Bar Stock Calculatora free tool from KraftyQuote

15N20 for knives

15N20 is band-saw blade steel — 0.75% carbon with 2% nickel. The nickel resists etching, so it is the bright layer in almost all carbon damascus, paired with 1084 or 1095. On its own it makes a tough, fine-grained blade and it is sold in thin gauges that suit kitchen knives.

Heat treat at a glance

Good for	Pattern-welded damascus (with 1084); thin kitchen knives; anything you would make in 1084.
Forging	Similar to 1084; welds to it at the same heat
Normalize	1550 °F single cycle plus a 1385 °F anneal (KSN); or 1650 / 1500 / 1350 (NJSB)
Austenitize	1450–1480 °F, 10 min — 1500 °F costs a lot of toughness
Quench	Fast oil (Parks 50, room temperature)
Temper	350–400 °F twice → 60–62 HRC; 350 is the toughness peak
Working hardness	58–62 HRC

Typical shop values. Confirm against your supplier's datasheet.

Buying it

Thin gauges are the classic form — 0.050–0.125 in strip in 1–2 in widths — but 3/16 and 1/4 in bar is stocked by NJSB and Alpha Knife Supply too.

For damascus, match the thickness of your 1084 so the layers stay even.
Contrast in the etch comes from the nickel; etch in ferric chloride and then coffee for depth.

Suppliers: New Jersey Steel Baron Alpha Knife Supply Jantz

Work out the bar for your knife in 15N20

Your knife

Method

Blade length

Blade height at ricasso

Spine thickness (finished)

Tang length

Tang style

Steel

Price per lb (edit to match your supplier)

$/lb

Advanced: allowances & bar lengths

Forging / grinding allowance

Forged: scale, decarb and clean-up (10–15%). Stock removal: extra length for layout (about 5%).

Cut-off per blade

Saw kerf plus the stub you can't use.

Forged thickness

Forging to shape, then grinding the spine to size? Go one size up.

Buy this bar

Recommended stock

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Stock per blade

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Steel weight per blade

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Finished blade weight

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Steel cost per blade

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Waste

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Minimum bar length

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Bar length	Blades	Bar cost	Per blade	Left over

What should I charge for this knife? →

Steel is only part of the cost. Add abrasives, handle, heat treat and your time, and see the price that actually pays you.

or skip ahead and save it as a quote in KraftyQuote

Knives to make from 15N20

Seax1 1/2 × 3/16 in Chef's knife2 × 3/32 in Drop point hunter1 1/4 × 3/16 in

Questions

What do you pair with 15N20 for damascus?

1084 is the standard partner: similar carbon, same heat treat, welds at the same temperature, and etches dark against the bright 15N20.

Free: the one-page stock size chart

Bar sizes for ten common knife patterns, weight per inch for every standard flat bar, and quick heat-treat numbers for the usual carbon steels. Print it, tape it to the grinder.