List of blade materials


A variety of blade materials can be used to make the blade of a knife or other simple edged hand tool or weapon, such as a sickle, hatchet, or sword. The most common blade materials are carbon steel, stainless steel, tool steel, and alloy steel. Less common materials in blades include cobalt and titanium alloys, ceramic, obsidian, and plastic.
The hardness of steel is usually stated as a number on the Rockwell C scale. The Rockwell scale is a hardness scale based on the resistance to indentation a material has. This differs from other scales such as the Mohs scale, which is used in mineralogy. As hardness increases, the blade becomes more capable of taking and holding an edge but is more difficult to sharpen and increasingly more brittle. Laminating harder steel between softer steel is an expensive process, though it gives the benefits of both "hard" and "soft" steels to some extent.

Steel

Alloy steels

  • 5160, a spring steel. Popular steel for forging swords and large knives, with high toughness and good wear resistance. Popular sword manufacturers that use 5160 spring steel include Hanwei and Generation 2. 5160 spring steel is mainly used on Medieval type swords.
  • 4140, 41XX Steel grade with approximately.4% Carbon content. Heat treatable to increase hardness.
  • 6150, a chromium-vanadium alloy. Similar to 4140, 6150 is a tough steel with high impact resistance. It can be hardened to the mid-50s on the HRC scale. While a common material for swords or hatchets, it is less than ideal for most knives because of its limited attainable hardness. It tolerates less than ideal temperature control in forging and heat-treating. While it does not hold an edge as well as 1095, it is tough and easy to sharpen.
  • V-toku1 / V-toku2, alloyed steel with W/Cr's original characteristics.

    Tool steels

Tool steel grades used in cutlery: A, D, O, M, T, S, L, W. See also AISI Tool Steel Grades.
The following are tool steels, which are alloy steels commonly used to produce hardened cutting tools:
  • A2, a steel that trades wear resistance for toughness. It is used in custom-made fighting knives by makers such as Phill Hartsfield, Rob Criswell, Mike Snody, John Fitzen, and Aaron Gough, who was one of the latest to standardize his camp/survival knives in A2 tool steel. A2 used to be the standard baseline steel used by Bark River Custom Knives and is used as the standard tool steel for the Black Wolf Knives range of Hunting Knives.
  • A3
  • A4
  • A5
  • A6, a grade of tool steel which air-hardens at a relatively low temperature and is dimensionally stable. Therefore, it is commonly used for dies, forming tools, and gauges that do not require extreme wear resistance but do need high stability.
  • A7 tool steel is an A7 type air-hardening tool steel that exhibits exceptional wear resistance. The high carbon and vanadium contents result in numerous, hard vanadium carbide particles in the steel. These carbides exhibit a hardness that is equivalent to approximately 80 to 85 Rockwell C. Resist wear from sliding contact with other steels as well as from contact with dry and wet slurries of hard abrasive particles such as sand, shot blast media, and ceramics. It is 0.55% carbon, 0.30% manganese, 0.30% silicon, 5.00% chromium, 1.25% molybdenum, and 1.25% vanadium.
  • A8
  • A9
  • A10, a grade which contains a uniform distribution of graphite particles to increase machinability and provide self-lubricating properties. It is commonly used for gauges, shears, and punches.
  • D2 is a high-carbon, high-chromium die steel and is the highest carbon alloy tool and die steel typically used in knife making. With a chrome content of 12%, some call it a "semi-stainless", because of the lack of free Chromium in solution, even though it is defined by ASM and ANSI as stainless, which contains at least 11.5% by weight of chromium. While not as tough as premium carbon steel, it is much tougher than premium stainless steel. D2 knife blades were popularized by Jimmy Lile, and later by Bob Dozier.
  • O1, a popular forging steel. Good wear resistance and excellent edge retention. Very tough, but not as tough as 5160. It is most commonly used by Randall Knives, Mad Dog Knives, and many other custom knife makers.
  • M2 is slightly tougher than D2. As a high-speed tool steel, it is capable of keeping a tempered edge at high temperatures generated in various machining processes. However, it is not used as widely in factory production knives, as CPM M4 has become more popular. Custom knife makers still use it for knives intended for fine cutting with very thin edges.
  • M4
  • SAF 2507 is a Sandvik trademarked steel containing 25% chromium, 7% nickel, 4% molybdenum, and other alloying elements such as nitrogen and manganese.
  • T1
  • T2
  • S1, a medium-carbon shock-resisting steel tool steel which combines moderate hardness with good impact toughness. Carbon content 0.40 - 0.55%.
  • W1, a water hardening tool steel. High carbon content.
  • W2, a tool steel that holds its edge quite well but is not very tough. Has a carbon content of 1.5%, although most readily available W2 has a carbon content of no more than 1-1.1%. It can be left at high hardness levels and still be quite tough, especially in larger knives with thicker spines, as the core of the thick portion of the blade does not attain full hardness because of the shallow hardening nature of the steel. Bill Moran considered it to be almost as tough as 5160, but it was unavailable for some time. W2 is one of the carbon steels that can produce a nice Hamon in heat treating.
  • SK3, SK4, SK5 - Japanese carbon steels. SK stands for "Steel Kougu" meaning "Steel Tool". The lower number indicates fewer impurities.

