LORE LAB Steel Test Database
13°

Smallest micro-bevel angle that held 600 push cuts on A-grade FAS spruce.

Based on 7 passing tests with a recorded micro-bevel angle (8 passed in total), out of 14 total for this steel.

The test that got there

Company / model
Chris Reeve Knives / SEBENZA
Secondary bevel
10.5° per side
Micro-bevel
13° (the headline angle)
Factory HRC
Hardness not recorded
Tester
D
Wood
Spruce
Date
2024/05/25

The spread

12 of 14 tests shown; 2 have no recorded angle
Pass (600 cuts) Fail (at its cut count) Heat damage (shown as context)

Micro-bevel angle (degrees per side)

Swipe the chart sideways to see the full angle range.

Heat-damage context

2 tests for this steel carried heat damage in the edge. Heat damage is an edge-prep artifact, not a limit of the steel: grinding can leave a heat-damaged layer near the apex, and clearing it can take repeated sharpenings. The one such case in our whole record took four before the edge came back, shown here for context, not as a fixed rule. A heat-damage failure never lowers the feasible angle above. These rows stay in the chart and table (marked with a dashed ring), demoted but never deleted.

By brand

Every brand we have tested this steel under, and its own best result -- heat-treat can shift the feasible angle from one maker to the next.

Benchmade
15° n = 3
Chris Reeve Knives
13° n = 1
Pro-Tech
Passed · angle not recorded n = 1
Spartan Blades
15° n = 2
Tactile Knife Co.
13° n = 5
UG Tools
15° n = 1
Winterblade
No pass yet · best 204 cuts n = 1

All tests

Sorted by result, then angle. Every recorded test for this steel, including heat-damage rows.

Tags
Pass n/r n/r 600 Pro-Tech / MORDAX n/r D Spruce
Pass 13° 11° 600 Tactile Knife Co. / MAVERICK n/r S Spruce
Pass 13° 13° 600 Tactile Knife Co. / MAVERICK n/r S Spruce
Pass 13° 10.5° 600 Chris Reeve Knives / SEBENZA n/r D Spruce
Pass 15° 15° 600 UG Tools / Tiny 65 S Spruce
Pass 15° 13° 600 Tactile Knife Co. / MAVERICK n/r S Spruce
Heat 15° 10° 600 Benchmade / ADIRA n/r S Spruce heat-damage
Pass 15° 12° 600 Spartan Blades / SF5 n/r S Spruce
Fail n/r n/r 75 Tactile Knife Co. / ROCKWALL n/r D Spruce
Fail 13° 11° 441 Tactile Knife Co. / BEXAR n/r D Spruce
Fail 13° 10° 100 Benchmade / ADIRA n/r S Spruce chipping
Fail 15° 10° 204 Winterblade / FACTOR B3 n/r S Spruce apex-rounding
Fail 15° 12° 50 Spartan Blades / SF5 n/r S Spruce
Heat 15° 9.4° 34 Benchmade / TAGGEDOUT n/r S Spruce heat-damagechipping
n/r Pass 600 cuts
Company
Pro-Tech / MORDAX
Secondary
n/r
HRC
n/r
Tester
D
13° Pass 600 cuts
Company
Tactile Knife Co. / MAVERICK
Secondary
11°
HRC
n/r
Tester
S
13° Pass 600 cuts
Company
Tactile Knife Co. / MAVERICK
Secondary
13°
HRC
n/r
Tester
S
13° Pass 600 cuts
Company
Chris Reeve Knives / SEBENZA
Secondary
10.5°
HRC
n/r
Tester
D
15° Pass 600 cuts
Company
UG Tools / Tiny
Secondary
15°
HRC
65
Tester
S
15° Pass 600 cuts
Company
Tactile Knife Co. / MAVERICK
Secondary
13°
HRC
n/r
Tester
S
15° Heat damage 600 cuts
Company
Benchmade / ADIRA
Secondary
10°
HRC
n/r
Tester
S
Tags
heat-damage
15° Pass 600 cuts
Company
Spartan Blades / SF5
Secondary
12°
HRC
n/r
Tester
S
n/r Fail 75 cuts
Company
Tactile Knife Co. / ROCKWALL
Secondary
n/r
HRC
n/r
Tester
D
13° Fail 441 cuts
Company
Tactile Knife Co. / BEXAR
Secondary
11°
HRC
n/r
Tester
D
13° Fail 100 cuts
Company
Benchmade / ADIRA
Secondary
10°
HRC
n/r
Tester
S
Tags
chipping
15° Fail 204 cuts
Company
Winterblade / FACTOR B3
Secondary
10°
HRC
n/r
Tester
S
Tags
apex-rounding
15° Fail 50 cuts
Company
Spartan Blades / SF5
Secondary
12°
HRC
n/r
Tester
S
15° Heat damage 34 cuts
Company
Benchmade / TAGGEDOUT
Secondary
9.4°
HRC
n/r
Tester
S
Tags
heat-damagechipping