1: 440-C: High-quality stainless steel made in the United States, with a chromium content of up to 16-18. Originally used in surgical knives and the shipbuilding industry, it has excellent corrosion resistance and corrosion resistance; and has strong toughness. Now it is more widely used in hand-made knives and high-quality factory-made knives. The carbon content is about 1 (440 series is divided into A, B, C, and F grades; C grade and F grade have the highest carbon content, while A grade has less carbon content). After mature treatment, it can reach a hardness of HRc58. 2: 154CM: High-quality stainless steel made in the United States, with a chromium content of 15, a molybdenum content of 15, and a molybdenum content of 4; hence the name 154CM. It was first adopted by R.W. Loverless, one of the masters of modern hand-made knives. It has excellent processability, corrosion resistance, blade damage resistance and toughness, but the price is high, so it is only used in handmade knives. The carbon content is about 1.05, and the hardness can reach HRc60~61 after heat treatment. [Reposted from Jagged Community/] 3: ATS-34: A high-quality stainless steel developed by Japan's "Hitachi Metal Industries" for the American-made 154CM. The materials and ingredients are similar to 154CM, and all aspects of performance meet the standards of 154CM, and are still the same. It is better, but the price is cheaper. It is recognized as one of the best knife steels in the industry and has now become the mainstream application of handmade and high-quality factory-made knives. After heat treatment, the hardness can reach HRc60~61. 4: AUS8(8A): High-quality stainless steel developed by Japan's "Aichi Steel". Its corrosion resistance, blade damage resistance and toughness all reach excellent levels. It is mostly used in high-quality knives made in Japan. AUS steel grades are divided into three types: 10A (carbon content about 1), 8A (carbon content about 0.8) and 6A (carbon content about 0.6). 8A has a hardness of HRc58~59 after heat treatment. 5: D2: Wear-resistant tool steel D2 for metal machining, belongs to Air-Hardening steel; it is widely used in the production of felling knives or hunting knives. The carbon content is as high as 1.5, and the chromium content is also as high as 11.5. After heat treatment, the hardness can reach HRc60, but its ductility (toughness) is relatively weak, its resistance is not very good, and the surface of the steel is difficult to be mirror-polished. 6: Hi-Speed ??Tool Steel: Highly processed tool steel with high carbon content and low chromium content (about 4), so the gloss of the polished steel surface is darker. After heat treatment It can reach a high hardness of HRc62, but its resistance is not very good. 7: Cowry The carbon content is as high as 3, and the high hardness of HRc67 can be obtained after heat treatment. 8: Cowry Y (CP-4): A high-quality powder-based alloy steel developed by Japan's Daido Special Steel Co., Ltd. in 1993. The carbon content reaches 1.2, and the rare metal element 'columbium' is mixed with 0.2. After heat treatment, it can It has a high hardness of HRc63, but still maintains excellent ductility. [Reposted from Jagged Community/] 9: A-2: A-2, a high-toughness and wear-resistant tool steel for metal processing, is an air-hardened steel with a high carbon content, about 1. After heat treatment, it can reach a hardness of HRc57, chromium The content is about 5. After polishing, the steel surface has a darker luster, excellent corrosion resistance, ductility (extremely strong), and good blade damage resistance. 10: VG10: The "V Gold No. 10" stainless steel of Japan's "Takeo Special Steel" is "V Gold", which is the best grade of steel. It contains about 1 carbon, 1.2 molybdenum and 1.5 cobalt. It can be used after heat treatment. Reaching the hardness of HRc60-62. VG-10 has excellent processability, strong toughness and corrosion resistance, and is mostly used in high-quality Japanese-made knives.
