14C28N Stainless Steel

Stainless Knife Making Steel bar, 14C28N 

Swedish Stainless Steel 14C28N from Alleima (formerly Sandvik until 2022), a popular stainless due to relative ease of heat treat and good edge retention.

This is a later, improved version of 12C27 with the same easy heat treat but finer grain size and better edge retention.

See options for sizes in stock.

The steel comes already annealed from Sweden, annealed means the steel is softened and workable with hand tools.

It can be drilled, filed, ground and shaped with relative ease. Look up hand filing jig on youtube for an easy to make hand filing jig for making even bevels.

This steel will need to be heat treated, either at home in temperature controlled gas forge or kiln, or by sending it away for professional heat treatment. 

Sandvik 14C28N® is a martensitic stainless chromium steel with a chemistry optimized for high quality professional knife applications. The chemical composition provides a unique combination of properties including:

• Excellent edge performance
• Very high hardness
• Good corrosion resistance

Sandvik 14C28N® is mainly recommended for knife applications which put very high demands on edge sharpness, edge stability and corrosion resistance. Examples are pocket knives, chefs knives, hunting knives and fishing knives.

Heat treatment:

• Temperature 1050 C 
• Hold time 5 min
• Quench in oil 
• Temper immediately at 200 C for 30 mins for about 58-59 HRC*
• Optionally: Basic cryo before tempering at -20 C (normal freezer) adds another 1-2 HRC 

 *Sandvik only state a 30 min tempering time per 2.5 mm thickness but we recommend 2 x 2 hours as standard tempering time.

Rehardening is not recommended like all (?) stainless steels, get it right the first time. 

Link to Sandvik heat treatment : https://www.materials.sandvik/en-au/materials-center/material-datasheets/strip-steel/14c28n/