Thanks to its outstanding toughness with a hardness range of 63-68 HRC, ApexUltra surpasses other steels with such high hardness. To improve the steel even further, it has been given rust-resistant top layers. Developed and manufactured to high quality standards, this forge-welded steel is perfect for producing extremely hard knives using the stock removal process.
  
 Recommended hardness range of the cutting layer: 63-68 HRC. 3-layer steel with ApexUltra core layer and martensitic hardening, rust-resistant cover layers. The cover layers achieve a good spring hardness of 40-50 HRC and are therefore easy to grind and tough.
  
 After forge welding and forging/rolling, we normalize, grain refine and anneal the steel to save you these time-consuming steps as a knife maker and to get the best possible performance from the steel. So you can start sawing or grinding the contour straight away.
  
 To bring out the natural texture of the steel, we gently remove the scale instead of simply sanding the surface.
  
 We straighten the steel as best as we can in this step. Fine straightening can still be beneficial after contour grinding and before hardening.
  
 Recommended hardening: 830°C for 10 minutes, quenched in medium or fast oil. Temper at 175°C for 2x2 hours with cooling to room temperature before each tempering cycle. For further hardening advice, see the ApexUltra datasheet: [https://www.apexultrasteel.com/downloads].
  
 The cutting layer here makes up about 50% of the material thickness.

 It is a raw material for making knives using the stock removal process. The pictures of the knives are just examples of how this steel can be used; the knives are not part of the article offered here. The steel offered has a core layer made of non-stainless steel.