11: BG-42: An extremely high-quality stainless steel with a carbon content of 1.15 and a vanadium content of up to 1.20; therefore, the steel structure has fine particles and can reach a hardness of HRc60-61 after heat treatment. It has excellent processability and extremely strong corrosion resistance. , toughness is also good. BG-42 was originally used in the aerospace industry as a material for making pulleys and crankshafts. Due to its high price, it is mostly used in the knife making industry to make handmade knives for knifemakers. 12: SANDVIK: SANDVIK is a leader in the Nordic steel and hardware industry. 120C stainless steel is one of SANDVIK's excellent steel types. It has a carbon content of about 1 and a chromium content of about 14. After heat treatment, it can reach a hardness of HRc56-58. , excellent processability and toughness. Most of the knives produced by famous manufacturers in Northern Europe are made of SANDVIK steel. 13: 1095: The best quality among high carbon steels is 1095. Its carbon content reaches 1.03. After heat treatment, it can reach a hardness of HRc58-60. It has very good toughness, but it is not resistant. It is mostly used in traditional European styles. Hunting knives, large felling knives and military knives. For example, the famous KA-BAR saber in the United States during World War II used 1095 as the blade material. 14: W-2: The high-carbon tool steel named W-type is hydraulically hardened steel (Water-Hardening Steel), which is the tool. The cheapest among steels. W-2 steel (after heat treatment) can easily reach high hardness (HRc65), and can be easily hardened locally, so that adjacent parts can be hard enough to be wear-resistant, but still soft enough. It is easy to manufacture and has excellent processability, so it is widely used. However, W-2 has poor durability, so the surface of steel is mostly protected by coating to prevent corrosion. [Reprinted from Iron Blood Community/] 15: O-1: Oil hard grade ( Oil-Hardening types) tool steels are the most widely used, and the best among them is the O-1 type. Its high manganese along with chromium and tungsten can increase the hardening ability, so that the steel does not need severe water quenching (replaced by Oil quenching) can also be hardened to a high hardness (HRc62) level. O-1 steel has good processability, but its toughness and endurance are weak. The famous American knifemaker Randall often uses O-1 tool steel as the material of his blades. 16: ZDP-189: A new powder-based steel developed by Japan's Hitachi Metal Industries in 1996. Its research and development goals are in the same vein as the Cowry X steel of Daedong Special Steel Co., Ltd. It is a super-hard alloy steel with excellent processability. The carbon content of 189 is as high as 3, and the chromium content is also as high as 20. After heat treatment, it can obtain a high hardness of HRc67. It has excellent processability. The metal structure particles are more uniform and finer than ATS-34 and 440-C. It has good corrosion resistance and toughness. All, so 'Hitachi' claims to the outside world that ZDP-189 is "the next generation of blade steel heading into the 21st century." 17: GIN-1 (G-2): Japan's "Hitachi Metal Industries" "Ginzhi No. 1" steel is the best grade of "Ginzhi" steel. The steel properties are similar to 'Aichi Steel's 8A , but the hardness is slightly softer than 8A (HRc57-58), and the price is cheaper. 18: ATS055: A high-quality steel material developed by Japan's "Hitachi Metal Industries" after ATS-34. It is an improved variety of ATS-34. ATS-34 contains about 4% molybdenum, so it can withstand extremely high temperatures and has a wide range of applications (it can be used to make mechanical parts, such as crankshafts, pulleys, air chamber valves, etc.). ATS-55 reduces the molybdenum content to 0.6, but also adds 0.4 cobalt. This reduces the heat resistance of the steel itself but increases its hardness (making it more suitable for the knife-making industry). Overall, the performance of the ATS-55 is slightly inferior to the ATS-34, but better than the G-2 from the same manufacturer.
19: CPM440V: CPM (Crucible Particle Metallurgy) powder steel is a new generation of knife steel developed by Crucible Raw Materials Company in the United States. The manufacturer once claimed that CPM440V is a super custom knife steel of the 90’s. Although the carbon content of CPM440V is nearly double that of traditional 440-C, the hardness after heat treatment is only HRc57-58, which is affected by other elements (5% vanadium, 17% chromium ). Its real excellence lies in retaining the damage resistance and ductility (flexibility) of the blade. The price of CPM440V is quite high, so it is mostly used in handmade (handmade by knifemakers) knives. 20: CPM420V: In 1996, Crucible Raw Materials Company of the United States once again developed a higher-level CPM steel than CPM 440V: CPM420V. It has nearly double the vanadium and molybdenum content than CPM440V, so it can maintain superior blade wear resistance. Performance and corrosion resistance (25-50 times better than CPM440V). The hardness obtained after heat treatment is equal to CPM440V. CPM420V is quite expensive, twice as much as ATS-34. [Reposted from Jagged Community /] 21: 420J2: It does not help that the carbon content of 420 series steel is less than 0.35. The hardness obtained after heat treatment is only HRc52-55, and the performance in various aspects such as damage resistance is not very outstanding. Because it is easier to cut and polish, it is suitable for use in mass-produced factory-made knives. 420 steel is also extremely durable due to its low carbon content, so it is also an ideal steel for the production of diving knives. 22: 425m: A modified variety of 420 series steel, named 425M. The carbon content is increased to about 0.55, and 1% of molybdenum is added. After heat treatment, it can reach the ideal hardness (HRc58), but retains it. 420 series steel has excellent processability, so it is very suitable for use in factory-made cutting tools. The two famous knife factories in the United States, BUCK and GERBER, selected 425M as their blade material in the 1990s.