Cheap stainless from China

P

PhilColgan

Joined
Mar 15, 2020
Messages
1
This is most likely an impossible question to answer, but i'm just looking for best guesses here. Given that this skiving knife cost $10, is stainless steel and made in China, can anyone take a stab at which stainless steel this is likely made from? I'm fairly inexperienced with maintaining blades at this point and also with using various types of steels, so knowing what kind of steel this is would help me establish a point of reference as i continue to work with it. I've contacted the company and all they have to say is that its "high quality stainless steel."

Thanks everyone!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
cbach8tw said:
Do not mean to be a downer, but probably not very good stainless at all, probably 5cr13Mov or worse.
Click to expand...
5cr wouldn't be so bad. It is likely much worse. I'd think if it was 5cr, they'd advertise the crap out of that as being beneficial. And really, 5cr isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. Lots of kitchen cutlery is made with it or its equivalent by a different name.
 
PhilColgan said:
This is most likely an impossible question to answer, but i'm just looking for best guesses here. Given that this skiving knife cost $10, is stainless steel and made in China, can anyone take a stab at which stainless steel this is likely made from? I'm fairly inexperienced with maintaining blades at this point and also with using various types of steels, so knowing what kind of steel this is would help me establish a point of reference as i continue to work with it. I've contacted the company and all they have to say is that its "high quality stainless steel."

Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
You'll never know what type of steel it is. Best thing to do is buy from reputable companies that will tell you what they are using. Get a feel for various steel types from them. A Mora or victorinox is a good inexpensive reference point to start with. As a benefit, they make pretty good functional tools.

Edit to add: Heat treatment will play a roll here too. More reason to buy from a good company that has a known good heat treat dialed in consistantly.
 
Most likely 3cr or 420j. I wouldn’t be too surprised if the company had a bunch of extra liners in stock and decided to turn them into knife blades to make a quick profit. Like others said, you can buy a decent knife for the same price, or if your budget allows, add a few extra dollars for something even better.
 
I'm not sure you can evaluate only one alloy and judge the whole country that produces it. I've got several folders with edges that never seem to quit, and surprised me when most of them were stamped "China" on the ricasso.

We have American cutlers here, too. Some are fabulous, most are not.

You don't judge a Mercedes Benz because you once sat in a Yugo.
 
TheTourist said:
You don't judge a Mercedes Benz because you once sat in a Yugo.
Click to expand...

That's true, but it seems like this is more like buying a vehicle with no discernible manufacturer which is just marked "Car." You might get lucky and get a decent one, but it's pretty unpredictable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top