What is your experience with sandvik 13c26

[ukknifer]

Just got a kershaw shallot and love the knife but I have no experience with this steel.


Please tell me what you think of it?
Is it like aus8, vg10, 154 cm, 440 c??????

 

[dsmegst]

I would compare that steel with Aus8 with slightly better edge holding. I think 154CM and VG10 are better in general. I can't comment on 440C because I don't have any experience with it.

 

[rifon2]

I would compare that steel with Aus8 with slightly better edge holding. I think 154CM and VG10 are better [edit]

I agree; of the steels you listed it's closest to AUS8.

It takes a very, very sharp edge - it was originally designed as a razor blade steel.

 

[oracle5]

I would compare that steel with Aus8 with slightly better edge holding. I think 154CM and VG10 are better in general. I can't comment on 440C because I don't have any experience with it.

I would agree that is pretty similar to aus8 with better edge holding but not quite as rust resistant.

 

[Dorito Monk]

I'm a big fan of it, comparing it to other modestly-priced steels. I'm not much of a steel fetishist, and I haven't compared it to really high-end stuff like D2, VG10, or 154CM, but it does seem to have some interesting characteristics.

It seems to lend itself favourably to really fine edges. I find it'll hold its edge much better at a really acute angle (say 20 degrees inclusive) than a lot of blade steels I've tried. I find that, generally, 440a, 440c, Aus-8, and 8cr13MoV all seem to chip and deform more readily than 13c26, especially at acute angles. I've cut the tops off thick apple juice cans with my Cyclone (13c26) reprofiled to about 10 degrees per side and the steel did not chip and deformed very little (as opposed to say, my Big Rock or Blur in 440a which both deform like crazy if you look at them wrong, or a Tenacious in 8cr13MoV which, for me, tended to chip really easily).

I would put it a notch above 8cr13MoV, aus-8, and 440a. Closer to 440c quality, imho.

 

[knivesandguns]

Dog of War found that it had more edge retention than VG-10 after multiple user testing sessions. As long as you clean it with water and take care of it, it will hold a hair-raising edge for quite a long time. I find it much better than AUS-8

 

[thejamppa]

13C26 and its improved version 14C28 have been in my use very good steels. They takes razor like edge easily and hold it well. Its very nice user steel. I find VG-10 tad better but I still carry a lot 13C26 / 14C28 blade.

 

[ikiddp9]

I would put it in this order:
1- VG10
2- 154 cm
3- 440C
4- 13C26
5- AUS8
By the way...I think AUS8 is a fine steel for most tasks.

 

[rifon2]

Dog of War found that it had more edge retention than VG-10 after multiple user testing sessions. As long as you clean it with water and take care of it, it will hold a hair-raising edge for quite a long time. I find it much better than AUS-8

I find that AUS8, more than most steels, varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
The one I like the best is by Moki of Japan (which also makes blades for Al Mar, Beretta, and some other companies.)

13C26 is designed by Sandvik to be a razor blade steel and it's not surprising that it takes a phenomenally sharp edge.
But good AUS8 can do the same.
Still, though, both steels have about .70 carbon content so neither is going to
be a world beater in terms of sharpness longevity.

 

[Polynikes07]

I live by the ocean, and I've found that I've got to lube it frequently or it rusts easily. Easy to sharpen though, and well suited for most EDC tasks.

 

[knarfeng]

I find that AUS8, more than most steels, varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
The one I like the best is by Moki of Japan (which also makes blades for Al Mar, Beretta, and some other companies.)

13C26 is designed by Sandvik to be a razor blade steel and it's not surprising that it takes a phenomenally sharp edge.
But good AUS8 can do the same.
Still, though, both steels have about .70 carbon content so neither is going to
be a world beater in terms of sharpness longevity.

I agree that AUS8 seems to vary a lot in hardness depending on who did the heat treat. I've seen hardness specs from various knife companies ranging from 56-57 from one mfg to 60-61 from another. On the other hand the most common source in the US knives in 13C26 is Kershaw. So most folks are going to be using Kershaw 13C26 if they are using that alloy and there will therefore be less variation in the perceived Sandvik performance. (Yes, I know that Buck now makes some blades in 13C26, but not many, and they haven't been using that alloy very long.)

Having one alloy that varies all over the board in hardness because different companies are doing the heat treating means that different people are going to have different impressions of the performance of that alloy because they are using different hardnesses. It makes a difference in the performance.

If you do not know the hardness blades you are comparing, you really cannot compare them very well, especially if they are actually fairly close in composition.