Is Sandvik 14c28n The Best Budget Knife Steel? | Knafs Guide

What in the world is Sandvik 14c28n steel? Is it any good for pocket knives? Lets find out! 

We've compiled a comprehensive case study on Sandvik's 14c28n steel. But to save time we've distilled this article down to only the most important things you need to know. In an attempt to save you the mental anguish of researching blade steel composition and performance metrics. If you are an info junkie you can find an in depth analysis on Knife Steel Nerds site. All data in this article was based on Dr. Larrin Thomas' absurd level of metallurgy knowledge. Without him, the knife world would be a dark, gloomy, and downright scary place... 

Fun Fact

If you like your knives to be razor sharp at all times, with minimal effort 14c28n is by far the best steel option for you. AEB-L and Sandvik 14c28n are nearly identical in their chemical composition, meaning that you get the same benefits with 14c28n as you get with AEB-L. Which are extreme corrosion resistance, amazing toughness, and great edge retention. The only difference is, 14c28n takes the edge retention up a notch and moves closer to the industry standard CPM-S30V. Though it's not quite on the same level as S30V, but pretty dang close.

Edge Retention

For being a budget steel, the edge retention for 14c28n is actually really good, considering how dang tough the steel is. This is a very rare combination of traits for a stainless steel, especially a low-cost stainless steel.

Toughness

This is where Sandvik 14c28n really shines! The toughness you can get out of this steel is actually bonkers! Again this is very hard to find in the knife industry. The reason why is because of the fine-tuned chemical composition of the knife steel coming out of Sandvik's forge. We're not going to get into the details here, because honestly.... It's kind of boring reading about the percentage of carbon, vanadium, tungsten and whatnot that goes into the metallurgy process. We'll leave that stuff up to Knife Steel Nerds. 

Overall Performance

The performance of Sandvik 14c28n blade steel is kind of crazy considering the cost to manufacture, and the price of the finished product. We equipped our very own Lander Pocket Knife with this stuff. And it's been great to hear that it has been performing wonderfully for our happy customers! You can get yours here.