ApexUltra
ApexUltra is the first steel designed from scratch, in public, for forging bladesmiths — developed by metallurgist Larrin Thomas of Knife Steel Nerds with knifemakers Tobias Hangler and Marco Guldimann, and released in 2023. The brief was audacious: a steel that forges and heat treats like the classic carbon steels but delivers edge retention and hardness in super-steel territory WITHOUT the usual toughness collapse. Roughly 1.25% carbon, 2.6% tungsten and 1.5% chromium later, the result holds working toughness at hardness numbers — 64 to 67 HRC — where traditional forging steels have long since turned to glass. It is expensive, it is deliberate, and it is the most interesting thing to happen to carbon steel in decades.
ApexUltra FAQ
What makes ApexUltra different from other carbon steels?
The hardness-toughness curve. Classic fine steels — 26C3, 1095, 52100 — trade toughness away fast above the low 60s. ApexUltra’s tungsten-carbide chemistry was engineered to keep meaningful toughness at 65-66 HRC, which lets a forged kitchen blade run hardness only powder steels used to visit while surviving real use. Edge retention lands clearly above every traditional low-alloy steel — tungsten and vanadium carbides doing the wearing.
Can it really be forged?
That is the entire design brief — low enough alloy to move under the hammer and weld in a normal forge, unlike the PM stainless class. It forges harder than 1084 (that tungsten is doing something) but honestly, in a propane forge, with normal bladesmith technique: forge high, cycle carefully, and it rewards discipline with astonishing test numbers. This is the steel M390 buyers wish existed for the anvil.
How is ApexUltra heat treated?
Carbon-steel simple, precision preferred: austenitize around 1475–1500°F (datasheet protocols; a kiln makes the numbers honest), quench in fast oil, temper low — around 300–350°F — to land 64–66 HRC working hardness; harder protocols reach 67. No cryo required for excellent results, though careful practice squeezes more. The developers published full open protocols — rare and welcome — via Knife Steel Nerds and the ApexUltra datasheet. Thin kitchen edges at 65+ are the design target, not a stunt.
Is it tough enough for big blades?
It is tough FOR ITS HARDNESS — the curve is the achievement, not an exemption from physics. At 64-66 it comfortably out-toughs every classic steel run that hard; it is still not a 58-HRC 5160 chopper and should not be built like one. Kitchen blades, EDC, hunters, razors: ideal. Camp choppers: use the tough class.
What does it cost and where do you get it?
Premium boutique pricing — several times classic carbon-steel money — through specialist knife-steel suppliers (Barmond in the UK produced early stock; various regional dealers carry it). Sizes are knife-bar focused. The price buys the R&D and the numbers; for a flagship forged kitchen knife the material cost disappears into the finished price anyway.
ApexUltra or 26C3 for a fine kitchen blade?
The new rivalry. 26C3 gives the classic White-steel keenness and hamon artistry at friendly prices; ApexUltra gives higher working hardness, several times the wear resistance, and modern R&D at boutique cost. Edge feel honors go to whichever the maker heat treats better. Full breakdown: ApexUltra vs 26C3.
Also known as: ApexUltra (apexultrasteel.com); no equivalents - purpose-designed original
Composition
Carbon ~1.25%, Tungsten 2.60%, Chromium 1.50%, Vanadium 0.40%, Manganese and Silicon kept low (datasheet nominal)
Properties
| Property | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Toughness | ★★★☆☆ | The headline is the curve: at 64-66 HRC it holds toughness classic steels lose by 62 - meaningfully tougher than 26C3, 1095 or 52100 run that hard. It is not a soft-spring chopper steel and was never meant to be; judge it at the hardness it was designed for, where nothing traditional keeps up. |
| Edge Retention | ★★★★☆ | Far beyond every classic low-alloy steel - tungsten and vanadium carbides in a very hard matrix put it in genuine super-steel cutting company while staying forgeable. At 65-66 HRC thin kitchen edges stay screaming for a long time. |
| Corrosion Resistance | ★☆☆☆☆ | Carbon steel, cares like one - 1.5% chromium is for carbides and hardenability, not stains. Patina, oil, dry storage: the standard contract, unchanged by the R&D. |
| Machinability / Grinding | ★★★☆☆ | Honest middle: forges and grinds harder than 1084-class (the tungsten announces itself at the anvil and the belt) but well within normal shop practice with sharp abrasives. Sharpening at full hardness rewards good stones; diamonds welcome, not required. |
Heat Treatment
Open published protocols (Knife Steel Nerds / ApexUltra datasheet): forge high and thermal cycle with discipline; austenitize ~1475-1500°F, fast oil quench, temper twice ~300-350°F for 64-66 HRC (67 attainable). Kiln preferred for the numbers, forge possible with skill. No cryo required for excellent results. Decarb allowance as with any carbon steel.
Best Uses
Flagship forged kitchen knives, high-hardness EDC and hunters, straight razors, competition-grade fine edges - the showcase steel for makers selling heat-treat skill as the product.
Sources: Knife Steel Nerds - Laboratory Development of ApexUltra Forging Knife Steel (knifesteelnerds.com); ApexUltra official datasheet (apexultrasteel.com); KnifeNews ApexUltra interview with Larrin Thomas; Barmond Special Steels product data.