How do you know the actual steel hardness?

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Belly

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So I recently bought a Hinderer XM-18 in 20cv off the exchange here. It’s my first Hinderer, and a like it. A lot. I’ve been doing some reading and viewing videos, and I have come across a past controversy regarding Hinderer and their Rockwell hardness for their various steel offerings. It’s really hard to tell if it was a big deal or a hit/miss type of thing. Lots of comments about their Magnacut, but I’m curious about their 20cv.

How does one know what the HRC is for their 20cv? Does it vary widely? I suppose one cannot really tell without an actual test, but is there any rough idea of what it would be? Anyone have any experience with their 20cv? Thanks!
 
You could purchase a set of hardness testing files which will give you an approximation of hardness. You'll want to test on a part of the blade that isn't seen when assembled and isn't part of the locking system.

Of course, donnord has it correct.
 
Some people hate Hinderer (I don't, have quite a few in Magnacut, S35vn, S45VN, 3V, and 20CV/M390), so I suggest you ignore the noise.

Check out

JTR357

Thread 'Rockwell Hardness Tester'

I searched for this & couldn't find it. This guy has his own Rockwell hardness tester & he posts the results completely unbiased. Hinderer & Strider got super low scores. Spyderco flies high.

steel hardness lab . com

ETA: Hinderer was a 2018
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Unless your knife is very old, the steel will be fine.

BTW, I like my 20CV / M390 around 60 - 61 HRC, more toughness .... I hate chips. Note that Hinderer uses Peters' for heat treat.
 
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Thanks for the helpful replies! I believe the knife is from Hinderer from about a year ago. It is a gen 6 with the tri-way system, so it’s relatively new.
 
If it's the Hollow Ground Slicer from the Exchange, it's a very cool knife. Generally, Hinderer's Slicers are the best cutters among his different blade shapes, and even more so with his slight hollow grind. Perfect for CPM 20CV, IMO. I'd guess it's in the lower 61-62 HRC. Enjoy !
 
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