Mora steel quality

[ike1518]

The following text is from Mora's website. The question I have is that I thought that a Mora carbon steel knife held an edge longer than their stainless steel (see underlined text). I'm new to knives and steel, so I'm wondering if I have misunderstood something?

Thanks,
Ike1518

Steel Quality

Three steel grades are used for knives from Mora of Sweden


Stainless steel (S)
Knife blades are made of hardenable stainless steel- Sandvik 12C27 (hardened to HRC 56-58), producing knives with extreme strength, long life as well as having high resistance to moisture without rusting. Stainless steel stays sharp much longer than carbon steel and is far less sensitive to rust.
Carbon steel (C)
Knife blades of high carbon steel can be hardened to HRC 58-60 giving best possible sharpness to lowest price. Knives made from above mentioned steel grades will after some use achieve a dullish grey finish. However, this will not negatively affect the quality of the blade. On the contrary it will somewhat improve the resistance to corrosion. Carbon steel is easy to sharpen, but requires more maintenance when exposed to moist or corrosive environment. Keep the blade clean and dry. Common fruit acids leave for example immediately spots on the blade.
Laminated steel (L)
This steel grade is unique to knives from Mora of Sweden. The core of the blade is of high carbon steel surrounded by a softer alloyed steel layer. A high hardness (HRC 58-60) can be achieved through hardening, resulting in a knife blade with superior toughness, cutting edge retention and thereby maximum sharpness and long life.The blade can also be bent into a predetermined shape.

 

[JungleJim65]

Here is a link to a previous thread where the actual steels are discussed. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...What-steel-does-Mora-use-in-the-carbon-modelsBasically both steels are pretty decent quality, the stainless will be a little harder to sharpen and the carbon will be more likely to rust if not properly maintained. Overall, for the price it's hard to beat a Mora for what you get. I'm in no way a steel expert but I think the benefit in their carbon steel is in ease of sharpening, good for when you only have limited means of sharpening. That coupled with carbon's toughness(unlikely to chip or break I think) is the reason a lot of outdoorsmen like carbon steel. In this case not because it stays sharper longer.

 

[ike1518]

Jungle,

Thanks for the link!

 

[Woods Walker]

Mora uses 12c27 for their stainless I believe. It's really good stuff IMO. Sharpens up nice taking a great polish. To be honest the difference between their carbon steel and stainless in performance terms is so small I can hardly tell. Mora knives are so inexpensive buy both.