The knife steel blade is still a mystery for some, and as the Arthur Miller quotes, good steel has much value.
We don’t have to make knives, but as a user, we should be aware of the steel being used, as this ascertains the durability, agility, hardness, corrosion resistance, and many other things when it concerns the knife you buy and use.
Very few of us pay attention to the type of steel which is used to make knives, while the knife makers know everything from advantages to drawbacks while using different steels for making them. The knife steel is one of the most critical elements which determines the performance and functioning ability of a knife.
The Steel Grade Matters
When we are using knives, steel is everything, and this is an alloy that is used in the end number of different ways to make knives. The strength of a quality knife can be easily felt by the people who use it, in a kitchen or outdoors. A good knife will always work as your closest buddy for years.
Key Factors
The key factors that define knife steel are:
Knives are used to cut, and this is quite an obvious thing!
It is the need of every chef to use a knife which is made of some good stuff. Four prime factors that define and ascertain the steel quality are listed below. Even after months of carrying, a knife which is produced with the best steel will never let you down. Whether for kitchen use or a hard-use camp knife, toughness is overpowering. And in terrains of high humidity, the corrosion resistance has all the influence. The ease of sharpening is equally important.
EDGE RETENTION
How much sharpness your knife can hold is entirely dependent on the edge retention attribute of the knife. From cutting veggies, to dicing up cardboards, or hacking up sisal rope, everyone likes to possess a sharp knife and not a dull one. While using or testing a knife, you can yourself feel the difference between a knife of premium steel and a lower steel.
TOUGHNESS
For heavy-duty and hard-use purposes, it is extremely important that the knife you choose shows resistance to any kind of chipping or mal-functioning. A good knife is the one which when subjected to twisting, torsion, beating or impact don’t show any signs of failure. Intense baton sessions, strong staples, steel strapping glides can be sustained by a tough knife as compared to the normal knives, which may chip with use.
CORROSION RESISTANCE
Chopping wet ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, etc. and a humid and salty environment may leave your knife with some ill-effects. But a worthy knife of top-notch quality will bear all. Certain steels have the ability to resist stains and rust while some of them don’t. even the carbon steels may get rusted badly in a wet environment, and it is recommended to use thin coating of mineral oil to protect the knives.
EASE OF SHARPENING
Many of us overlook this aspect, but let me tell you, the more easily a knife sharpens the lesser the edge retention trait. It may take just a whetstone and few minutes to sharpen a knife, while for some knives it may involve an entire day. It may really require some serious efforts to sharpen your knife, and hard steels may give you a pain while sharpening and the soft steels make the process pain-free.
Some more Determinants
A few more aspects need to be understood when it comes to the functioning of the knives. Blade steel is one of them and a few more are attached to it.
HEAT TREAT
The knife with high hardness -60 HRC+, help in retaining and increasing the edge of the steel at the cost of brittleness. If the knife steel is heat treated with consistency, then it tremendously affects the strength and performance of the knife. While the low hardness of the knife increases the overall toughness at the cost of strength of the edge. The rule of the thumb is a consistent heat-treat and tempering of the blade steel.
SHARPENING
Blade geometry and sharpening are parallel to each other. The knives feature an inclusive edge of 30-degrees then the blade is sharpened to each side with 15 degrees. The acute angles deliver higher cutting performance than the obtuse angles. The stability and durability are attached to the obtuse-angled blades. But certain blade steels with acute angles will be more stable.
BLADE GEOMETRY
It is a lengthy topic, but to assemble it in a few words, the thickness between the edge reduces while the cutting and slicing performance improves. The blade stock and the primary thickness matters a lot. The Spyderco have thin edges at only .014,” and the knives such as Ka-Bar have thicker edges which are supposed to deliver low slicing performance.
CUTTING TASK
The prime task of a knife is, how it cuts? None can ignore this aspect.
There are knife steels with a lot of hardness and edge retention and there are wonderful at cutting and chopping food items. Though, by a hit of staple they may get chipped. The knives with a tough steel, are good for camping tasks, but may not be well at very thin edge profiles.
