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.