sk-5 steel

O

okie 46

Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Messages
437
has anyone tested this steel? i have a sog knife and a cold steel knife with this blade steel but have not put them to hard use yet.
 
I have read a couple of posts from folks who find the steel acceptable.
I have not read of anyone using it and finding it unsuitable.
 
it's essentially the same as cold steel's old carbon v, which was just 1095 as far as i know. its edge retention isn't quite as good as carbon v's.
 
I believe carbon V is better, but SK5's not bad. It's not 1095, but close. While I don't have any of their knives with SK5 (I have a SRK & Recon Tanto in carbon V, though), I haven't heard any negative things about it.
 
I've done some cutting, very subjective, so I wouldn't call it testing. For edge retention, SK5 seems ok, it won't win any awards, but it's acceptable. Probably on par with 1095 or thereabouts.

The toughness, however, is what it supposedly does very well. It should be a very tough steel that takes impacts well. So it's probably well suited for a large chopper rather than a small slicer.
 
SK-5 is similar to SAE1085 only SK-5 is made by one steel mill in Japan and anyone can make 1085 because it's just a specification. With a standard factory heat-treat, it should be very nice for knives needing toughness at a slight expense of wear-resistance. Noss recently beat the carp out of a Browning Crowell Barker chopper in 1085 and while the blade eventually broke, it stood up to stuff I was sure was going to kill it (stabbing through sheet metal repeatedly with just a little blunting on the tip). A knife in SK-5 should do the same.
 
thombrogan said:
SK-5 is similar to SAE1085 only SK-5 is made by one steel mill in Japan and anyone can make 1085 because it's just a specification. With a standard factory heat-treat, it should be very nice for knives needing toughness at a slight expense of wear-resistance. Noss recently beat the carp out of a Browning Crowell Barker chopper in 1085 and while the blade eventually broke, it stood up to stuff I was sure was going to kill it (stabbing through sheet metal repeatedly with just a little blunting on the tip). A knife in SK-5 should do the same.
Click to expand...

It's an alloy steel with the carbon content of 1085.
 
thombrogan said:
SK-5 is similar to SAE1085 only SK-5 is made by one steel mill in Japan and anyone can make 1085 because it's just a specification.
Click to expand...
I think SK5 is just the same: a specification that can be produced by anyone. The difference is that it belongs to japanese standard system (JIS) and there are possibly some minor differences in specifications.
 
Didn't Greco use this on some of his knives? My bad that was 8670 that he used.
 
Last edited:
knarfeng said:
http://www.sumitool.com/sumi_english/information/Reference.pdf

I had been under the impression that SK5 was a proprietary alloy from one of the major Japanese steel producers, but apparently not.

This Japanese web site says it is a chrome moly alloy steel equivalent to AISI W1.8. So it is more than 1080. 1080 is a straight carbon steel. But it does look like any company can make it.
Click to expand...
That's correct. SK-5 is not a pure carbon steel like the 1080.
 
And thanks, hardheart. The Linkigi folks show it's a designation, like 1085, and that it looks just like 1085. Well, in the Linkigi showroom, it looked like part of my statement was correct, but only from luck and internet rumor. :o
 
I've got a CS Laredo Bowie in SK-5; I wore it to work for a few days back when I worked in landscape construction. Mostly I used it for chopping up trees we had felled; so it hasn't done a lot of extended cutting. Based solely on my ratio of use time to sharpening time (since I use it intermittently), edge retention appears to be at least on par with AUS8. I can`t be sure if the comparison is a fair one. Sorry.

However, I find that when you chop with it, it looses the shaving edge pretty quickly. The edge was reflecting light a little after chopping off four or five birch branches (4"-6" across) in a row, but it wasn't gone completely; the knife could still strip bark and whittle, albeit with difficulty. It's not a huge consideration, since the chopping dulls about four inches of the ten inch blade.

What impressed me about the knife was it`s ease of sharpening; this is my first carbon steel knife, so maybe I can`t relate, but the damage I did whilst chopping was fixed up after just a few licks on the sharpmaker.

One time I dropped the knife into the floor - abusive, I know - and the weight of the knife carried it through the hardwood into the concrete underneath. The tip deformed, bending to the left and flattening. Ten minutes on the stones brought it back to usable.

Overall, I`m impressed with the knife and the steel. It does it`s job.
 
hardheart said:
chrome moly?

http://www.tlmetal.com.tw/style/con...thelev=2&lang=2&customer_id=590&name_id=15986
Click to expand...


Beats the heck out of me. That's what the Sumitool web site called it at the bottom of page R2. Sumitomo Electric is one of the biggest companies in Japan. I figured they ought to know what Japanese alloy SK5 actually was.

http://www.sumitool.com/sumi_english/information/Reference.pdf

SK5.jpg
 
I understand that the current SK5 being used by Cold Steel and maybe others has a small chrome and molybdenum content... very much like Carbon V (50100B). The heat treat also has a lot to do with performance of the steel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top