Somebody has try the new 12c27 steel from sanrenmu in some of the new models?

Somebody has try the new 12c27 steel from sanrenmu in some of the new models?. What about 8cr14mov vs 12c27 from their new models?, sharpness, edge retention etc…
I am thinking to try a 12c27 model from srm but i do not know if it will thw same that 8cr14mov.

Cheers!

12C27 is the default steel for older Swiss Army knives, stainless Opinels and Moras
Pretty good cheap steel, very high rust resistance (higher than that of 8Cr14), but hardness is not that high (~55HRC typically)

I have the 7078MUX-GHP not a bad knife, I haven’t noticed much difference in the steel, it came very sharp and isn’t in heavy use but has kept an edge with only minimal touch ups, a few strokes on a Lansky turn box with the medium rods.
So easy to sharpen, might need it more often but when it needs it no problem sharpening.
FastTech claims 57HRC but some knives have C10 handles and at least one has 813 steel so who knows.
I was going to try a couple more, the7071LTF-GHV and the7072LUC-SCX but the 9051, 7063 Axis lock and the 9055 jumped the queue along with another 7010 with a different design (flowers) on the scale. I can’t remember offhand how many 710/7010’s that I have but it’s more than a few. :slight_smile:

I only have one blade with the 12C27 steel. I bought the first knife pictured in this thread. Haven't used it much yet, but it keeps a very sharp edge. I like the way the steel feels. Just feels more durable.

It seems then that the sanrenmu`s 12c27 is like its 8cr14mov but softer?.
Nothing “special” then, does not?.
I am thinking to try the 7071 or the 7056 with tools inside… Or “7056 cryo style”…

As AlexTG said the rust resistance should be better than 8Cr14MoV and the 7071 lists the HRC as 57 same as the 8Cr13MoV, it has a good blade shape and the ever present bottle opener. :bigsmile:

It’s very unusual to have the same model numbers on two knives that are so different, wonder what happened there.
The Cryo styled one looks very nice but I prefer liner locks and G10 but not so much the extra tools, oh well do the honourable thing on the forums - buy them both, and a 7063AUC-xx in the colour of your choice, staggeringly good knife, it looks good with the liner lock 7063LUC-xx as a pair.

Victorinox as far as I know uses 420J2 steel on SAKs (tempered soft).
12C27 is one of my favourite steels as long as stainless go.

12C27 is my favorite stainless steel on "budget" knives. But then I am a swede...

It is possible to stamp out blades from rolls of 12C27 steel, so it is a steel that is very suitable for cheap but really good volume products, and it works very well as a knife steel. Easy to precisely temper for desired hardness. The performance, sharpness and edge retention can be close to that of a knife made from good carbon steel.

So depending on the manufacturer the 12C27 steel can vary between good and excellent...

SanRenMu do an excellent job of heat treating the 8Cr13MoV family of steels so I see no reason to believe that they would hurt the good reputation that they have built up by not having the information on the heat treat that they want and using it to the best of their ability, HRC57 seems to be their favoured hardness and the light use that I’ve put the 7078MUX-GHP to it has handled very well.
This Wicked Edge Forum thread makes interesting reading, particularly this quote from Sandvik -

“Sandvik 12C27 knife steel
The well-rounded knife steel

Sandvik 12C27 is Sandvik’s most well-rounded knife steel with excellent edge performance allowing razor sharpness, high hardness, exceptional toughness and good corrosion resistance.

Sandvik 12C27 is our main knife steel for hand-held knives, high-end ice skate blades and ice drills. Continuous improvement over a period of 45 years has evolved Sandvik 12C27 into the high performing steel grade it is today. The composition is tighter, the purity level is much higher and the fine carbide microstructure of today is far from how Sandvik 12C27 knife steel of the sixties looked.

With a hardness range of 54-61 HRC, high toughness, scary sharpness and good corrosion resistance, Sandvik 12C27 is the recommended grade for hunting knives, pocket knives, camping knives, high-end chef’s knives and tactical knives.

Like most of Sandvik’s knife steels this grade is fineblankable enabling efficient production.

Chemical composition,
% (nominal)

  • C. Carbon 0.60
  • Cr. Chromium 13.5
  • Mo. Molybdenum -
  • Si. Silicon 0.40
  • Mn. Manganese 0.40

12C27 is much the same with a little better corrosion resistance for knives that are used in situations where corrosion could be a problem. e.g. ice drills, kitchen knives”

Quote is courtesy of Sandvik Sweden.

If that’s what we’re getting then HRC57 isn’t really pushing it. Together with the already well used 8Cr13MoV then I see a good crop of knives from SanRenMu in the future.

Do you know if this steel is being produced at a mill in china or are they buying it from somewhere? Just going by the makeup it could be classified as “Sandkiv” but can’t be called that if they’re making it themselves without permission.

I have no plans to buy any knives this year but I love sandvik, so much in fact when I was selling off all my collection after getting my sebbi I didnt sell a single knive I owned in it cause it’s nearly maintenance free, even in high humidity.

I don’t know where it’s sourced but quite a few spec sheets quote it as Sandvik - Sanrenmu7071 range Sanrenmu 7053LUC range Sanrenmu 7072 range a few others just say 12C27 All at FastTech.
I have no relationship with FastTech only as a customer, I mention them so often because the site is easy to navigate and the prices are usually the cheapest.

If it is a China made version of the steel then they must be confident of the heat treatment and composition, they’ve built up a good reputation based on their use of 8Cr13/14MoV and they wouldn’t want to lose that.
At the moment I’m not using the SanRenMu’s that I have in that steel but they will be used in future.