1.2842 - 90MnCrV8

The 1.2842 is a classic tool steel that has been part of the repertoire of many knife and damask smiths for several years (compare: Denig, Heinz: Alte Schmiedekunst. Damaststahl, 1990).

The steel is characterized by the following points:

- It is relatively undemanding and forgiving when forging.

- It has very good hardenability and even achieves full initial hardness in vegetable oils.

- It can be easily forge welded conventionally.

- In Damascus steel it is very dark and forms a strong contrast to most other steels.

- It is cheaper than, for example, tungsten-alloyed tool steels.

- With the 1.5634 it can be processed into a good damascus steel with a strong black-silver contrast (assuming the etching is correct).

Notes on forging:

Due to the high manganese content in combination with the low chromium content, the steel has very good hardenability. This should be taken into account during forging and heat treatment. Even just cooling a blank on the anvil can lead to martensitic hardening, which can lead to severe distortion and cracking if the structure has not yet been optimally adjusted after forging.

Soft annealing requires very slow cooling. Classic methods, such as soft annealing in air, in ash or in a dying forge fire, are usually not enough to make the steel soft enough to be filed or drilled.

I myself do not offer a hardening service for the steels I sell. However, I can unreservedly recommend the hardening service of my colleague Jürgen Schanz. He works with a very experienced hardening shop that also carries out demanding heat treatments exactly according to customer requirements. If necessary, contact Jürgen Schanz directly via his contact form.