Super Gold STRIX (SPG STRIX) Stainless Steel

Super Gold STRIX (SPG STRIX) is a stainless powder steel that was created to strengthen the metal base material, which has both the machinability and ease of sharpening like carbon steel, despite its high hardness. It is one of the best powder steels for knives, as its strong metal base provides a perfect cutting edge and unrivaled cutting sharpness.

SPG STRIX (Super Gold STRIX) was born from a proposal to develop a “blade-oriented powder steel” that can achieve optimum performance when used as a cutting tool. This steel is an analogue of SG2 stainless steel (SPG2, Super Gold 2).

Although ordinary hard powder steels with a hardness of about HV900 (HRC67) are difficult to sharpen on a grinding wheel, there are very few such cases with carbon steels of the same hardness. Although the hardness is the same, the ease of sharpening is different.

Why is there such a difference?

The answer is that the hardness of the blade steel is a combination of the "hardness of the metal base" and the "hardness of the metal carbides".

By taking a counterintuitive approach to the traditional concept of powder steel hardening, the manufacturer of this grade has achieved high hardness without sacrificing machinability or durability by strengthening the base material.

Chemical composition

Unfortunately, the steel manufacturer Takefu Special Steel Co., Ltd does not disclose the chemical composition of the brand. Super Gold STRIX (SPG STRIX).

Features of Super Gold STRIX Stainless Steel (SPG STRIX)

1. High sharpness due to exceptional hardness.

   

   The hardness is about 65 HRC, which is the highest hardness for stainless steel for cutting tools, and in addition, it shows reliable cutting performance.
2. "Base Metal Hardness" or "Metal Matrix Hardness" which provides an unrivaled combination of ease of sharpening and sharpness. Blade hardness is a combination of "Base Metal Hardness" + "Metal Carbide Hardness". Conventional powder steel is hardened by adding multiple elements and dispersing very hard metal carbide particles such as vanadium carbides. Although hardness is achieved, the hard carbides make sharpening difficult because when they appear on the surface they cause the grinding disc to simply slide across the surface instead of grinding it into a fine, sharp edge.
   SPG STRIX achieves its high hardness by strengthening the metal base (matrix). Even without the hard carbides of conventional powder steel, the hard metal base and the high average hardness of the metallurgical structure as a whole make it less susceptible to the action of hard carbides during grinding, which ensures easy sharpening and excellent edge sharpness, like carbon steel.
3. Excellent corrosion resistance even at high hardness.
   There is usually a trade-off between corrosion resistance and hardness. SPG STRIX not only strengthens the base metal, but provides a good balance of corrosion resistance, toughness and other elements needed for blades.