Steel K390 Microclean, 3 mm

High-performance tool steel, produced by the powder metallurgy method, for cold work. Designed for the most demanding operations in industrial machining and forming.
It stands out for its extremely high abrasion resistance, high pressure resistance and excellent toughness even at high hardness.
Thanks to these properties, BÖHLER K390 MICROCLEAN steel is also used for the production of premium knives and cutting tools, where the best cutting properties of the material and high durability of the tool are required.
Additional information about the material: K390 CZ and K390 EN.

Heat treatment of PM steel BÖHLER K390 MICROCLEAN

Soft annealing: 800 - 850 °C
Annealing to remove internal stresses: 650 - 700 °C
Hardening: 1030 - 1180 °C
Tempering: the annealing temperature is 475 - 600 °C, duration in the furnace 1 hour for every 20 mm of thickness, it is recommended to anneal 3 times
Achieved hardness: 62 - 65 HRC

Chemical composition

Chemical composition: C 2.47; Si 0.55; Mn 0.4; Cr 4.2; Mo 3.8; V 9.0; W 1.0; What 2.0

Supplied material

The material is delivered in an annealed state.
There may be scale or surface corrosion on the surface.
Some material may already be descaled by sandblasting.
According to the production technology, the material may not be perfectly straight.
Microcracks may occur on the surface of the material from production, so it is recommended to sand off approx. 0.1 - 0.15 mm from the top layer.
The material is split with a water jet, laser technology or a band saw.
In the case of cutting the material with a laser, the edge may be cloudy after the cut, so when cutting the material with a band saw, we recommend first sanding off the weak layer of the edge to avoid dulling the saw band.
We will send the chemical composition of the specific purchased steel, upon request.

Dimensional tolerances

Material thickness tolerance: +/- 0.28mm
Material width tolerance: +/- 1.0mm
Material length tolerance: +/- 3.0mm

Another steel for the blades

You can find other steel for the blades in the category Knife steel.

Grinding and sharpening of cutlery and blades

Standard sanding belts with ceramic grain can be used for grinding steel, eg 3M 777F, Norton R976, VSM XK870X, Deerfos PS999, or sanding belts with premium ceramic grain, eg 3M Cubitron II 984F, 3M Cubitron II 784F, Norton R980, Deerfos Bora7. Sanding belts 3M Trizact 237AA, 3M Trizact 337DC, Norton NORaX U254, VSM KK712X, VSM KK772J and others can be used for sharpening and polishing blades.