    CPM Tool Steel

produces Crucible Particle Metallurgy tool steels using a powder metal forge process.
  • CPM 1V, a proprietary steel with a very high toughness that is several times higher than A2 with the same level of wear resistance.
  • CPM 3V, a proprietary steel with a very high toughness of less than CPM 1V but more than A2 along with high wear resistance that is better than CPM 1V. Used by several custom knife makers and factories, including Jerry Hossom, Mike Stewart , Reese Weiland, Nathan Carothers, and Dan Keffeler.
  • CPM 4V, a proprietary steel, high-impact toughness, and very good wear resistance. Gaining popularity in Bladesports Competition Cutting knives.
  • CPM 9V, a modification of CPM 10V with lower carbon and vanadium to improve toughness and heat check resistance.
  • CPM 10V, highly wear-resistant cold work tool steel, toughness comparable with D2 tool steel. Currently used by a few custom knife makers. Phil Wilson pioneered the use of CPM 10V and numerous other CPM steels in sporting knives. Composition is equivalent to Bölher K294.
  • CPM 15V, a proprietary steel, extremely high wear-resistant tool steel, thanks to 14.5% Vanadium content. Not common in production knives.
  • CPM CRU-WEAR, proprietary steel designed as a CPM upgrade to conventional Cru-Wear and D2 steels, it offers better wear resistance, toughness, and hardness than ingot made Cru-Wear.
  • CPM S7, a shock-resistant medium carbon tool steel, with outstanding impact toughness and high strength, along with medium wear resistance. It has maximum shock resistance and high compression strength, which gives it good deformation resistance in use while retaining good toughness.

    Chrome steel

Chrome steel is one of a class of non-stainless steel that is used for applications such as bearings, tools, and drills.
  • AISI 52100, ball-bearing steel. In terms of wear resistance, a little better than that of the O1 steel, however, 52100 is also tougher. It has very fine carbides, which translates into high-edge stability. Repeated heat forging and heat cycling result in a very fine grain structure. Used by many custom makers, Swamp Rat knives use 52100 steel under the name SR101. Also referred to as 100 Cr 6/102 Cr6 as per ISO nomenclature and conforms to BS grade En31.
  • SUJ2, Japanese equivalent to AISI 52100 steel.
  • DIN 5401

    Semi-stainless steels

Steels that did not fit into the stainless category because they may not have enough of a certain element, such as chromium.
  • V-Gin1, fine-grained steel with Molybdenum and Vanadium for the best effect of Chromium.
  • V-Gin2, more Chromium is added for better corrosion resistance.
  • V-Gin3B, more Chromium is added for better corrosion resistance.

