12c27 Stainless Steel

• C  .60
• Mn .40
• Si .40
• Cr 13.5

An MS knife maker bought a coil of 12c27 (you can only buy this from Sandvik by the coil) and had it rolled and ground to .106" thick 6" wide. I bought what he had left when he retired. This is great steel that has been improved and proven over time. It's hard to find as most knife steel supply houses can't handle a coil.

The ground finish is accurate to +/- .0015" from what I can measure. Expect some (very) minor surface scratches and  occasional (very minor) surface rust from storage. This steel will finish up easily. The steel was apparently cold rolled and I ran into a few work hardened spots when cutting it with my band saw so I switched to a chop saw to cut it to length.

This thickness is perfect for kitchen knives, folders, hunters or bush craft type knives. This is high corrosion resistant steel that has great edge holding qualities. 

We can ship this direct to your favorite water jet company.

Sandvik 12C27

The well-rounded knife

Sandvik 12C27 is Sandviks 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 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 chefs knives and tactical knives.

Like most of Sandviks knife steels this grade is fineblankable enabling efficient production.

Hardening data
Hardening temperature 1080°C (1975°F), strip thickness 2.5 mm (0.098 inch), holding time 5 minutes, quenching in oil.

Tempering data
Tempering time 30 minutes.