All About Pocket Knives

I noticed today that Cold Steel has a new line of cheap fixed blades.

The steel is listed as "4116 KRUP STAINLESS STEEL". My question is

what the heck is 4116 Krup?

Well, it's not in my Heat Treaters Guide book, so I did a Google search. Best I can come up with is that it is a proprietary product made in mainland China. Looks like they are in Shanghai and is a joint venture between ThyssenKrupp and Baosteel, whoever they are. Looks like it is cold rolled in sheets. I would like to see what the alloy is, just out of curiosity.
BTW, I got the Heat Treaters Guide 2nd Edition (Practices and Procedures for Irons and Steels) from Amazon.com, it is a used book in excellent condition. New they cost about $230.00 or $240.00, so I feel pretty lucky to get it for just under $100. It pays to shop around on that book.

Thanks! for the info Hukk. I guess with down sizing at Camillus, Cold

Steel is venturing into main land China for some of there

knife production

MITCH RAPP and Hukk...

Hi guys...I'm not sure if this will help, but I hope so. I found this site that gives a breakdown of the composition of some stainless steels:

http://www.bssa.org.uk/articles/article.asp?id=97

Anyway, about 1/2 way down the chart, they list Martensitic Stainless Steels - Standard Grades. Here, you'll find the steel name (X50CrMoV15)
as well as the steel number (1.4116), and a breakdown of the composition of the steel. Doesn't register much as far as my knowledge of the topic goes, but maybe it'll help you guys.

cj

Thanks, that does help. I found the followng discussions on Blade Forums.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/archi ... 31249.html
I also saw a site which sold Solingen Germany kitchen knives that were cheap and some were "factory forged" that were up to $175.00.

Read frank k for specifc comments on this steel. There is also a comment on the Case steel. The guy calls the Case tru-sharp steel a 420 variant. It is an interesting thread.

So anyone tried these inexpensive knives?

I haven't, but after reading what the alloy consists of I suspect it would be an above average kitchen knife and probably a decent fixed blade that would have to be sharpened a little more often (56Rc). I still like a fixed blade D2 hardened to around 59Rc. Although D2 is a tool steel it's chromium content is almost enough to be considered stainless (~12%).
So, I suspect the metal would be "decent", the rest of the story would be fit and finish.

The new model knives haven't hit the market yet, they are just

taking pre-orders. Probably March / April. They are listed on the Cold

Steel web site under "New Arrivals"