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Is the SK-5 SRK actually 65 HRC? Have they lost their minds?

I

IaccidentlyCutmyThumb

Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
155
I was checking a major knife retailer and in their description of the SK-5 SRK it says they're running the SRK near 65 HRC. Is this true? Has anyone tested? Is CS out of it's GD mind?

Before anyone complains about GSM, I think this was probably CS before sale too. Just totally freaking crazy to me. That's probably why all the SRKs keep breaking, assuming it's even true.
 
I still don't believe that the SRK in SK5 is hardened to HRC 65.
SK5 is "Tool Steel #5" and is close to the US 1080. It's generally hardened to HRC 58/59.
I suspect maybe what is meant is that SK5 "can be" hardened to HRS 65, ie; Maximum Hardness.
Many steels aren't hardened to their maximum HRC for knife use.,
An HRC of 65 puts it in a powder steel category (zdp-189, Hap40, R2, cowry-x, etc), and that's not going to be offered for $49.99
 
Last edited:
KenHash said:
I still don't believe that the SRK in SK5 is hardened to HRC 65.
SK5 is "Tool Steel #5" and is close to the US 1080. It's generally hardened to HRS 58/59.
I suspect maybe what is meant is that SK5 "can be" hardened to HRS 65, ie; Maximum Hardness.
Many steels aren't hardened to their maximum HRC for knife use.,
An HRC of 65 puts it in a powder steel category (zdp-189, Hap40, R2, cowr-x, etc), and that's not going to be offered for $49.99
Click to expand...
Could it be run at 65 and be very brittle and fragile? Because we've seen a bunch of these guys break.
 
IaccidentlyCutmyThumb said:
Could it be run at 65 and be very brittle and fragile? Because we've seen a bunch of these guys break.
Click to expand...
I woudn't think so. There are quite a few powder steel knives with actual 64/65 HRC and while they are hard as hell, they aren't exceptionally brittle and fragile, Any reports of such
are usually tried to poor HT issues, and I would suspect the SRK to be the same.
 
KenHash said:
I woudn't think so. There are quite a few powder steel knives with actual 64/65 HRC and while they are hard as hell, they aren't exceptionally brittle and fragile, Any reports of such
are usually tried to poor HT issues, and I would suspect the SRK to be the same.
Click to expand...
Well I don't think SK5 is meant to be run to 65 so a powder steel that's designed for it vs. a carbon steel that's not would have different results. But I agree, more likely than not it's bad heat treat coupled with the hollow grind that makes modern SRKs less ideal than the previous incarnations. It's frustrating, because with a few upgrades the SRK could absolutely be a contender for best budget knife.
 
IaccidentlyCutmyThumb said:
I was checking a major knife retailer and in their description of the SK-5 SRK it says they're running the SRK near 65 HRC. Is this true? Has anyone tested? Is CS out of it's GD mind?

Before anyone complains about GSM, I think this was probably CS before sale too. Just totally freaking crazy to me. That's probably why all the SRKs keep breaking, assuming it's even true.
Click to expand...
Could the vendor have transposed the numbers? Should it read 56 HRC?
 
This Cold Steel SK5 HRC65 issue has been discussed.
See the second post from Shannon Labs.

Is SK-5 Recon Tanto hardened at 65HRC?

So, today I went to the forrest with a friend of mine who recently bought Esee-5. We tested and compared our knives. Anyways Recon Tanto was a way better chopper which is to be expected because the knife itself is bigger. We didn't test tip sthrenght since he himself said that he knows tanto...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
KenHash said:
This Cold Steel SK5 HRC65 issue has been discussed.
See the second post from Shannon Labs.

Is SK-5 Recon Tanto hardened at 65HRC?

So, today I went to the forrest with a friend of mine who recently bought Esee-5. We tested and compared our knives. Anyways Recon Tanto was a way better chopper which is to be expected because the knife itself is bigger. We didn't test tip sthrenght since he himself said that he knows tanto...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
Click to expand...
Lol! I answered that thread and totally forgot about it!
 
KenHash said:
This Cold Steel SK5 HRC65 issue has been discussed.
See the second post from Shannon Labs.

Is SK-5 Recon Tanto hardened at 65HRC?

So, today I went to the forrest with a friend of mine who recently bought Esee-5. We tested and compared our knives. Anyways Recon Tanto was a way better chopper which is to be expected because the knife itself is bigger. We didn't test tip sthrenght since he himself said that he knows tanto...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
Click to expand...
Oh good to know, thanks for the header. Really weird that they would say it's 65 HRC. Either way I wish these were less crap lol.
 
Yes previous post explains. Sk5's maximum hardness is 65hrc.

As above I think you'll find they harden to 57-59 hrc which is fine. I've sharpened many steels and it's definately not 65 hrc on the stones!

Mine is probably towards the lower end - 57 ish.
 
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