Cheapest stainless for polished edges.

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Whisper21

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Jun 11, 2013
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I'm shopping for a cheap stainless knife that I would like to, at some future point, sharpen to a mirror polish. What grade would be a good minimum?
 
Just depends on how much wear resistance you want. Some steels do not polish as easily due to their wear resistance. A good minimum is going to vary from person to person. I would say 14C28N, 12C27, 13c26, AEB-L, 440C, S30V.
 
Whisper21 said:
I'm shopping for a cheap stainless knife that I would like to, at some future point, sharpen to a mirror polish. What grade would be a good minimum?
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If it's for display and not actual use, there are cheaper steels that polish even better than the others mentioned above. 420J, 440A, 440B, etc polish easier.
 
Whisper21 said:
Can AUS8a take and maintain a mirror polish?
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Sure. But with use it is going to go away. Also even stainless steel can corrode and rust over time if it is just sitting unoiled. Is this a display piece you are asking about or a user? Because certain steels hold up better with a polished edge over others.
 
Steel130 said:
Sure. But with use it is going to go away. Also even stainless steel can corrode and rust over time if it is just sitting unoiled. Is this a display piece you are asking about or a user? Because certain steels hold up better with a polished edge over others.
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This knife will be used and used hard. :)
 
Polished stainless will likely remain polished just sitting around, even unoiled. It's not likely to remain polished in proportion with hard use. Doesn't matter what grade the steel is, if you're digging holes with it, the mirror finish is going to get scratched to hell.

Cheap and polished is an easy combination.
 
8Cr13MoV also takes a nice polish. Some forumites managed to polish the Persistence to full mirror (not just the edge).

My own trial is the edge:
8993171613_47a4558e36_b.jpg
 
][video=youtube;5WiSUcMllio]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WiSUcMllio&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]
Chris "Anagarika";12359927 said:
8Cr13MoV also takes a nice polish. Some forumites managed to polish the Persistence to full mirror (not just the edge).

My own trial is the edge:
8993171613_47a4558e36_b.jpg
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What do you sharpen with Chris? 14C28N is an easy to polish steel. Here is my full mirror polish on a Kershaw Packrat.
 
Go to the steel charts and look for the highest Chromium content and polish away!
 
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