- 积分
- 592
注册时间2008-7-17
参与分
技术分
精华
该用户从未签到
|
楼主 |
发表于 2008-11-6 05:41
|
显示全部楼层
不锈钢:
不銹鋼,其實就是比非不銹鋼防銹能力強,但決不表示不銹鋼就真的不銹。不銹鋼還是會銹的!不銹鋼裡面可就精彩了,裡面有稱霸80年代的440系列,特別是440C,90年代的ATS-34和70年代美國版154CM,當然少不了軸承鋼BG-42以及坩堝到處比拼的S30V等等……
Stainless Steels
420:Lower carbon content (<.5%) than the 440 series makes this steel extremely soft, and it doesn't hold an edge well. It is used often for diving knives, as it is extremely stain resistant. Also used often for very inexpensive knives. Outside salt water use, it is too soft to be a good choice for a utility knife.
420HC:420 modified with more carbon, to be roughly comparable to 440A.
440 A - 440 B - 440C:The carbon content (and hardenability) of this stainless steel goes up in order from A (.75%) to B (.9%) to C (1.2%). 440C is an excellent, high-end stainless steel, usually hardened to around 56-58 Rc, very tough and with good edge-holding at that hardness. 440C was the king of stainless cutlery steels in the 1980s, before ATS-34 took the title in the 1990s. All three resist rust well, with 440A being the most rust resistant, and 440C the least. The SOG Seal 2000 is 440A, and Randall uses 440B for their stainless knives. 440C is fairly ubiquitous, and is generally considered a very good general-use stainless, tougher and more stain resistant than ATS-34 but with less edge-holding and weaker. If your knife is marked with just "440", it is probably the less expensive 440A; if a manufacturer had used the more expensive 440C, he'd want to advertise that. The general feeling is that 440A (and similar steels, see below) is just good enough for everyday use, especially with a good heat treat (we've heard good reports on the heat treat of SOG's 440A blades, don't know who does the work for them). 440-B is a very solid performer and 440-C is excellent.
425M-12C27:Both are very similar to 440A. 425M (.5% carbon) is used by Buck knives. 12C27 (.6% carbon) is a Scandanavian steel used often in Finish puukkos and Norwegian knives. 12C27 is said to perform very well when carefully heat treated, due to its high purity. When done right, it may be a slighter better choice than 440A and its ilk.
AUS-6-AUS-8-AUS-10 (aka 6A 8A 10A):Japanese stainless steels, roughly comparable in carbon content to 440A (AUS-6, .65% carbon) and 440B (AUS-8, .75% carbon) and 440C (AUS-10, 1.1% carbon). AUS-6 is used by Al Mar, and is a competitor to low-end steels like 420J. Cold Steel's use of AUS-8 has made it pretty popular, as heat treated by CS it won't hold an edge like ATS-34, but is a bit softer (and therefore weaker) and tougher. 8A is a competitor of middle-tier steels like ATS-55 and Gin-1. AUS-10 has roughly the same carbon content as 440C but with slightly less chromium, so it should be a bit less rust resistant but perhaps a bit tougher than 440C. It competes with higher-end steels, like ATS-34 and above. All 3 steels have some vanadium added (which the 440 series lacks), which will improve wear resistance and refines the grain for both good toughness, and the ability to sharpen to a very keen edge. Many people have reported that they are able to get knives using steels that include vanadium, like 8A, sharper than they can get non-vanadium steels like ATS-34.
GIN-1 aka G-2:A steel with slightly less carbon, slightly more chromium, and much less moly than ATS-34, it used to be used often by Spyderco in their less-expensive knives. Spyderco has since switched to ATS-55 and 8A, but Benchmade is now using Gin-1 in their less-expensive knives. A very good stainless steel, with a bit less wear resistance and strength than ATS-34.
