Quote:
Originally Posted by Bart
I'm no alloy expert (let's hope one chimes in on this thread), but I read somewhere ( Alloying of Steels) that manganese steel is really a different type of steel.
I have a Bartmann razor that has "manganese steel" stamped in the tang. It's a very hard steel, taking more work to hone than most other razors, and keeps a good edge for a long time. In fact, I've honed it only once, so far and I estimate it has about 20 shaves on the counter now without any sign of edge deterioration. (Of course the hardening and tempering process defines a lot of the final hardness, so a Manganese steel razor from another brand might tell a different story) Based on the condition of most of those Manganese steel Bartmanns I saw on Ebay so far, I'd say it has some stainless qualities as well, but I'm not sure about that.
Best regards,
Bart. |
Sorry to be the rainman here but manganese steel is just an advertising gimmick. In the old days before consumer protection people could sell anything and call products anything they wanted so people came up with creative titles so make their stuff seem special. You see razors termed manganese, carbon, magnetic, carbo-magnetic, tungsten steel, moly steel, vanadium steel etc etc and on and on and they are all right because carbon steel contains all these alloys and more. So basically carbon steel is carbon steel. Most of these Solingen makers bought their blanks from a handful of suppliers so its all the same stuff.