Looking for Nitrobe 77

Cypress Creek Knives

Cypress Creek Knives

CCK
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 15, 2010
Messages
643
Evening Folks,
As the title says I am in search of some Nitrobe 77. From what I can tell Damasteel was making it for awhile, but it looks like it is completely out of production now. I am looking for any amount of steel I can get my hands on. If anyone has some of this steel and they are willing to part with it, I’d be very grateful.
 
American Metal Xchange used to list a few pieces for sale, but I haven't visited the site in a while.
 
Could have sworn I saw a piece on the site about 3 months ago...may have been a cached copy....

I'll go ahead and see myself out.
 
Looks like I'm sore out of luck unless I come across someone with a few bars. It's a real shame, everything I've read points to this being a great steel
 
PUD 177/ Nitrobe 77

2004-2018

R.I.P

It was replaced by N11X/ Vanax 37/ Vanax SuperClean



N77 was a niche material, it was designed specifically for industrial food processing blades but was too expensive and the high performance heat treatment it was designed to use was too labor intensive for the initial industrial customer.

N77 for the end user has a unique place for sharpening geeks but even if it was still available today most knife makers would complain about the high cost of the steel and the demanding heat treatment with multiple cryo steps.

N77 also did not hold the best working edge when compared to other expensive steels with more wear resistance nor was it the most corrosion resistant compared to Lc200n and Vanax. N77 certainly held a niche for folks that are very passionate about extreme sharpness and edge stability at extremely thin geometry without requiring diamond/cBN to sharpen.



N11X/Vanax was seen as it's successor by trading the higher obtainable hardness and edge stability for more wear resistance and corrision resistance for more appeal to the mass market. N11X/Vanax appears to have been more successful with the consumer than N77 but is also extremely expensive and difficult to scale up to make it more common.

The real elephant in the room here is that MagnaCut exists.

Yet, the novelty of MC has worn off due to its abundance and market saturation. Luckily the properties of MagnaCut don't change due to peoples emotions of what they think and feel.

Should be noted that not all MagnaCut (any steel) knives are not created equal; geometry, heat treatment and processing can greatly vary the performance for the end user.

MagnaCut is also better balanced than Vanax.


N77 will always be special but only for niche reasons for a smaller audience. It requires high hardness and thin geometry to make it truly stand out. If we process N77 to maximize corrosion resistance, toughness and with thick geometry it's a total waste of N77 making it only special by name alone not in the experience and use that makes it unique.
 
DeadboxHero DeadboxHero thanks for the detailed write up. There is a ton of good information in there! I didn't know Vanax was sort of a successor to Nitrobe77. Maybe I'll have to get a bar and test it out.

I can definitely see how the heat treat process would keep manufacturers and many custom makers from using the steel. Multiple cryo treatments is interesting. I would be very interested in learning why it needs multiple cycles. Where would I look to learn more about that?

What really piqued my interest was the edge stability and sharpenability. It seemed like it was a pretty well rounded steel.

I agree that MagnaCut is a superb and very well rounded steel. It is my primary stainless for that very reason. Unfortunately for me, it seems that I really like niche steels that are impossible to get. That being said my favorite steel to use is BG42 and we all know how hard it is to acquire.
 
Vanax has its own problems. Heat treating is the biggest. Special steps must be taken during heat treating or the surface nitrogen will be consumed.

Chuck
 
Cypress Creek Knives said:
Evening Folks,
As the title says I am in search of some Nitrobe 77. From what I can tell Damasteel was making it for awhile, but it looks like it is completely out of production now. I am looking for any amount of steel I can get my hands on. If anyone has some of this steel and they are willing to part with it, I’d be very grateful.
Click to expand...
As stated Des Horn has used it extensively and probably still has some stock. I'm happy to put you in touch with him if you like. PM me.

One of mine.........

 
Steven65 said:
As stated Des Horn has used it extensively and probably still has some stock. I'm happy to put you in touch with him if you like. PM me.

One of mine.........

Click to expand...


Beautiful blade!

I reached out to him through the contact form on his website. If I don't hear back I'll let you know!
 
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