Sandvik steel and reps at Blade Show

[Larrin]

Sandvik will be at the Blade Show talking about their 13C26 and 19C27 stainless steels that they are trying to bring to the custom knife market. They're doing a seminar on Saturday at 1:30 p.m and will be at the Admiral steel table during the show. 13C26 is the carbon steel of stainless steels, with super fine carbide and grain structure, something that hasn't been available in stainless, this stuff is as fine as 52100, CPM steels are much more coarse. 13C26 is perfect for anything with an extremely thin geometry (like kitchen knives or thin folders), a knife that primarily push cuts, or anyone who likes a steel that is extremely easy to sharpen. Also, even though the carbon is fairly low, it can easily be hardened to 63+ Rc.

19C27 is a high wear resistance steel, it is an upgrade over 440C and 154CM, IMO, and should be in the same price range, so it's kind of a steel for someone looking for an upgrade on 440C and 154CM but don't want to spend the extra dough on CPM-154. 19C27 is probably better than CPM-154 in some categories. 19C27 does have some larger primary carbides (unlike 13C26), but in a much lower volume than CPM-154, 440C, or 154CM. 19C27 is perfect for anything that primarily slices such as a hunting knife. I would liken the properties of 19C27 to VG-10, a steel some American makers have been interested in because of its popularity with Spyderco knives.

They will have 13C26 in pieces at .130" and .105" at 4"x12". The word is the 19C27 in knife sizes hasn't come in yet, so it won't be available at the show.

I'm really excited that these steels will be readily available, so I thought I would share with everybody.

 

[mete]

Sandvik name has been familiar to me for a very long time.Interesting that they are making these steels available to makers. Is this an idea of Sandvik international or Sandvik USA ?

 

[Larrin]

Sandvik name has been familiar to me for a very long time.Interesting that they are making these steels available to makers. Is this an idea of Sandvik international or Sandvik USA ?

That's an excellent question. I don't know. Maybe both. We think it might have trickled down from corporate, but we've dealt mostly with Sandvik USA.

 

[Thomas W]

Larrin, there will a few folks from corporate that will be taking the long flight over and will be speaking at Blade. No doubt you will have a chance to speak with them directly. At least one rep from Sandvik USA will also be attending.

Not to speak for them, but after more than a few direct conversations, I believe they are continuing to try to understand the wants and needs of the American consumer, and are looking to play a bigger role than where they currently stand.

On a personal note, I have found Sandvik and there personnel to be nothing short of professional and straight forward. They follow that up with being genuine, and simply put, very very nice people. They also have a great willingness to learn and understand the who, what, and why's of potential new customers and markets.
It has been a real pleasure being involved with both them and their products.

 

[Larrin]

I know I'm excited to see them. My dad has given me a short list of who will be there. The people at Sandvik were disappointed that my dad isn't going to be at the Blade show. They'll have me though, so they should be ok.