    Stainless steel

Stainless steel is a popular class of material for knife blades because it resists corrosion and is easy to maintain. However, it is not impervious to corrosion or rust. For a steel to be considered stainless it must have a Chromium content of at least 10.5%.
;154CM / ATS-34 steels
These two steels are practically identical in composition. They were introduced into custom knives by Bob Loveless.
  • 154CM is produced by Crucible Industries. It is used extensively by Benchmade Knife Company and many others.
  • CPM 154 is identical to 154CM in composition, however it is produced by Crucible using CPM Process, bringing all the benefits of Particle Metallurgy technology.
  • ATS-34 is produced by Hitachi Metals.
The latter two are considered premium cutlery steels for both folding knives and fixed blades.
;300 series
Because the 300 series is non-hardenable, they are primarily used in entry-level dive knives and as the outer layers in a San Mai blade.
  • The 300 series is non-magnetic.
  • 302 is a Chromium-Nickel austenitic alloy used for blenders and mixers.
  • 303 is an austenitic stainless steel specifically designed to exhibit improved machinability.
  • 303 SE is austenitic chromium-nickel steel to which selenium has been added to improve machinability and non-galling characteristics.
  • 304L is a low-carbon austenitic chromium-nickel steel designed for special applications.
  • 316L is a low carbon austenitic chromium-nickel steel with superior corrosion and heat resisting qualities.
  • 321 is an austenitic chromium-nickel steel with a high chromium content of 18.00%.
;400 series
The 400 series remains one of the most popular choices for knife makers because it is easy to sharpen and is resistant to corrosion. It is also magnetic.
There are at least four sub-series within the 400 series: 410, 416, 420, and 440:
  • 410 is a hardenable, straight-chromium stainless steel that combines superior wear resistance with excellent corrosion resistance.
  • 416 is very similar to 410 with the addition of sulfur to improve machinability.
  • 420 has more carbon than 410, but less than 440. As such, it is softer than 440, but has a higher toughness.
  • 440 is a relatively low-cost, highly corrosion-resistant higher yet carbon variant of the 400 series.
420 series contains several types with various carbon content between 0.15% and 0.40%. Steel from this series is widely used to make high-end razor blades, surgical scalpels, etc. It obtains about 57 HRC after suitable heat treatment.
420A and 420B are economical, highly corrosion-resistant grades of 420. Knife manufacturers use this material in budget knives, also in diving knives due to its high corrosion resistance.
420HC, "420 High Carbon", is a higher carbon content 420 stainless steel. Consequently, it can be brought to a higher hardness than regular 420 and should not be mistaken for it. Buck Knives, Gerber Knives and Leatherman use 420HC extensively.
440 series has three types: 440A, 440B, and 440C.
  1. 440A is a relatively low-cost, highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel. In China, A honest Changjiang Stainless Steel developed 7Cr17MoV, a modified 440A, by adding more vanadium.
  2. 440B is almost identical to 440A but has a higher carbon content range.
  3. 440C is also highly corrosion-resistant but is capable of having a very high hardness. The hardenability of 440C is due to it having the highest carbon content in the 440 group. Because of this, 440C is one of the most common stainless alloys used for knife making. The once ubiquitous American Buck Model 110 Folding Hunter was made of 440C before 1981. Böhler n695 is equivalent to 440C. Knife blades specified as being "440" without any letter suffix can typically be assumed to be the lower-hardness 440A grade.
;AUS series
The AUS stainless steel series is produced by Aichi Steel Corporation of Japan. They differ from the AISI 4xx series because they have vanadium added to them. Vanadium improves the wear resistance, toughness, and ease of sharpening. In the alloy name the appended 'A' indicates the alloy has been annealed.
  • AUS-6 is comparable to 440A with a carbon content close to 0.65%. It is low-cost steel, with slightly higher wear resistance compared to 420J.
  • AUS-8 is comparable to 440B with a carbon content close to 0.75%. It is often used instead of 440C. SOG knives uses AUS-8 extensively.
  • AUS-10 is comparable to 440C with a carbon content close to 1.10%. It is slightly tougher than 440C.
;CPM SxxV series
The SxxV series are Crucible Industries stainless steels produced using CPM process.
  • CPM S30V, on the lower end of the SxxV steels, it has a carbon content of 1.45%. However, S30V is still considered to be a superior choice for knife making. CPM S30V is used in a wide range of commercial knives.
