month. I always had rust spots with 13c26 JYD and Storm when ever carried on warm sweaty days. I am with STR on edge holding and sharpening are about the same. The Zing is going to be hard to keep from rusting, because of the grooves on the blade. Too many places for stuff to stick and hold h20.
 
Just my humble openion but bead blast will make pretty much any steel spot if it's not taken care of. I haven't used 14C28 steel yet but I have experience with other steels including 13C26 that have been bead blasted and I have even seen 440A do it! My buddy had me oil up and sharpen his excellant SOG Pentagon before deployment to the sand box and it came back a wreck even with him trying to keep it from happening! I know that is an extreem case.
 
I've carried my OD-1 almost daily for about a month. I don't use it heavily, but there have been times when it has gotten a bit wet from use. On one particular day I carried all day in a steady rained (I wore a rain suit) while I was out motoring around a lake in a small boat.

I don't do much maintenance, but not a hint of rust, yet.
 
I have dealt with a number of stainless steel grades in my line of work and there is a trade off between corrosion resistance and hardenability. Here is a link that has an excellent FAQ section on S/S http://www.ssina.com/faq/index.html#3 . FAQ #3 and #8 have pdf links that explain both corrosion resistance and hardenability.

Could your blade have come into contact with carbon steel? A common problem that I see at work is carbon steel contamination.
 
i'm in honduras right now, on a crappy keyboard, so pardon my internet speak.

i've been carrying my orange zing everyday here, using it for cutting everything, mangoes, avocadoes, paper/cardboard and i've left it gucky and dirty, i sweat on it all of the time

i have not a speck or hint of corrosion/rust.

that's weird that you'd have that problem so quickly, but just thought i'd put in my experiences.

good luck
 
Bead blast finishes will just about always spot. When the blade is blasted, it leaves an egg-crate finish on the steel which acts like pores on our faces. Sure, you can clean it and wash it, but eventually something is gonna get in that pore and clog it up :p

I have stayed away from bead blast finishes ever since my first real knife collecting days started. If you can't get something in satin/stonewash/mirror polish, you might as well get it with a black coating, otherwise you will be fighting the inevitable.

Best of luck, J.
 
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