← Steels
Stainless steel
8Cr13MoV
The Chinese value workhorse, roughly comparable to AUS-8. Fine on a $30 knife, unremarkable anywhere else.
- Typical hardness
- 57-59 HRC
- Edge retention
- 1/5
- Toughness
- 3/5
- Corrosion resistance
- 3/5
- 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.