The underlying fact is that one knife may be perfect for you and imperfect for the other. Henceforth, no steel or knife is perfect, it you who has to find out the appropriate one as per your demands.
STRENGTH VS TOUGHNESS
This is to be seen that the perfect balance will bring the best results and not the domination of one over the other. The blade steels which are constructed with a huge amount of hardness as much as- 70 HRC, aren’t stable. These types of steels may chip, crack, or fail. And the tougher blades don’t give the desired cuts. There may be issues such as edge rolling and edge maintenance.
The more is detailed down with charts and diagrams, depicting the strength of knife steels. The best ones are CPM-154, when we talk about well-rounded steels that create an even shape. On the other hand, the CPM-3V is severe with a lower score in other categories.
Different Types Of steels
PREMIUM STEELS
Bohler Uddeholm M390
The Bohler M390 is widely used by the top-notch companies all over the world. This knife steel offers a high-quality esteem and is used to make the best quality knives. This boasts of excellent edge retention, toughness of high-level, and rust resistance.
CTS-204P
All these three-share similar composition- Bohler M390, CTS-204P, and CPM-20CV. These steels are ready for performance and have significant amounts of Vanadium, Molybdenum, Chromium, Tungsten. The Carpenter Technology Corporation, USA, is the producer of the CTS-204P. The CPM-20CV is made by the Crucible Industries.
CPM-20CV
As mentioned above the Crucible Industries is responsible for its manufacturing. And all the above three steels are the most durable. All of them abandon the ease of sharpening.
CPM-M4
Ease of sharpening, toughness, amazing edge holding, forms a part of this steel. You may face some corrosion related problems, but keeping this tough knife oiled won’t let any kind of problems effect it. The M4 outperforms such steels as M390 and S90V. The Crucible Industries make use of this steel amazingly for creating the best.
CPM-S90V
This is another steel which is responsible for some good quality, that provides excellent edge retention and adequate corrosion resistance, some well-known are Benchmade and Spyderco. This steel is tough but not as good as the M390.
CPM-S110V
This also provides out of the box edge retention and keeps the toughness intact to the maximum. Similar to S90V this is a real good steel when you tend to use your knife to slice-up cardboard in routine. It is a real task to sharpen both these steels.
ELMAX
Many of the Elmax knives are used to make Microtech knives. if you searching seriously for some extreme toughness and strength, then these should top your list. M390 steel is great but this one is also of great worth with corrosion resistance quality and ease of sharpening.
HIGH-END STEELS
CPM 154
This is a marvelous EDC blade steel and the edge retention is above average, also has ease of sharpening, and corrosion resistance. On a daily usage basis, you may find the least differences with the S110V and CPM 154.
154 CM
The CPM 154 is better than the 154 CM, as grained finely. Both are great steels and possess advantages of powdered metallurgy. The powered steels are supposed to provide more strength, toughness, edge retention, consistency, as they lack any sort of inclusions.
CPM-3V
This is an insanely tough blade steel which boasts of quality, rust-resistance, edge retention, and proudly form a part of a fixed blade knife.
CPM-4V
A slightly more toughness and the edge holding is boosted, and the 4V is a bit tougher than the 3V.
CPM-S30V
This is an ultimate steel for EDC and produced by Crucible Industries with the partnership of Chris Reeve. This exhibits excellent edge retention, ease of sharpening, corrosion resistance, and awesome products have come into existence with the partnership and use of S30V steel. The steel boasts of its balance and performance and a variety of makers have chosen this tough steel.
CPM-S35VN
An upgraded version of SC0V, and the differences between them is difficult to assess and find. Only under the microscopic supervision the toughness and sharpness can be assessed. It is said sharpening an S35VN is a dream. If you are choosing the knife with this steel then you are on the right track.
CTS-XHP
If you are considering well-rounded and versatile steels, then the CTS-XHP are great and carpenter-produced. This steel is used by Spyderco and Cold Steel, and adequate toughness, good edge retention, ease of sharpening, and corrosion resistance. This blade steel is commonly used as an EDC or a fixed blade.