ATS-34-154-CM:ATS-34 was the hottest high-end stainless in the 1990s. 154-CM is the original American version, but for a long time was not manufactured to the high quality standards knifemakers expect, so knifemakers switched over to ATS-34. CPM is again making high-quality 154-CM, and some companies seeking to stick with American-made products (like Microtech) are using it. ATS-34 is a Hitachi product that is very, very similar to 154-CM. Normally hardened to around 60 Rc, it holds an edge very well and is tough enough even at that high hardness. Not as rust resistant as the 400 series above. Many custom makers use ATS-34, and Spyderco (in their high-end knives) and Benchmade are among the production companies that use it. Contrary to popular belief, both steels are manufactured through the Argon/Oxygen/Decarburization process (AOD), not vacuum remelted.
ATS-55:Similar to ATS-34, but with the moly removed and some other elements added. This steel is a good cutlery steel but a tier behind ATS-34 and its closest competitors (other steels in ATS-55's class might be Gin-1 and AUS-8). With the molybdenum removed, ATS-55 does not seem to hold an edge quite like ATS-34, and reports are that it's less rust-resistant. My guess is that with the moly gone, more chromium is tied up in carbides -- which means less free chromium for rust resistance, and softer chromium carbides replacing moly carbides for less wear resistance.
VG-10:Another vanadium-containing high-end stainless steel. Due to the vanadium content, VG-10 takes a killer edge, just like other vanadium steels like BG-42 and AUS-8. VG-10 is also tougher and more rust-resistant than ATS-34, and seems to hold an edge better.
BG-42:Bob Loveless announced a while back that he's switching from ATS-34 to this steel. Keep an eye out for it, it's bound to catch on, although the higher cost, limited stock-size availability, and added difficulty of manufacturing are holding BG-42's popularity back. BG-42 is somewhat similar to ATS-34, with two major differences: It has twice as much manganese as ATS-34, and has 1.2% vanadium (ATS-34 has no vanadium), so look for significantly better edge-holding than ATS-34. The addition of vanadium and the clean manufacturing process (VIM/VAR) also gives BG-42 better toughness than ATS-34. Chris Reeve has switched from ATS-34 to BG-42 in his Sebenzas.
S60V (CPM T440V) - S90V (CPM T420V):Two steels that hold an edge superbly, world class type edge holding, but it can be difficult to get the edge there in the first place. These steels are made with Crucible's particle metallurgy process, and that process allows these steels to be packed with more alloying elements than traditional steel manufacturing methods would allow. Both steels are very high in vanadium, which accounts for their incredible wear resistance. Spyderco offers at least one model in CPM S60V. Spyderco, one major user of S60V, has cut back hardness down to 55-56Rc, in order to keep toughness acceptable, but that sacrifices strength so there is a tradeoff. S90V is CPM's follow-on to 440V, and with less chromium and almost double the vanadium, is more wear-resistant and tougher than S60V -- and, in fact, is probably more wear-resistant than any other stainless steel used in the cutlery industry. As such, S90V is in the running with steels like BG-42 as among the best general-purpose stainless steels; however, S90V is even more expensive and difficult to work than BG-42, so it's strictly in the realm of custom makers currently.
CPM S30V:The newest stainless steel from Crucible, purpose-designed as a cutlery steel. This steel gives A-2-class toughness and almost-S90V class wear resistance, at reasonable hardness (~59-60 Rc). This mix of attributes is making S30V one of the hottest stainless steels going, with makes such as Chris Reeve switching from BG-42 to S30V. Will this be the new king of general-purpose stainless cutlery steels? We'll know over the next couple of years.
400 Series Stainless:Before Cold Steel switched to AUS-8, many of their stainless products were marketed as being of "400 Series Stainless". Other knife companies are beginning to use the same term. What exactly *is* 400 Series Stainless? I always imagined it was 440-A, but there's nothing to keep a company from using any 4xx steel, like 420 or 425M, and calling it 400 Series Stainless.
[ 本帖最后由 anti-jilex 于 2008-11-5 22:05 编辑 ] |
-
|