Sandvik12c27 vs 14c28n

Dr Rez

Dr Rez

Pisser of the Couch
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Jun 7, 2012
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What are your experiences with both in relationship to each other? How do they fair against each other regarding toughness and wear resistance?

I have really only used 12c27 on my many Mora's however am interested in performance differences in 14c28n. Feel free to post pics of any knives you have in either and what you think of them!

For reference.

12c27
Carbon: .6
Chromium: 13.5
Silicon: .4
Magnesium: .4

14c28n
Carbon: .62
Chromium: 14
Silicon: .2
Magnesium: .6
 
They are very similar steels. Both have high toughness. 14C28N gets harder and is a little more wear resistant, but we’re not talking S90V levels of wear resistance with either of them.
 
Generally speaking the 14c28n is the superior steel on paper.

It should have slighty More edge holding without a loss in toughness thanks to the slightly higher carbon and addition of Nitrogen which produces more strength and wear resistance with carbides and nitrides

At the same HRC you would have a hard time noticing a huge difference.

The 14c28n can have a higher working hardness with out lossing edge toughness.

Most of the knives you buy in these steels are too soft especially the 12c27, most mass production knives in that steel are very soft. 56-58hrc.

Manufacturers usually run the 14c28n harder, (58-60hrc) it's also easier to get harder for manufacturers and custom makers

I wouldn't get excited about either steels unless someone was nailing a killer Heat treatment with a awesome microstructure and hardness around 62 HRC.

Otherwise both steels seem to roll and blunt quickly. Kind of a anemic steel especially with the heat treatment used on mass produced on knives.

Other similar steels
BD1Z
AEBL
13C27
Nitro V

These steels only shine on small knives when they are harder (62+)

Keep in mind these steels work best with polished edges. If you like a more aggressive toothy edge I'd pick a different steel.
 
14c28n is an upgraded version of 13c26. 14c28n is a really decent midrange steel used in a lot of Kershaw knives, think of it as 440c with higher corrosion resistance.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Generally speaking the 14c28n is the superior steel on paper.

It should have slighty More edge holding without a loss in toughness thanks to the slightly higher carbon and addition of Nitrogen which produces more strength and wear resistance with carbides and nitrides

At the same HRC you would have a hard time noticing a huge difference.

The 14c28n can have a higher working hardness with out lossing edge toughness.

Most of the knives you buy in these steels are too soft especially the 12c27, most mass production knives in that steel are very soft. 56-58hrc.

Manufacturers usually run the 14c28n harder, (58-60hrc) it's also easier to get harder for manufacturers and custom makers

I wouldn't get excited about either steels unless someone was nailing a killer Heat treatment with a awesome microstructure and hardness around 62 HRC.

Otherwise both steels seem to roll and blunt quickly. Kind of a anemic steel especially with the heat treatment used on mass produced on knives.

Other similar steels
BD1Z
AEBL
13C27
Nitro V

These steels only shine on small knives when they are harder (62+)

Keep in mind these steels work best with polished edges. If you like a more aggressive toothy edge I'd pick a different steel.
Click to expand...

How do you feel about 1095 taken to that same hardness (as it seems many commercial blades like Beckers/Ontario/Esse)? Do you just prefer a steel with a higher hrc and a little less toughness?
 
Dr Rez said:
How do you feel about 1095 taken to that same hardness (as it seems many commercial blades like Beckers/Ontario/Esse)? Do you just prefer a steel with a higher hrc and a little less toughness?
Click to expand...
I don't think those companies should change and I know this pisses people off but 1095 isn't super tough.
Those companies under harden and over temper that steel and would probably have MORE toughness with simlair edge holding in a lower carbon steel in the .60-.80 range like 5160, 8670, 15n70, 1060, 1070, 1075, 1077, 1080, 1084, 80crv2.

You won't see a good sword or axes in 1095 for a reason.
The extra carbon makes the steel less malleable and flexible. Even with the extra tempering compared to a lower carbon steel at similar hardness.

