Matt de Clercq
Well-Known Member
Is 15n20 the most stain resistant knife steel that can be heat treated with out an oven?
Most Stain Resistant
- Thread starter Matt de Clercq
- Start date
Darrin Sanders
Moderator
I'm not sure which of the simple steels is the most stain resistant but I can tell you that none of them offer very much as far as stain/rust resistance. 15N20 actually needs tight temp. control to get the most out of it. Just about any steel that has any amount of corrosion resistance will have enough Chromium to require the ability to soak at high temperatures for 15 minutes to an hour.
If you're doing your H/T with simple equipment 1084 will offer about as much corrosion resistance as anything else and the H/T will be much more successful. Myself, I'd rather have a good blade with tarnish/patina/rust on it than a shiny knife that wont cut.
If you're doing your H/T with simple equipment 1084 will offer about as much corrosion resistance as anything else and the H/T will be much more successful. Myself, I'd rather have a good blade with tarnish/patina/rust on it than a shiny knife that wont cut.
Matt de Clercq
Well-Known Member
Ok, thanks. For some reason I thought it could be heat treated like 1084. Maybe in the damascus application?
samuraistuart
Well-Known Member
15n20 most definitely can be heat treated like 1084, but it is optimum if you can hold at temp for 5 minutes, to help get the nickel in solution. The nickel is there to help in hardenability (deeper hardening), toughness, and some corrosion resistance. I think the corrosion resistance is a myth, to some extent. Nickel will make a steel a little "shinier" but it's corrosion resistance is nill. A knife with 15n20 will patina just like 1095 or any other carbon steel.