Why isn’t 3Cr13 stainless steel the preferred steel for most stainless steel scissors factories?

Among the various stainless steel materials used by numerous stainless steel scissors production enterprises in Yangjiang, China, the most commonly used are 2Cr13 stainless steel and 3Cr13 stainless steel. The market price difference between the two types of steel is not significant, but in terms of the performance of stainless steel scissors, the scissors made of 3Cr13 stainless steel are significantly better than those made of 2Cr13 stainless steel. But the preferred steel for most factories is 2Cr13 stainless steel.

Since the price difference between the two types of steel is not significant, why don’t stainless steel scissors manufacturers use the better performing 3Cr13 stainless steel?

This is determined by multiple factors.

A) In terms of process manufacturing

• The carbon content of 2Cr13 stainless steel is 0.16%~0.25%, and the annealed hardness is HB170-200. It has low difficulty in stamping, cutting, and polishing, and is suitable for most small and medium-sized factories in Yangjiang, with higher mass production efficiency.
• The heat treatment has a large tolerance space. 2Cr13 stainless steel can achieve stable performance by oil cooling quenching at 920-980 ℃ and high-temperature tempering at 600-750 ℃, with low requirements for temperature control accuracy and controllable defect rate.
• The carbon content of 2Cr13 stainless steel is much lower than that of 3Cr13 stainless steel, making it relatively less prone to rusting. After processing into finished stainless steel scissors, processes such as anti-rust treatment and packaging do not require too strict requirements.

So, although the procurement costs of the two types of steel are not significantly different, in addition to equipment and technical requirements, there are also additional processing costs and consumables that fall into each process (such as grinding wheel loss rate, polishing 3Cr13 stainless steel products is significantly higher than polishing 2Cr13 stainless steel products). All of these costs add up, and the actual total product cost is much higher for scissors products made of 3Cr13 stainless steel than those made of 2Cr13 stainless steel.

B) In terms of production cycle

The mainstream common material selection in the Yangjiang scissors industry is 2Cr13 stainless steel, so the supply chain of 2Cr13 stainless steel is relatively mature, and various stainless steel material suppliers have a large amount of 2Cr13 stainless steel in stock. Stainless steel scissors manufacturers can directly purchase from stainless steel material suppliers if needed, and the production time of scissors is rarely spent on stainless steel material procurement.

But if the factory chooses 3Cr13 stainless steel to produce scissors, it will be different. 3Cr13 stainless steel is not a mainstream universal material. Usually, stainless steel material suppliers do not have 3Cr13 stainless steel inventory. If a stainless steel scissors factory wants to purchase 3Cr13 stainless steel, they need to arrange customization, and there is a certain customization quantity requirement for customized stainless steel materials. In this way, the production cycle of scissors made of 3Cr13 stainless steel has been significantly extended.

C) In terms of market acceptance

Faced with two stainless steel scissors with the same appearance, ordinary end consumers simply cannot distinguish what type of stainless steel the purchased stainless steel scissors are made of. Due to the advantages of manufacturing cost and production cycle, scissors made of 2Cr13 stainless steel are more affordable than those made of 3Cr13 stainless steel, and the affordable price is more easily accepted by the market.

Although using 2Cr13 stainless steel to manufacture scissors is the preferred choice for most factories, the scissors produced cannot compare to those made of 3Cr13 stainless steel in terms of performance and product lifespan. Therefore, 2Cr13 stainless steel is sufficient for some scissors that do not have very high shear performance requirements, such as office scissors, paper craft scissors, student stationery scissors, conventional household scissors, etc. But for some scissors that require high cutting performance, such as kitchen shears, tailor shears, sewing scissors, pruning scissors, electrician scissors, haircut scissors, Barber & hairdressing scissors, bandage scissors, canvas scissors, etc., 3Cr13 stainless steel must be used to truly meet the requirements for scissors use.

But as a professional stainless steel scissors manufacturer that has been producing high-quality scissors for a long time, even if the delivery time of the goods will be extended, they would try to make their scissors with 3Cr13 stainless steel so that ensure the stable use of stainless steel scissors. So if most of the scissors of this factory’s stainless steel scissors need to customize 3Cr13 stainless steel for production, the quality of this factory’s stainless steel scissors must be relatively reliable.

As a factory that has been manufacturing high-quality stainless steel scissors for a long time, most of our scissors have to be customized with 3Cr13 stainless steel production in order to maintain the stability of scissors quality for a long time, we have a deep understanding of this aspect. For more information about our factory, please visit our factory page.

Of course, there is no absolute good or bad choice for which type of steel to use to produce scissors, each has their own needs and preferences. If you are a purchaser of various stainless steel scissors, learning more about the process and performance of Yangjiang stainless steel scissors will be helpful for your market development and the establishment of a stainless steel scissors supply chain.

I am Phoenix, a reliable stainless steel scissors manufacturer based in Yangjiang, China. If you have any questions about stainless steel scissors, feel free to leave a message, my team and I will provide you with professional answers and support.

info@yangjiangscissors.com

Yangjiang Foreverfine Scissors Manufacturing Limited