Johanning's A-8

[Cobalt]

Does anyone know what knifemakers have had considerable experience with this steel?

His is modified a little, I think it has more Chromium in it, but not sure.

 

[nifrand]

Moving to shop talk.
Randy

 

[Cobalt]

Randy,
thanks. I had no idea that this is the place for that. :thumbup:

 

[mete]

The A2 is a cold work die steel and the A8 a hot work die steel.The difference is that A2 has 1.00C and the A8 has .50 C plus some W. You would expect the A8 to be tougher but with less wear resistance .A2 is fairly common for knives and has good reputation for that . I'm not familiar with any A8 knives.

 

[Cobalt]

The other difference is that A8 has more Chromium in it and Modified A8 has even more, like 8%. It is not a stainless, but it resists corrosion pretty well, yet is extremely shock resistant. Wear resistance may not be the best, but it cannot be to bad. It's worth a try. Just wondering who has worked with it and who does the heat treat for it aside from Paul Bos.