99Cr18MoV Steel
A hybrid of VG-10 and 9Cr18MoV with test-winning performance
Knv Knives have, since their introduction, challenged conventional Swedish knife manufacturing in many respects, not only when it comes to the 99Cr18MoV steel.
Since our first Knv knife, we have been in continuous development. We have continuously received feedback from testers: hunters, military, and police.
This means we have worked with small batches and that materials have been continuously upgraded as we have drawn new conclusions, which is why the specifications have also changed.
99Cr18MoV Steel
Test-winning combination of hardness and wear resistance
Many different steels have been tested. 90Cr18MoV (aka 9Cr18MoV), VG-10, and variants of these steels, with proper heat treatment, have proven to best meet our high demands for hardness, edge retention, and wear resistance.
Production series have therefore exclusively used versions of these steels that are very similar to 440C steel but contain Vanadium, which makes the edge harder and improves sharpness by making the steel finer-grained.
However, our long-term tests also revealed the inherent character of these steels. 90Cr18MoV (9Cr18MoV) had unmatched toughness and wear resistance, whereas VG-10 had better edge retention but also more sensitivity to chipping/microchipping (i.e., the edge cracking and chipping) under overload.
These insights led us to initiate a collaboration with one of the R&D-intensive steelworks, which is a leader in high-alloy (stainless) steels, to see if we could create a steel hybrid that fuses the best of both 90Cr18MoV (9Cr18MoV) and VG-10.
The final result of that collaboration is 99Cr18MoV steel.
99Cr18MoV steel is very similar to 90Cr18MoV (9Cr18MoV) but, like VG-10, has a higher carbon content.
90Cr18MoV (9Cr18MoV) has a carbon level of 0.9% (0.85-0.95)
99Cr18MoV has a carbon level of 1.08% (0.96-1.2)
The high level of carbon together with Vanadium in 99Cr18MoV has, in test after test, proven to have an unbeatable combination of toughness, wear resistance, and edge retention.
Some testers have called Jaktkit's 99Cr18MoV steel a 440C steel on steroids, and we let that statement stand uncontested.
99Cr18MoV specification (+/- tolerances):
C: 1.08
Cr: 16.90
Mo: 0.45
V: 0.11
Ni: 0.23
Mn: 0.50
Si: 0.60
S: 0.01
P: 0.03
Cu: 0.08
Al: 0.03
Ti: 0.008
The exact steel composition may be changed without notice or apology at our sole discretion, for the purpose of making Jaktkit's Knv knives even better.