← Steels
Tool steel
CPM-M4
A high-speed tool steel run very hard. Edge retention is near the top of anything used in knives and it is tougher than most steels that cut as long, but the low chromium means it WILL rust if you put it away wet. Benchmade uses it on the Bailout where cutting performance matters more than corrosion.
- Typical hardness
- 62-64 HRC
- Edge retention
- 5/5
- Toughness
- 4/5
- Corrosion resistance
- 1/5
- Ease of sharpening
- 2/5
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.
2 knives in CPM-M4