LC200N
This is a knife with corrosion resistance (90%) of H1, and you get an improved edge retention. The H1 is mainly used as a boating and fishing knife. They work great for humid and wet environments. Spydie Chef from Spyderco is another good knife in which the amazing LC200N is used.
Mid-Range Steels
1095
Workability, high-toughness, and good edge holding are some of the wonderful attributes which are present in 1095 steel. This is a budget-friendly and widely available steel for knife.
A2
They exhibit toughness and edge retention, and are well-used for a fixed blade steel. If compared with a CPM-3V steel, this is more economical, with ease of sharpening, toughness and edge retention.
D2
This is another steel with great edge retention, sharpening ability, a tool steel; which is dating back to WWII. But this is more prone to rust and corrosion, so keeping it oiled is a must.
H1
The H1 is considered to be a speciality steel and stain less than the carbon steel (normal steel stainless). We have tested it patiently and after leaving it in salt water for a long time this didn’t catch rust. This one doesn’t exhibit wear-resistance, toughness or edge holding but the corrosion resistance is amazing.
A great knife for humid and wet environments, is perfect for a fishing knife, undoubtedly.
O1
This one is a bit lower than the A2, but requires least maintenance. The edge holding is low, and more prone to resistance.
N690
Good corrosion resistance properties, a popular steel among the knifemakers of Europe. The toughness and strength of N690 is not less than VG-10 and 154CM.
VG-10
A neutrally-balanced steel in the market. Features similar qualities to that of 154CM and has an increased corrosion resistance.
Budget steels
400 Series
Originally this was used to make razor blades and is well known as cutlery steel too. 420 HC is used by Buck widely, and this is high on performance. though, different compositions have slight variations but all 400 Series are good on performance. A true cutlery knife, which is popular among all for years.
AUS-8
The knives made from AUS-8 steel are one of the most affordable ones. The Boker Kalashnikov is one of the best-selling models of knife made of AUS-8 steel. It isn’t the premium one, but good for making a cutlery knife, as these knives get equally sharp.
CTS-BD1
A steel with good corrosion resistance, easy to sharp, and can be maintained conveniently. This isn’t commonly used by the knife makers, and is used by highly-anticipated Spyderco Para 3 lightweight. One of the premium high-end steel. BD1N is different than this, so just don’t confuse this with the BD1, as the latter is an entry level knife.
Sandvik Series
The Sandvik steel is used for budget knives, economical, and used for entry-level knives. The quality of steel is decided by the higher numbers in front, and 14C28N is an improved version of the 12C27. Significantly, they perform in varied ways.
Budget Steels
These are the most economical of all the knife steels. If you are a knife enthusiast, then you can add on such knives for updating your favorite collection. After honing your sharpening technique, these are the ones which will fit into your budget.
| 14C28N | 12C27MoV | 420HC |
| 440C | 7CR17MoV | 8Cr13MoV |
| AUS-8 | CTS-BD1 |
Other Steels
They aren’t commonly used for bulk production, but some kind of mid or high-range performance is exhibited by these.
| 52100 | AEB-L | ATS-34 |
| RWL-34 | ZDP-189 |
Atypical Steels
They aren’t used much to be rated, as have their strengths and weaknesses.
Powdered Steels
CPM- Crucible Particle Metallurgy, is used by the Crucible Industry. This can also be referred to as CPM steel, and fine powder of carbide particles are used for this. For solidification purposes this allows an even distribution of carbides. Very few inclusions, very fine grain structure, is provided by CPM steels, in comparison to the forged steels. Finer edge is ensured by these steels.
DAMASCUS STEEL
This a pattern welded steel and is made by the combination of two steels. The acid itching process in the ferric chloride solution, makes vivid patterns in steel. this allows a popular contrast in pattern, and the performance becomes high when steels are utilized.
The Crux
You can choose a knife with a good steel now, isn’t it? The sharpness element can be brought to any of the steels with equality. My personal favorite is A2, M390, and the CPM series also work great when it comes to best quality steel.
One should always remember that not only the steel but the, geometry, and the heat treatment are responsible together for the overall functioning and performance. Now whenever you tend to choose some high-end knife, then get the steel confirmed for best outcomes.
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