  • CPM S35VN is a martensitic stainless steel designed to offer improved toughness over CPM S30V. It is also easier to machine and polish than CPM S30V. It is used in many high-end kitchen knives.
  • CPM S60V , very rich in vanadium. CPM S60V has a carbon content of 2.15%. It was uncommon steel, but both Spyderco and Kershaw Knives offered knives of this steel, Boker still offers folders made from CPM S60V.
  • CPM S90V has less chromium than S60V, but has almost twice as much vanadium. S90V's carbon content is also higher, around 2.30%.
  • CPM S110V has higher corrosion resistance than S90V and marginally better wear resistance. The additional corrosion resistance while retaining all the benefits of S90V makes this steel extremely desired for kitchen cutlery.
  • CPM S125V. It contains 3.25% carbon, 14% chromium and 12% vanadium, as well as other elements in alloy. Exceptionally high wear resistance, making it difficult to process and machine for knife-makers. At first, only used in custom knives, it has been utilized by larger manufacturers more recently in very limited quantities.
  • CPM Magnacut is a new, well-balanced stainless steel, with impact toughness and edge holding comparable to CPM 4V. Developed by Larrin Thomas and Crucible Industries specifically for the knife industry.
  • MagnaMax is a new, well-balanced stainless steel, with impact toughness and edge holding comparable to K390. It was developed by Larrin Thomas, specifically for the knife industry. It is a new, specialized evolution of MagnaCut designed for enhanced edge retention and hardness while maintaining excellent toughness and corrosion resistance. While the steel was initially produced using the Crucible Particle Metallurgy process by Crucible Industries, it is slated to be officially produced by Erasteel in Sweden in the future.
;VG series
Japanese stainless advanced alloy steels, manufactured by Takefu Special Steels. As all Steel manufacturers have their secret undisclosed elements in their alloys, the main parts are mostly known to public, and when there was a demand for High-end Cutlery in the kitchen Takefu was one of the first with a so-called Alloy Steel that required little to no maintenance for daily home cook users as well as the professional kitchen. Even today it remains one of the most looked Steels worldwide.
  • VG-1, Takefu stainless alloy steel. Popular steel in Japanese kitchen knives.
  • VG-2, high-carbon Mo stainless blade steel.
  • VG-5, synergic effect of Mo and V makes carbide finer with added carbon and vanadium.
  • VG-7/VG-8W, strengthens substrate and improves tempering performance.
  • VG-10, Takefu special steels, their most well-known and stable VG alloy steel. Improved composition to VG-1 but also contains cobalt, vanadium, and tungsten. Very fine carbide and structure due to extended R&D, and therefore one of the steels which has the well-established and longest period of trial and error in history and became one of the best highly advanced stable ESR alloys in the world. Very popular around the world, can tempered to extreme hardness while remaining a very high toughness. Very good wear resistance and extreme rust resistance while fairly able to be re-sharpened.
Due to extreme demand 10 years ago and Chinese counterfeits, the steel has been excluded from the Japanese market only and no longer can be exported from outside Japan. Chinese counterfeiting of steels where not even close to resembling the original steel and quality and therefore the decision was purely made to retain the high quality of VG steels and make the steel exclusively available for Japanese blacksmiths and manufacturers only making it nowadays a rare and exclusive high-end steel. Although old retailers outside Japan may have had a large quantity from the early days, it is officially no longer available outside Japan and only the finished products can be exported from Japan.
  • Takefu Special Steels is one of the few that combines 2 of the VG Steels into one making it officially one of the rare officially stated Damascus Steels. Since forging this steel into successful kitchen cutlery is very complex, the yield rate is extremely low and to find such products is thus extremely Rare and very expensive but ensures you have a very high-quality high-end product.
  • San-mai, is a composite steel used to make high-end knives. The core is VG-1 and the outside layers are 420j for good rust resistance.
Due to the small vanadium content and several undisclosed changes, VG-10 has a finer grain content compared to VG-1. Cobalt and nickel improve toughness. Overall, it has way better edge stability compared to VG-1. VG-10 is widely used in Japanese kitchen knives, several manufacturers have used it in various folders and fixed blade knives, but no longer use it, including Spyderco, Cold Steel and Fallkniven.
