5160 Spring Steel

Leaf-spring steel. Extremely shock resistant — the reason it survives chopping.

Typical hardness

57-59 HRC

Edge retention

1/5

Toughness

5/5

Corrosion resistance

1/5

Ease of sharpening

5/5

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.