HeatTreatBench · knife steel heat-treat recipes

Nitro-V Heat Treat Recipe

Stainless knife steel · target 58–64 HRC · austenitize 1900°F (1038°C)

plate
CategoryStainless
Austenitize (recommended)1900°F (1038°C)
Austenitize range1900–1975°F (1038–1079°C)
Preheat1500°F (816°C)
Soak at temperature5–15 min
QuenchPlate quench (aluminum plates) + compressed air to ≤125°F
Cryo / sub-zeroRequired — dry ice (-100°F) or LN2 — soak ~1hr after quench to convert retained austenite
Temper2× 2 h · cool to room temp between cycles
Reliable hardness58–64 HRC
Nitrogen-enhanced AEB-L variant from NJSB — proprietary grade, NJSB datasheet is authoritative. Plate quench + cryo.

Temper → hardness chart

Approximate HRC after a double-temper at each temperature (from the sources below). Set your target and pick the matching temper.

Temper °FTemper °CHardness
300°F149°C64 HRC
350°F177°C63 HRC
400°F204°C62 HRC
450°F232°C61 HRC
500°F260°C60 HRC
600°F316°C58 HRC

Composition (typical, wt%)

Element%
C0.68%
Cr13%
V0.08%
Mn0.65%
Si0.4%
N0.11%

Buderus mill cert via NJSB

HeatTreatBench — the recipes in your shop, offline

Get the full Nitro-V recipe plus 25 more steels offline — set your target HRC and the app gives you the exact temper, with a forge timer and a per-blade log. Works in the shop with no signal.

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Sources

More Stainless steels

AEB-L1950°F · 61–64 HRC14C28N1950°F · 58–62 HRCMagnaCut2050°F · 59–63 HRCCPM-1541950°F · 60–62 HRCCPM-S30V1950°F · 58.5–60.5 HRCM3902050°F · 60–62 HRC