Bought an old Helle/Lauffer. How is 18/8 steel?

C

crumpet8

Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Messages
83
hey!

So I recently came across an old Helle knife here in Norway. Apparently they were made by Helle for Lauffer and the American market. I didn’t know this before, but liked the knife and figured the price was ok.

It’s in the post now, but does anyone have experience with them? I imagine they are more of a kitchen knife from What I’ve recently read, but how would 18/8 stand up in field use? For example compared to 420hc (a steel I know through EDC]. I’m definitely going to take it out fishing when I get it!

Here’s a pic of the same model knife.



Here’s is a description from a guy selling one on eBay
This is vintage very qualitative handmade traditional fixed blade hunting & fishing
knife of the famous Norwegian manufacturer A/S Helle Fabrikker from the 1970's.
The blade of the knife is made of 18/8+ high carbon edge steel.
 
From what I’ve been able to find out so far, 18/8 is very soft compared to today’s standards for fishing/hunting knives? Was it so bad back then? I never heard my dad mention anything about bad blades back in the day
 
Is there reason to believe your seller knows what he's talking about?
I read something that says 18/8 is hardenable only by cold working. It sounds like a not very suitable steel for blades, and I would be very surprised if Helle ever made a bad knife.
 
scrteened porch said:
Is there reason to believe your seller knows what he's talking about?
I read something that says 18/8 is hardenable only by cold working. It sounds like a not very suitable steel for blades, and I would be very surprised if Helle ever made a bad knife.
Click to expand...

I didn’t get much info from him other than this blog post (in norwegian)
http://kniver.blogspot.com/2009/05/lauffer-richter-og-bahco-fra-helle-og.html

It pretty much says that Helle was making cutlery for Lauffer for the American market in the 70s and that this contract made up about half of their profit. During this time they seem to have also made a couple of “hunting” knives.

I did read that about it being a work hardened steel, but wasn’t able to find out if or how this limits hardness? Maybe Helle only got good at making knives later on in their history. I know they have a cutlery department as well. Due to the popularity of retro design at the moment they are currently producing cutlery as well.

Is it just a cheap knife made with unsuitable steel or was 18/8 a common steel to use in such knives back then? You’re right though, from what I’ve also read it doesn’t seem like a suitable steel.

I do know some people that would carry a small knife in their kitchen apron though, so maybe it was later mistaken as a fishing knife. Hopefully someone in the know will inform us :)
 
18/8 stainless is what Helle uses for the cladding on their laminated (3-layer) blades. A harder cutlery-grade steel is used for the core and cutting edge, laminated between the layers of 18/8 on each side. It's unlikely the cutting edge itself is made from the 18/8, as that type of steel generally wouldn't be used as such for heat-treated cutlery meant to take & hold a sharp, durable edge. The cladding is intended only to be more corrosion-resistant and also to add toughness (resistance to breaking) to the blade as a whole.

In current models, Helle doesn't specify exactly what the harder cutlery-grade steel is, in the middle; it's apparently their own proprietary makeup. But on their laminated 18/8-clad blades, it's also a stainless, on par with something like Sandvik's stainless cutlery steels (12c27, etc). Pretty good edge-holding.

( quoted from Helle's own site here --> https://helle.com/pages/materials )
"...To exploit the superb qualities of the high alloy steel we added two layers of tough stainless steel(18/8) to protect the blade against breakage and corrosion, while the high carbon core still provides a superb cutting edge. This triple laminated stainless steel is unique to our knife blades."
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Obsessed with Edges said:
18/8 stainless is what Helle uses for the cladding on their laminated (3-layer) blades. A harder cutlery-grade steel is used for the cutting edge, laminated between the layers of 18/8 on each side. It's unlikely the cutting edge itself is made from the 18/8, as that type of steel generally wouldn't be used as such for heat-treated cutlery meant to take & hold a sharp, durable edge. The cladding is intended only to be more corrosion-resistant and also to add toughness (resistance to breaking) to the blade as a whole.

In current models, Helle doesn't specify exactly what the harder cutlery-grade steel is, in the middle; it's apparently their own proprietary makeup. But on their laminated 18/8-clad blades, it's also a stainless, on par with something like Sandvik's stainless cutlery steels (12c27, etc). Pretty good edge-holding.

( quoted from Helle's own site, at https://helle.com/pages/materials )
Click to expand...


Thanks David, I hope to put it to good use soon then! A nice looking, vintage blade for the collection I think :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top