People really like 1095 though, and those companies can do a mass production "in house" heat treatment and the wear on tooling and abrasive cost is lower then even if they changed to 52100 with the volume they produce at.

It sells, people like it, people know it, why change.

I personally have no interest.


Back to more durable steels,

There are also more alloyed, low carbon steels that can make some of the most durable almost unbreakable knives and tools

INFI, 1V, A8MOD

Personally I don't care for ultimate toughness in a small blade. It comprimises the edge rentention, I find a high performance cutting edge just plain blunts and rolls too fast with acutual cutting.

I strongly feel a knife is made to cut.

Alot of people argue they use there knives as "tools" which usually implies they scrap, twist, torque, pry, and chisel with there edges and blades which means they need that toughness to prevent the edge and blade from flat out breaking. Either way the edge goes blunt on any knife from those types of use and should be considered "abuse"

Since I don't usually pry, chisel, scrap twist, and torque why should I be punished with a knife that goes dull fast?

Just comes down to preference, use, experience.

There are a number steels that have the benefit of a longer cutting edge that's still durable but the cost and time to sharpening
Increases.
3v, cruwear, 4v, V4E, PD1, Vascowear, spectrumwear, etc
 
Last edited:
I don't know about 14C28N but 12C27N has ticked all my boxes on small knives. Yes, it doesn't hold an edge for ever, but it's easy to strop or sharpen back to razor sharp, doesn't chip or roll, and doesn't rust. In my kitchen or as EDC, 12C27N is welcome anytime as would be its offspring the 14C28N... Wait, wait for it, the 16C30N is coming and it will blow all preceding steels out of the water. Actually not ! The steel is just one factor anyway. I'm seriously considering buying a 1075 (a basic carbon steel) fixed blade in a Roachbelly pattern from a famous French bladesmith... the price is silly but I'm fighting myself : You must not !!!
 
wth is 16c30n?? google seems to have never ever heard it mentioned (ok good joke)

btw if you want some 1075, without putting a French smiths kids through college, get this (with free special grade even optional;)
http://www.baryonyxknife.com/condortavian.html

Kind of a decent basic roachbelly?
 
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It's 12C27 not 12C27N because there is no nitrogen addition. He's joking about 16C30N. Using Sandvik's naming convention that would be approx. 0.8C-15Cr+N which isn't too far off from BD1N: 0.9C-16Cr+N.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Generally speaking the 14c28n is the superior steel on paper.

It should have slighty More edge holding without a loss in toughness thanks to the slightly higher carbon and addition of Nitrogen which produces more strength and wear resistance with carbides and nitrides

At the same HRC you would have a hard time noticing a huge difference.

The 14c28n can have a higher working hardness with out lossing edge toughness.

Most of the knives you buy in these steels are too soft especially the 12c27, most mass production knives in that steel are very soft. 56-58hrc.

Manufacturers usually run the 14c28n harder, (58-60hrc) it's also easier to get harder for manufacturers and custom makers

I wouldn't get excited about either steels unless someone was nailing a killer Heat treatment with a awesome microstructure and hardness around 62 HRC.

Otherwise both steels seem to roll and blunt quickly. Kind of a anemic steel especially with the heat treatment used on mass produced on knives.

Other similar steels
BD1Z
AEBL
13C27
Nitro V

These steels only shine on small knives when they are harder (62+)

Keep in mind these steels work best with polished edges. If you like a more aggressive toothy edge I'd pick a different steel.
Click to expand...

I agree with you 110% on this. I don’t want to get off topic but I sometimes think about how much better production knives might perform if they were made with more specific intent in mind rather than heat treats for the masses.

My contribution would be I enjoy both steels quite a bit and i am a huge fan of moras Sandvik12c27 steel. I would argue it would be hard to tell the difference between it and the carbon steel models if one wasn’t obviously rusting/patinaing.
 
I like both. I have more variety of blades in 14C28N. 14C28N steel really performs well! Very easy to sharpen, get very sharp with ease, good toughness, and holds a decent edge.
I mostly have Mora's that are 12C27. Good steel, very easy to sharpen. No rust problems with either steels, yet.
 
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