What we carry in Sandvik 14C28N
Sandvik 14C28N is a nitrogen-alloyed Swedish stainless built around corrosion resistance and easy sharpening rather than long edge holding. About 14 percent chromium and 0.62 percent carbon put it in the mid-tier value bracket, a step up from budget Chinese Cr-Mo-V stainless, and it is common on production folders from Kershaw and Civivi. Expect to touch it up sooner than a premium wear-resistant steel, and to spend less time doing it.
| Type | stainless |
|---|---|
| Made by | Sandvik (Sweden) |
| Composition | C ~0.62%Si ~0.2%Mn ~0.6%Cr ~14.0%N ~0.11% |
| Hardness | 57-59 (typical factory range; the maker's piece-hardening program lists 59, 57 and 55 HRC by tempering temperature) HRC |
| Edge retention | Moderate, trades some wear resistance for toughness and sharpenability. |
| Toughness | Very good; well regarded for a fine, consistent grain structure. |
| Corrosion resistance | Very good, engineered specifically for corrosion resistance and easy sharpening. |
| Where it sits | Mid-tier value stainless, popular on production folders (e.g., Kershaw, Civivi) as a step up from Chinese Cr-Mo-V steels. |
| On this site right now | 90 listings covering 38 distinct models, $29.25 to $182.25. Brands: Civivi (70), Kershaw (20). |
Sandvik did not build 14C28N to win a wear-resistance contest, and the spec sheet says so before any reviewer does. The alloy gives up some wear resistance to buy toughness and sharpenability. That is the whole trade, stated once, and most of what this steel does in a pocket follows from it.
Sandvik tuned it toward rust resistance and a blade that comes back to sharp fast. That is an engineering decision with a target user attached, and it is why the steel turns up on production folders that get carried and used rather than on short runs chasing a hardness figure. It lands as a mid-tier value stainless, a clear step above the budget Chinese Cr-Mo-V steels, which is where a company shipping thousands of working knives wants to be.
A rating is abstract. A pocket is not. In use the honest picture is that you will notice a 14C28N edge fading sooner than a premium wear-resistant steel would, and that when you do notice, a short session on a stone ends the problem. You are trading working time between sharpenings for a much easier sharpening.
What you get back is the other half of that trade. Toughness is a steel's resistance to chipping and cracking under load, and 14C28N rates very good for it. It is also well regarded for a fine, consistent grain. For a knife that opens boxes, cuts line and does yard work, moderate edge holding bought with very good toughness is the trade most people would take if anyone asked them first.
Easy sharpening is the feature here, not the apology. It is what Sandvik engineered the alloy for, alongside corrosion resistance, and on a stone that reads as bite instead of skate, an edge that comes off clean instead of ragged, and a few passes on a strop bringing back a working edge without a full reset.
The practical version: keep the angle the maker ground rather than inventing a new one, work both sides evenly, and stop once you can feel a burr along the whole edge, then take that burr off. A burr left on the edge folds over on the first cut, which is why a knife can feel dull again almost immediately after a sharpening session. 14C28N is forgiving enough to learn this on. If you are buying a first knife you intend to maintain yourself instead of sending out, that is a better reason to choose this steel than anything on a chart.
Ninety listings on this site carry 14C28N right now, across 38 distinct models, and the brand split is lopsided: Civivi holds 70 of them and Kershaw the other 20. That is the steel's reputation in one line. It is what companies reach for when they have to ship thousands of knives that work, not dozens that win a spec argument.
Two more numbers are worth knowing before you shop. Nineteen of the 90 are made in the USA, so that filter is real but narrow. And 26 of the 90 sit in Closeouts, including the Kershaw Blur Linerlock A/O Black, an assisted-opening USA-made folder with a 3.38-inch coated blade, and the Civivi Cachet Framelock Red with a 3.5-inch clip point, both on that shelf right now.
There are two versions of that comment and only one of them is fair. The unfair one files 14C28N in with budget Chinese Cr-Mo-V stainless. It sits a clear step above that group, which is the usual answer people give for why a Kershaw or a Civivi with this blade costs more than a hardware-store folder of the same shape. If you want that comparison drawn out properly, the 8Cr13MoV page is the other half of it.
The fair version is that it will not out-cut a premium wear-resistant steel, and no page here is going to pretend otherwise. 14C28N is the modern, nitrogen-alloyed development of Sandvik's older 12C27 cutlery steel, and it is aimed at people who use a knife and sharpen it. Kershaw builds the Leek and the Blur in it and in CPM MagnaCut, and 14C28N vs MagnaCut weighs that step. If your priorities run the other direction, the Steel Lab carries pages on D2, Nitro-V and 440C, and each one makes a different trade.
Sandvik's older classic cutlery steel vs its modern nitrogen-alloyed successor, same maker, direct generational upgrade.
Swedish mid-tier stainless vs Chinese budget stainless, most common 'why is this Kershaw pricier than that Ozark-tier knife' comparison.
Kershaw builds the Leek and the Blur in both steels, so the choice is the steel, not the knife: Sandvik's 14C28N against Crucible's CPM MagnaCut.
Civivi sells the Brazen linerlock in both steels, so the choice is the steel itself: a semi-stainless tool steel with strong wear resistance against a stainless built for corrosion resistance and easy sharpening.
Two stainless steels Civivi builds folders in, nitrogen-enhanced Nitro-V and Sandvik's 14C28N. The verified records rate both ahead on toughness and corrosion resistance rather than on raw wear resistance.
The figures on this page are the published specification ranges for the alloy, cross-checked against manufacturer datasheets and independent metallurgical references. They describe the steel, not any one knife. Hardness in particular is a range a mill and a knifemaker work inside, and Knives Now does not test the heat treat of individual knives, so nothing here is a claim about what a specific listing measures.
Cross-checked against the sources above. Figures verified 2026-07-19.
