3C13 Stainless steel
Chinese Butchers knife, 170mm - Yangjiang Xingye AS-07-
SKU: AS-07Chinese butcher knife
Chinese style butcher's knife (Chinese cleaver) handforged from Chinese carbon steel. This knife is intended for chopping vegetables and for cutting meat. Also suitable for cleaving thin bones and fish bones. The blade is manually sharpened and has no thickenings, which makes sharpening very easy. This thick, sturdy knife is perfect to use as an all-round barbecue knife.
- Blade length: 170 mm
- Total length: 300mm
- Weight: 490-510 grams
- Blade thickness: 5 mm
- Steel grade: semi-rust resistant 3C13 carbon steel
- Hardness: 54-55 (Rockwell C)
- Handle: Western style handle with full tang Pakka wood construction with steel fixing pins
- With beautiful canvas sheath with belt attachment and small sharpening stone.
Like all knives, the handmade knives from Yangjiang Xingye are not dishwasher safe, cleaning and drying after each use is the best treatment for these exclusive products.
What is 3cr13 stainless steel?
3Cr13, also known as 30Cr13, is martensitic stainless steel produced in China. It gets its name following the GB/T 1220 Chinese national standard for steel classification. The steel contains up to 0.3% Carbon and 13% chromium. The high Chromium content above 11% makes stainless steel.
The steel has been used for years as a reliable knife steel. In the United States, it’s popular among knife smiths for its good quality and cheap pricing.
3cr13 stainless steel composition
If you want to understand What kind of steel is 3cr13, you’ll need to understand its individual alloying elements. From its name, we can easily the two main elements that make up this steel, namely 0.3% Carbon (C) and 13% Chromium (Cr). But these aren’t the only elements that make up this steel.
Here, we outline the full list of elements that make up this element:
Element | Composition (%) |
Carbon | 13 |
Chromium | 0.35 |
Nickel | 0.6 |
Manganese | 1 |
Silicone | 1 |
Phosphorous | 0.04 |
Sulfur | 0.03 |
As we mentioned above, Chromium is the element that qualifies this steel as stainless. The high chromium content also increases the hardness of this steel. But keep in mind that too much Chromium could cause a decrease in this material’s strength.
Carbon increases the steel edge retention as well as strength.
The presence of phosphorous, Manganese, and Silicone improves the 3Cr13 strength. Besides, Manganese also increases the metal hardness (complementing the Chromium).
Nickel increases the toughness of the metal.
Sulfur is also present in this composition to increase the ease of working with metal (i.e., machinability). However, only a small amount of it has been used here as high amounts tend to decrease the steel strength.
Edge retention
It’s true that 3cr13 steel doesn’t come with excellent edge holding capabilities like the premium steels. But its edge retention isn’t the worst. It holds a cutting edge fairly well for its price but will need regular sharpening. 3cr13 edge retention is better compared to other knives in its price range.
Corrosion resistance
3cr13 is stainless steel. From the composition table above, you can easily see it features low carbon amounts and high chromium levels. For this reason, you can trust the steel to resist corrosion fairly well. But keep in mind that this steel will eventually rust with repeated exposure to adverse weather conditions. Regular care and maintenance is key to ensuring your knife stays corrosion-free and lasts longer.
Easy sharpening
The moderate level of hardness that comes with this steel makes it super-easy to sharpen. This makes it a great knife for beginners improving their sharpening skills with the standard sharpening tools. You can easily achieve a razor-sharp edge once you learn how to properly sharpen your 3cr13 knife. The easy 3cr13 steel sharpening compensates for the fair edge retention; whenever your blade dulls, you can quickly make it sharp and get back to work.
3Cr13 vs other steels
Before you choose a 3cr13 steel knife, you’d also want to know how it compares to other popular knife steels out there. The following list contains the popular steels in the same class as 3cr13 and how they compare.
3cr13 steel vs 1055 carbon steel
Though these two steels lie in the same price range, they have significant differences that keep their performances apart. 1055 carbon steel has high hardness and offers better edge retention. But that doesn’t make it brittle at all. One area where 3cr13 beats this steel is that it (the 1055 carbon) doesn’t resist corrosion and rusting.
3cr13 vs 420j2 steel
Many knife experts agree that these two steels have a lot of similarities. But it comes with a slightly higher hardness, which translates to better edge retention. Because it also has higher chromium content, the 420j2 steel will offer good corrosion and is used for making surgical knives, dive knives, scissors, and so on.
3cr13 vs 420 steel
These two steels are stainless and offer good corrosion resistance. This means they will make a suitable knife for use in marine environments or wet conditions. However, 420 steel is quite soft due to low carbon content, and it doesn’t hold its edge for long compared to 3cr13. 420 steel is best suited for making decorative knives or swords. For everyday use, 3cr13 is the better option of these two.
