Stainless 12C27 Steel

[Ebbtide]

As an owner of a P.J. Tomes' knife, all I can say is that if P.J. likes it - I like it. Nothing about any of his knives is even close to second rate. Buy it quick, before someone else does.

Well said.
Here's mine.

 

[thombrogan]

Nope. On D2 Tuesdays, you are required to tote a Dozier.

I'm Krein a river that I don't own a Dozier. And that my upcoming Krein is 1095 instead of D2. And that I chose 1095 to showcase the Krein-thin edge, Krein-grind, and Dan Koster heat-treatment.

 

[olpappy]

I'm swedish and about half of my knifes are 12C27. Moras, customs, Opinel, EKAs. Imho, a great knife steel. I'd pick it over 154Cm, D2 and 440C any day of the week.

It may look like a 440A on a steel composition chart, but it's VERY different in terms of performance. A 12C27 heat treated in a good way outperforms 440A any day. Steel seems to be more than just composition. In my opinion this AG Russel is not fair by comparing them. It's like saying a crappy chinese "copy-knife" is similar to a high end one just because they look similar at first glance.

This is an interesting question. Besides composition and heat treat, what other characteristics would affect steel performance? Purity, quality control? Processing, mechanized rolling, etc in the factory? I don't know that much about the actual manufacturing process and how it can affect the steel. 440A if heat treated well, should make a pretty good knife.

 

[enderwiggin]

Isnt the new BRKT Mikro II 12C27 too?

I think that and the Mikro Slither are both 12C27.

 

[jcs71]

Something you guys might want to know is this steel was originally used in the first series of the next gen Kabars. I have one of those and it takes a great edge. If you look at the current ones they are using just 440c. Some of the cosmetic differences(spelling) are the butt caps on the current ones are flat on the bottom while the older ones have a rounded contour on the edges of the butt cap. Which looks alot better than the current ones. Also the finish on the newer ones is like a darker speckle like finish. The older ones had a lighter grey powder finish. I am on the lookout for the older ones but if I had to I would settle for the new ones.

 

[JayAndersson]

This is an interesting question. Besides composition and heat treat, what other characteristics would affect steel performance? Purity, quality control? Processing, mechanized rolling, etc in the factory? I don't know that much about the actual manufacturing process and how it can affect the steel. 440A if heat treated well, should make a pretty good knife.

Purity and microstructure I'd say. Impurities are weak spots in the steel that work as starting points for corrosion and cracks. The microstructure is the major thing, you want the Cr and the carbon dissolved in the steel and not to large carbides. For sure this is process control, it must be.

Lots of dissolved Cr and C will make the knife hard, tough, and corrosion resistant. The small carbides will allow for sharpness and wear resistance.

If the alloys are clogged up as big carbides the knife will be brittle, hard and a real hassle to grind. It's really difficult imo to get a knife like that sharp.
//Jay

 

[Larrin]

This is an interesting question. Besides composition and heat treat, what other characteristics would affect steel performance? Purity, quality control? Processing, mechanized rolling, etc in the factory? I don't know that much about the actual manufacturing process and how it can affect the steel. 440A if heat treated well, should make a pretty good knife.

The difference is the amount of chromium that throws the composition out of whack. 440A has 17-18% chromium 12C27 has 13.5% chromium. 12C27 has the more balanced composition, meaning a more uniform microstructure, and more carbon in solution.