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How toChoose aKnife3 Steel Properties to Consider

Imagine you’re picking a spot to camp for the weekend. You could make the trip quick and easy by booking a full-hookup site at a popular campground 30 minutes from town. Or you could find total solitude in the forest by staking your tent somewhere far off the grid.

The first option is better for beginners and those who place a high value on convenience and comfort, but you’ll be far from alone. The second involves more work and an element of risk, but for many people, the peaceful sounds of nature and the brilliance of the stars are well worth the extra effort.

The best way to camp depends on what you’re looking to get out of camping. And the best steel for knives depends on a combination of properties that work together to form a blade that works the way you want:

The blade's characteristics

The steel's rating on the Rockwell Hardness Scale (HRC)

The primary chemical elements the steel is made from

Blade steel has four primary characteristics. Excellence in one category may mean compromised performance in another, so it’s important to figure out which characteristics are most valuable for the situations you’ll be using the knife for.

Here are the four blade steel characteristics you need to know.

1. Edge Retention

Edge retention refers to how long a blade stays sharp under use, influenced by the knife steel’s hardness and the type of carbides in the steel. There are a few ways to measure this characteristic:

Anago Testing: Uses a machine to measure the force needed to cut through standardized test media, providing a direct and precise quantification of blade sharpness.

CATRA Testing: Uses a machine to cut standardized material until the blade’s sharpness diminishes, providing a quantitative measure of edge retention.

Field Testing: Feedback from real-world people in the field—more subjective than Anago and CATRA testing, but valuable for understanding performance in practical situations.

2. Toughness

A blade’s toughness measures its resistance to chipping or breaking. This characteristic is less important if you’re using a small knife to slice through packing tape now and then, but it’s key for a blade that gives cutting power to tools like a heavy-duty Viking axe and sheath or sturdy work knife.

A blade steel’s toughness is proportionate to its hardness. Here’s how toughness is measured:

Charpy Impact Test: A pendulum strikes a sample of notched steel to measure the energy absorbed before fracture. The more energy absorbed, the tougher the steel.

Bend Testing: A blade is bent to a specific angle to see if it breaks or deforms permanently.

3. Ease of Sharpening

This one is pretty obvious: How easy is the blade to sharpen? You might assume harder steel is always better than soft, but it’s usually easier to restore a sharp edge on softer steel—a quality you’ll appreciate if you often find yourself needing to quickly hone the blade of a small folding knife while out in the field.

Ease of sharpening is measured through:

Microscopic Analysis: Examining the steel’s microstructure reveals information about carbide size and distribution, which influences how easy the blade is to sharpen.

Subjective Testing: Experienced knife sharpeners use various sharpening methods and tools to evaluate how easily a blade takes an edge.

4. Corrosion Resistance

Corrosion-resistant steel stands up to rust and staining better than non-resistant blades. If you’re working in a marine environment or humid climate, this is one characteristic you’ll want to pay close attention to.

There are the tests that measure a blade steel's resistance to corrosion:

Salt Spray Test: Experts measure the amount of corrosion on a blade after exposing it to a salt fog chamber for a set period of time.

Electrochemical Testing: This testing measures the steel’s electrical potential in a corrosive environment, with a lower potential indicating better corrosion resistance.

The Rockwell Hardness Scale (abbreviated as HRC for Rockwell scale C) is the industry standard for measuring a blade’s hardness—think of it as a gauge of the steel’s ability to resist deformation.

The test involves pressing a diamond or steel ball indenter into the steel with a specific amount of force before measuring the depth of the resulting indentation. The deeper the mark left by the indenter, the softer the steel.

HRC Rating

Imagine hearing news of an earthquake that measured 7.2 on the Richter Scale. Or an EF-5 tornado. Or a category 4 hurricane. Even if you’re not an expert in natural disasters, those numbers help you picture the severity of the storm or quake.

An HRC rating is also expressed as a number, and getting familiar with the ratings will help you quickly understand what level of hardness to expect from your blade. Most knife blades range from 50 to 65 HRC, with higher numbers indicating a harder steel.

A high HRC rating and its corresponding hardness might sound appealing, but as with the other categories we’ve covered, benefits in one area usually mean tradeoffs in another. A knife that’s too hard might be brittle and prone to chipping, while a softer blade is likely easier to sharpen but requires more frequent honing.

Finding the Ideal HRC Range

So which HRC rating should you aim for? It all depends on the knife’s intended use. For example, 58 to 60 HRC tends to be a good range for a flipper knife designed for everyday carry (EDC) because you’ll get a good balance of edge retention and toughness. But for a rugged work knife you’ll use for heavy-duty tasks, a slightly lower HRC will offer the durability you need.

Picture this: It’s just past dawn in the quiet clearing where you pitched your tent for the night. You get a fire going, hang your percolator above the flames, and start chopping onions, bell peppers, and fingerling potatoes with your trusty compact folding knife.

After frying the veggies and mixing in sausage, eggs, and cheese, you’ll soon be feasting on a savory breakfast skillet. Each ingredient adds to the dish’s flavor—much like the final “flavor” of a blade steel is determined by the ingredients (or elements) it’s made of.

A metallurgist is a mineral expert who studies the properties of metals and applies that knowledge to practical applications like metal production. In the context of blade steels, metallurgists are like chefs. They decide which elements to put into the steel and what proportion to use to get the desired result.

HERE'S A FUN FACT

Blade steel names often hold clues to the steel’s composition and properties. Number designations, like 1095 or 440C, usually refer to carbon and alloying element percentages. For example, the “10” in 1095 indicates plain carbon steel, and the “95” signifies a carbon content of approximately 0.95%.

Here are some of the chemical elements commonly found in blade steel and the qualities each element adds to the blade:

Carbon (C): Increases hardness and wear resistance but can decrease toughness.

Chromium (Cr): Enhances corrosion resistance and hardenability. Steel made with a minimum of 10.5% chromium is considered stainless.

Molybdenum (Mo): Also known as moly; a carbide-forming material that improves hardenability and toughness.

Vanadium (V): Forms the hardest carbides in modern blade steel; increases wear resistance and refines grain structure.

Manganese (Mn): Improves hardenability and toughness.

In stainless steels, like 154CM, the numbers might indicate chromium content and the presence of other elements—in this case, molybdenum. Letters often denote specific elements (“C” for chromium, “V” for vanadium), modifications (“N” for nitrogen), or country of origin (“AUS” for Japan).

Next: How is Blade Steel Manufactured The CRKT Blade Steel Guide