Discover the advantages of Damasteel steel RWL34™ for cutlery
The name of this stainless steel is the result of the meeting between two technicians: Pelle Billgren, the founder of Damasteel and the internationally renowned American knifemaker: Robert W Loveless. Bob Loveless was one of...
Discover the advantages of Damasteel steel RWL34™ for cutlery
The name of this stainless steel is the result of the meeting between two technicians: Pelle Billgren, the founder of Damasteel and the internationally renowned American knifemaker: Robert W Loveless. Bob Loveless was one of the very first custom knifemakers to discover and use the ATS34. This steel, designed for ball bearing manufacture by Kobe Steel in Japan, was a very effective grade for knife blade manufacture.
Damasteel RWL34™, a steel from powder metallurgy:
Pelle Billgren was at that time looking for the best knife-making steels when he learnt what Bob was using. Thanks to their mastery of powder metallurgy, he succeeded in improving the qualities of this already very efficient stainless steel. Damasteel were the first to produce a powder metallurgy version of the ATS34 and chose, with reference to the knifemaker behind this inspiration, to name it RWL34™. Damasteel martensitic stainless steel RWL34™ is a powder metallurgy (RSP) variation of 420 stainless steel.
To learn more about powder metallurgy and especially its advantages for cutlery steel, you can read our blog article on powder metallurgy.
A steel with properties for the manufacture of knife blades
RWL34™ is now an unavoidable grade in knifemaking. It is known for its ease of machining and excellent mirror-polishability. This is a grade that is completely in line with Bob's philosophy, which made no compromise between quality and ease of use.
What are the advantages of the composition of Damasteel RWL34™:
The addition of Molybdenum and Vanadium gives this grade improved results in terms of corrosion resistance, hardness and strength. This grade can therefore be used for a large number of applications where the following properties are important:
- Very good edge retention - High hardness after quenching and tempering - High corrosion resistance - Easy to grind and polish - High purity
Want to know more about the RWL34™ steel ?
Learn more about the history and the exceptional properties of Damasteel's RWL34™ steel by reading our blog article on the subject.