;CTS series
American stainless steels are produced by Carpenter Technology using vacuum-melt technology.
  • CTS-BD1, high-carbon chromium steel that provides stainless properties with high hardness and excellent wear resistance.
  • CTS-204P, offers superior edge retention and surface finish, an ability to be machined to a fine edge, and consistent heat-treatability from lot to lot.
  • CTS-BD30P
  • CTS-40C, a powder metallurgy, high-carbon chromium stainless steel designed to provide stainless properties with maximum hardness.
  • CTS-TMT, a hardenable martensitic stainless steel that combines improved corrosion resistance over Type 410 stainless with hardness up to 53 HRC and improved formability over 17Cr-4Ni.
  • CTS-XHP, a powder metallurgy, air-hardening, high carbon, high chromium, corrosion-resistant alloy. It can be considered either a high-hardness 440C stainless steel or a corrosion-resistant D2 tool steel.
;CrMo/CrMoV Series
Chinese and American stainless steels; the manufacturers are unknown except 14-4CrMo which is manufactured by Latrobe Specialty Metals.
  • 14-4CrMo, manufactured by Latrobe Specialty Metals. A wear-resistant, martensitic stainless tool steel that exhibits better corrosion resistance than 440C stainless steel.
  • 2Cr13, belongs to 420 grade series, very basic. EN 1.4021 / DIN X20Cr13, widely used in economic cutting tools, 50HRC max after heat treatment.
  • 3Cr13, in 420 grade series, it contains 420A 420B 420C 420D. 3Cr13 steel is 420B, EN 1.4028 / DIN X30Cr13, 52HRC approximately after heat treatment.
  • 3Cr13MoV, made by adding more elements of molybdenum and vanadium to the 420J2-3Cr13 formula.
  • 4Cr13, EN 1.4034 / DIN X46Cr13, 420C stainless steel, it obtains about 55-57HRC.
  • 4Cr13Mo, EN 1.4419 / DIN X38CrMo14, developed based on GB 4Cr13 / DIN X46Cr13 by adding molybdenum.
  • 4Cr14MoV, EN 1.4117 / DIN X38CrMoV15, good enough to make kitchen knives.
  • 5Cr15MoV, some knives manufacturers define as 5Cr13MoV, the hardness could be 55–57 HRC. It's widely used to make kitchen knives, high-end scissors, folding knives, hunting knives, etc. It is equivalent to 1.4116 and German 4116 steel in composition.
  • 6Cr13MoV, also written as 6Cr14MoV. The patented name is applied by Ahonest Changjiang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd. Similar stainless steel grade 6Cr14 /420D which does not contain molybdenum and vanadium, is superior to make razor blades, surgical scalpels, etc.
  • 7Cr17MoV, 440A modified with more vanadium elements. The benefits of vanadium : are increased strength, wear resistance, and increased toughness; the recommended hardness is about 55/57 HRC.
  • 8Cr13MoV & 8Cr14MoV, similar to AICHI AUS-8, an excellent value-priced steel for its performance.
  • 9Cr13MoVCo, 9Cr14MoV. Chinese-made steels that are similar to 440B but with a higher carbon, cobalt, and vanadium content add more strength to the blade. Uses include high-end barber scissors, hunting knives, etc.
  • 9Cr18MoV, 440B modified, a higher-end Chinese stainless steel used mostly in high-end barber scissors and surgical tools.
  • 9Cr19MoV, used in items such as the Ultimate Pro Bear Grylls Survival knife.
  • 99Cr18MoV, 440C modified. Developed by Jaktkit and Ahonest Changjiang in cooperation. Uses ESR technology and hot forging. This improves its work performance, especially toughness, and edge-holding ability.
;Sandvik series
  • 6C27, a common knife steel grade with good corrosion resistance and low hardness, is mainly used in applications where the need for wear resistance is low.
  • 7C27Mo2, generally the same properties as Sandvik 6C27, but with improved corrosion resistance.
  • 12C27, a grade with high hardness and good wear resistance. Takes a very keen edge with moderate edge retention.
  • 12C27M, another Swedish stainless razor steel. A very pure, fine-grained alloy. A grade with good wear resistance and good corrosion resistance, well suited for the manufacture of kitchen tools.
  • 13C26, also known as Swedish stainless razor steel. Generally the same properties as Sandvik 12C27, but with slightly higher hardness but less corrosion resistance. The Swedish steelmaker Uddeholm AB also makes a virtually identical razor steel composition known as AEB-L, which they patented in 1928. Swedish razor steel is a very pure, fine-grained alloy that positively affects edge holding, edge stability, and toughness.
  • 14C28N, designed by Sandvik at Kershaw's behest to have the edge properties of 13C26 but with increased corrosion resistance by adding nitrogen and chromium. Available in Kershaw knives and in other brands.
  • 19C27, a grade with very high hardness and wear resistance.