About the type of steel is used in the core of the Helle laminated blades. It is blended especially for Helle, and does not correspond to any of the standard types. For the technically minded, the composition is:

C-0.7%, Si-0.70%, S-0.002%, P-0.19%, MN-0.44%, Ni-0.28%, Cr-14%, Mo-0.52%.

The non-laminated blades are Sandvik 12C27.

C-0.6%, Si-0.4%, MN-0.4%, CR-13.5%

So, a little more carbon in the laminated stainless core, than in their non-laminated Sandvik 12C27 blades, itself pretty darn good, which should be pretty good for edge holding.

Most Helle blades are made of triple laminate stainless steel. The center portion is of high carbon stainless steel, hardened to 58-59 HRC. This is the harder part of the blade that holds the edge. The outside layers are tough 18/8 stainless. This makes a blade that can be sharpened to a very fine razor edge, and yet is not brittle. It is also easier to re-sharpen because much of the steel being removed is softer than it would be otherwise.

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