Reference

Knife steels compared

Steel is where most of the price difference between two otherwise identical knives lives, and it is the spec people find hardest to translate into anything real. Four things actually matter, and no steel wins all four — edge retention and toughness are in direct tension, because the carbides that make a steel wear-resistant are also the places a thin edge chips.

Edge retention

How long it keeps cutting before it needs a stone

Toughness

Resistance to chipping and breaking under shock or prying

Corrosion resistance

How it copes with blood, salt water and a damp sheath

Ease of sharpening

How quickly you can bring the edge back in the field

1-5 is a relative ranking drawn from published composition and hardness, not a lab measurement. Higher is better on every axis, and no steel is a 5 across the board — edge retention and toughness pull against each other.

Stainless

Enough chromium in solution to resist rust. This is what you want on anything that lives in a wet sheath or gets used on animals.

SteelHRCEdge retentionToughnessCorrosionsharpeningKnives
CPM MagnaCut60-644 of 54 of 55 of 53 of 56
CPM-S30V58-613 of 53 of 54 of 53 of 522
CPM-S35VN58-613 of 54 of 54 of 53 of 55
CPM-S45VN58-614 of 53 of 54 of 53 of 52
CPM-S90V59-615 of 52 of 54 of 51 of 51
CPM-20CV59-615 of 52 of 55 of 52 of 52
Bohler M39060-625 of 52 of 55 of 52 of 52
LC200N58-602 of 54 of 55 of 54 of 51
Nitro-V59-613 of 53 of 54 of 54 of 51
CPM-15458-613 of 53 of 54 of 53 of 52
154CM58-613 of 53 of 53 of 53 of 52
CTS-BD1N60-622 of 54 of 54 of 54 of 52
VG-1059-612 of 53 of 54 of 54 of 56
Sandvik 14C28N58-612 of 54 of 54 of 55 of 57
Sandvik 12C2756-592 of 54 of 54 of 55 of 55
420HC56-581 of 54 of 54 of 55 of 510
420J254-561 of 53 of 54 of 55 of 56
Surgical Stainless—1 of 52 of 54 of 5—5
Tru-Sharp Surgical Steel56-581 of 54 of 54 of 55 of 53
8Cr13MoV57-591 of 53 of 53 of 55 of 57
9Cr18MoV58-602 of 53 of 54 of 54 of 51
7Cr17MoV56-581 of 53 of 53 of 55 of 51
5Cr15MoV55-571 of 53 of 53 of 55 of 51
AUS-857-591 of 54 of 53 of 55 of 54
AUS-8A57-591 of 54 of 53 of 55 of 51
1.4110 Stainless55-571 of 54 of 54 of 55 of 53
1.4116 Stainless55-571 of 54 of 54 of 55 of 51
X55CrMo1455-571 of 54 of 54 of 55 of 51

Tool

Made for cutting tools rather than corrosion resistance. Harder-wearing than most stainless, and they will spot if you put them away wet.

SteelHRCEdge retentionToughnessCorrosionsharpeningKnives
D258-623 of 52 of 52 of 52 of 55
CPM-3V58-613 of 55 of 52 of 53 of 52
CPM CruWear61-654 of 54 of 53 of 53 of 51
A2 Tool Steel58-602 of 54 of 52 of 54 of 52

Carbon

No meaningful corrosion resistance at all. In exchange: cheap, very tough, and sharpenable on almost anything. They patina, and a patina is not a defect.

SteelHRCEdge retentionToughnessCorrosionsharpeningKnives
1095 Carbon55-582 of 54 of 51 of 55 of 56
1095 Cro-Van56-582 of 54 of 51 of 55 of 54
1075 Carbon56-581 of 55 of 51 of 55 of 51
5160 Spring Steel57-591 of 55 of 51 of 55 of 51
SK-5 Carbon58-602 of 54 of 51 of 55 of 51
UHB-20C Carbon58-602 of 54 of 51 of 55 of 51
High Carbon—2 of 54 of 51 of 55 of 51

Laminated

A hard core bonded between softer outer layers. The core takes and holds the edge; the cladding absorbs the shock that would otherwise crack it.

SteelHRCEdge retentionToughnessCorrosionsharpeningKnives
Laminated VG-10592 of 54 of 54 of 54 of 52
Triple Laminated Carbon58-602 of 54 of 52 of 55 of 51
Triple Laminated Stainless57-592 of 54 of 54 of 55 of 51

Unspecified

The manufacturer does not publish a grade.

SteelHRCEdge retentionToughnessCorrosionsharpeningKnives
Stainless—————1

Where these come from