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Pops ProCut steel

A collaborative design between Dr. Larrin Thomas of Knife Steel Nerds and Pops Knife Supply.

Shop ProCut from $52.00 Download data sheet (PDF)

Can carbon steel be exciting?

The balance between toughness and edge retention.

ProCut is extremely forgiving to heat treat, with exceptional hardness and an ultra-fine grain structure. It’s stable in the quench and easy to work and grind, even at higher hardness. It also stands in for 15N20 in high-performance Damascus.

C.866Si.215Mn.352Cr.24Ni1.99V.23W1.23

Vanadium and tungsten carbides pin the grain, so it resists grain growth even when overheated
Most quench oils work thanks to high hardenability
Forge or stock removal. Thermal cycling only needed if you forge

Heat treatment

ProCut heat-treat recipe

All steels

Pops ProCut

Forging and Thermal Cycling

These steps are recommended for those forging ProCut. Thermal cycling is not required for stock removal makers.

Forging Temperature: 2200°F (1200°C). As with other steels, overheating or forging too cold can lead to cracking.

Normalizing: 1650°F (900°C) 10-15 minutes, air cool.

Annealing: 1350°F (730°C) 30 minutes, cool at 100°F/hr to 1100°F (50°C/hr to 595°C). Alternatively, heat to nonmagnetic and slowly cool, such as in vermiculite.

Furnace Heat Treatment

Austenitizing: 1500°F (815°C) for high wear resistance, 1650°F (900°C) for high toughness. Soak for 10-15 minutes prior to quenching. More carbide is retained at the lower temperature for edge retention.

Quenching: Most oils can be used with ProCut due to its high hardenability.

Cryo and Cold Treatments: Dry ice or liquid nitrogen is optional and will add 0.5-2 Rc.

Tempering: 300-400°F (150-200°C) for high hardness and edge retention, 450°F (230°C) for high toughness. Temper twice for 1 hour each time, cooling to room temperature between each tempering.

Forge Heat Treatment

The vanadium and tungsten carbides in ProCut “pin” the grain boundaries, which means grain growth is avoided even at relatively high temperatures. The controlled carbon content also means that overheating does not lead to a drop in toughness at those temperatures.

Austenitizing: Heat to “one shade brighter” than non-magnetic. Steel that is normalized and annealed first can be quenched from temperatures as low as non-magnetic.

Quenching, Cryo, and Tempering: See the furnace heat treatment section.

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