Sorry if old question - why is hardness now 56 or so on Sebenza????

A

akula57

Joined
Jul 24, 1999
Messages
198
Not familiar with the steel but assume it would hold an edge better at, say 61. Also, I would expect a Sebenza to break at 61 ;)

So, why, and what do forumers think about it????

P.S. My BG-42 doesn't seem to need any "improvement." :p
 
The 3 CRK folders I bought at Blade are all S30V and are all listed as RC 58-59 on their Birth Certificates. Is it safe to assume you are referring to S30V?

Larry S.
 
Thanks for the reply. I read a good review by "Alligator(???)" and indeed the hardness is listed at 58 for the new steel and 61 for the old. I've never had a problem with, say, chipping a Sebenza, so I'm perplexed.

Many knifemakers seem to like this new steel in a folder at 60-61 from what I hear and agree it's hardness retention is better than the competition at the "same hardness." In other words, could the use of a lower hardness reduce the benefits of this steel vs BG-42 at 61? :p

Crucible itself seems to indicate that 60+ is okay if the knife is not going to be used in extremely hard use. I may be in the minority, but I would use a different knife to chip or pry with ;)

Sorry if speaking out of school. :eek: :)
 
Why not contact the maker with your question; I'm sure Chris or Anne or Bridget would respond! There is no doubt a specific reason for the hardness Chris chose.

Larry S.
 
Try searching this forum for "s30v" and you'll find a few responses from the CRK folks as well as other LENGTHLY discussions about this.
 
It does help to do enough search/research to quote the correct numbers. A couple points Rc make a big difference.... e.g. steel bladed knives are barely knife blades at Rc52, practical bottom end for much of any edge holding. Rare to see a knife run above Rc62. So a 10 point spread makes up the range from "barely hard" to top end.

Reeve is running S30V at a targeted heat treat to achieve Rc58-59. The older Sebbies were listed at a target of Rc60 on Reeve's web page.

Here are some of the pertinent threads via search engine:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=196317&highlight=s30v
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=192185&highlight=s30v
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=186658&highlight=s30v
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=202287&highlight=s30v
 
Either I imagined it, or one of the few things people ever did run into with the BG-42 Sebenzas was chipping the thin edge now and then. That'll be much more difficult with S30V. From the last thread I read, some makers are shooting for 59-60 with S30V. I imagine even at 58-59, S30V would be more wear resistant than BG-42, and much tougher. A little weaker though.

Joe
 
Perhaps it is the high spec convex edge that causes the chipping with bg-42? I know a certain person who disects starfish with his Benza! Its true!:)

Never had any probs with bg-42 myself, but I am 'keen';) to try S30V at some point in the future.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top