Types of Steel

There are many types of steel that can be used to construct the blade of a knife. Different elements can contribute to different performance characteristics as well. Also no matter how superior the steel quality is, you will also almost always have a tradeoff. If you want a high performance steel, then it could be tremendously hard to re-sharpen and it will need additional care. Below is a list of several types of steels used in constructing the blade of a knife.

• 154 CM: This is a very high carbon alloy(1.05%), which makes it a very hard steel. Used for tactical combat knives by companies like Benchmade and Gerber Knives
• 420: An inexpensive but hard steel.
• 420HC: Was the first generally accepted knife makers' stainless and remains quite popular. It is a hard steel that contains more carbon then the 420. Used by companies like Gerber and Buck Knives.
• 440A: High carbon, hard steel. Used by SOG for their SEAL 2000 knives.
• 440B: Similar to the 440A but contains more Carbon. This is often used by Randall Knives.
• 440C: One of the most popular blade steels in the world. It is Hard, durable, and easy to work with. Used in the SOG Bowie knife.
• 5160: A common spring steel that is an excellent steel for swords, or any other blade that will have to take some battering.
• A-2: An exceptional steel, with fine wear-resistance, and excellent resistance to annealing and warping.
• ATS-34: Japanese made stainless considered the equal of 154 CM. It is a hard steel that is used by Spyderco, Buck, and Gerber knives.
• AUS-8: A hard steel used by many custom knife makers. Used by Syderco Knives, Al Mar, Kershaw and other knife companies.
• Ceramic: More delicate than steel knives, they tend to hold their edge up to 10 times longer. Once the blades have dulled, they must be sharpened by a professional.
• CPM-S30V (Also called S30V): A high wear, durable, hard steel, excellent for knives. Used by Spyderco, Lone Wolf, and Benchmade.
• CPM440V: An extremely hard, high carbon steel. Used on many Kershaw folding knives.
• D-2: A stain-resistant, but not quite stainless blade with superb wear resistance, used in Benchmade and Ka-Bar knives. Has good edge retention, but needs extra care. This blade steel needs to be cleaned frequently so it does not rust.
• Damascus Steel: A legendary steel used by Muslim people against Europeans during the Crusades. It was said to be much stronger, flexible, and sharper than European steel. The process for making it was lost. Many people have experimented with recreating Damascus steel, notably Bill Moran.
• M-2:A high temperature steel made for lath cutting tools and is a good steel used in kitchen knives and folding knives. A high-speed steel, meaning it is resistant to high temperatures and will maintain its edge even when extremely hot. Not recommended for larger knives.
• M-4: Much like M-2 in its heat resistance, but with a higher carbon that makes it more difficult to sharpen or work. Makes an excellent knife blade.
• O-1: A very popular, easy to tool, high carbon steel that produces a blade of excellent quality for most normal use.
• Sandvic 12C27: A Swedish steel, very popular because it has few impurities.
• Stainless steel: A steel that has a high chromium content to prevent rust. Because knives need high carbon to remain sharp, a stainless steel for knives is just rust resistant, not completely rust proof.
• Titanium: A marginally acceptable metal for a knife blade. It cannot be hardened much past the mid 40's of the Rockwell C scale. Titanium is also more flexible than steel, which works best for tasks such as boning and filleting.
• Vasco Wear: A rather expensive but very, very good in edge holding.