ASSAB-K120C Powder Steel and Functional Sword Sets

by Dan
(US)

QUESTION: ASSAB-K120C powder steel blade... Saw that on netlinks replica swords. I was wondering if you knew the specs of this type compared to say high carbon spring steel... Or Did I just misread some aspect of the blade materials.

Also, I found some relatively cheap wakizashi blades... and katana... but when it came to completely fulfilling the set of 3 Katana, wakizashi, tanto... It was hard to find any tanto blades. Alright so I did find some but they were over $500... which is almost as much as both my katana and wakizashi.

Well, I'm not saying do the research for me. Just saying how it's quite hard to own a full set (being the katana, wakizashi, and tanto). Well I mean I could go out and buy a cheap one that's made from some stainless steal. But then it's degrading to the Katana and wakizashi I own. :-(

Wondering if you had any pointers.

Thank you so much.

ANSWER: The Swedish Powdered Steel is much hyped by Hanwei (or at least, very proudly and prominently displayed by them), but while it is quite pure and attractive, with a nice and even carbon content - it isn't really a super steel or anything...

Is it worth the money? From Hanwei's perspective, yes - it saves them time! ;-) And yes, it is good quality, but nothing so revolutionary...

As to sword sets, the only recommendation is to get the Practical Plus Katana, Wakizashi and Tanto at this stage. Quite a few other companies make a Katana and Wakizashi, others a Katana and Tanto, but only Hanwei make a full set at the time of writing this reply.

Though there are rumours of Cheness Cutlery making a tanto, which would be a nice full set indeed, so stay tuned! :-)

Kind Regards,

- Paul

Comments for ASSAB-K120C Powder Steel and Functional Sword Sets

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Shinto Elite
by: Edniev22

I would like some clarification on this Katana.

I saw this Katana on this site and read the review.I was very impressed with its results. My question is this.

The person who performed the review stated that the blade was made of T-10 Steel. Which is exactly what I was looking for so I purchased it. Now everytime I see a description of this Katana on the net it states that the blade material is T-10 in the header but then in the description it claims that the blade material is 1065. Which is it. My sword as beautiful as it is did not come with a description card.

True Samurai Swords!
by: Anonymous

I have been searching the internet for quite some time now looking for the best authentic samurai swords possibly made by today's forges. I am still however at a loss when it comes to the steel that is used (so many diferent ones being used). My question is, what kind of steel is or should be used when making an authentic, battle ready, functional sword Samurai sword? I am not worried about the cost!

K120C high carbon steel
by: Hachimanjiro

Powdered steel is also known as particle metallurgy steel,in this case the iron and carbon are very pure and free from inclusions with the carbon being uniformly dispersed this makes a very good steel, a Japanese sword should only contain iron and carbon, as it is the forging process that makes the blade.call me a purest, but multi alloy steels are not traditional.K120C isn't a 'super steel' but is currently one of the best HC steels around.

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