For those that really want to get into the nitty gritty of knife steel, below is an interactive table with the composition of dozens of popular steels. Organize by chemical common name. As usual, this page is a work in progress.
| Steel | Carbon | Chromium | Cobalt | Copper | Manganese | Molybdenum | Nickel | Nitrogen | Phosphorus | Silicon | Sulfur | Tungsten | Vanadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-1 | 0.15 | 14.00-16.00 | -- | -- | 2 | .50-1.50 | 6.00-8.00 | 0.1 | 0.04 | 3.00-4.50 | 0.03 | -- | -- |
| O-1 | 0.85-1.00 | 0.40-0.60 | -- | -- | 1.00-1.40 | -- | 0.3 | -- | -- | 0.5 | -- | -- | 0.3 |
| W-1 | 0.70-1.50 | 0.15 | -- | -- | 0.10-0.40 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -- | -- | 0.10-0.40 | -- | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| A-2 | 0.95-1.05 | 4.75-5.50 | -- | -- | 1 | 0.90-1.40 | 0.3 | -- | -- | 0.5 | -- | -- | 0.15-0.50 |
| D-2 | 1.40-1.60 | 11.00-13.00 | -- | -- | 0.6 | 0.70-1.20 | 0.3 | -- | -- | 0.6 | -- | -- | 1.1 |
| M-2 | 0.95-1.05 | 3.75-4.50 | -- | -- | 0.15-0.40 | 4.75-6.50 | 0.3 | -- | -- | 0.20-0.45 | -- | 5.00-6.75 | 2.25-2.75 |
| W-2 | 0.85-1.50 | 0.15 | -- | -- | 0.10-0.40 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -- | -- | 0.10-0.40 | -- | 0.15 | 0.15-0.35 |
| 1095 | 0.90-1.03 | -- | -- | -- | 0.30-0.50 | -- | -- | -- | 0.04 | -- | 0.05 | -- | -- |
| 20-CV | 1.9 | 20 | -- | -- | 0.3 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 0.3 | -- | 0.6 | 4 |
| 5160 | 0.56-0.64 | 0.70-0.90 | -- | -- | 0.75-1.00 | -- | -- | -- | 0.035 | 0.15-0.30 | -- | -- | -- |
| 52100 | 0.98-1.10 | 1.30-1.60 | -- | -- | 0.25-0.45 | -- | -- | -- | 0.025 | 0.15-0.30 | 0.025 | -- | -- |
| 420J2 | 0.15 | 12.00-14.00 | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 0.04 | 1 | 0.03 | -- | -- |
| 425 Modified | 0.40-0.54 | 13.50-15.00 | -- | -- | 0.5 | 0.60-1.00 | -- | -- | 0.035 | 0.8 | 0.03 | -- | 0.1 |
| 440A | 0.65-0.75 | 16.00-18.00 | -- | -- | 1 | 0.75 | -- | -- | 0.04 | 1 | 0.03 | -- | -- |
| 440B | 0.75-0.95 | 16.00-18.00 | -- | -- | 1 | 0.75 | -- | -- | 0.04 | 1 | 0.03 | -- | -- |
| 440C | 0.95-1.20 | 16.00-18.00 | -- | -- | 1 | 0.75 | -- | -- | 0.04 | 1 | 0.03 | -- | -- |
| 440XH | 1.6 | 16 | -- | -- | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.35 | -- | -- | 0.4 | -- | -- | 0.45 |
| AUS-6 | 0.55-0.65 | 13.00-14.50 | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 0.49 | -- | 0.04 | 1 | 0.03 | -- | 0.10-0.25 |
| AUS-8 | 0.70-0.75 | 13.00-14.50 | -- | -- | 0.5 | 0.10-0.30 | 0.49 | -- | 0.04 | 1 | 0.03 | -- | 0.10-0.26 |
| AUS-10 | 0.95-1.10 | 13.00-14.50 | -- | -- | 0.5 | 0.10-0.31 | 0.49 | -- | 0.04 | 1 | 0.03 | -- | 0.10-0.27 |
| GIN-1 | 0.9 | 15.5 | -- | -- | 0.6 | 0.3 | -- | -- | 0.02 | 0.37 | 0.03 | -- | -- |
| ATS-34 | 1.05 | 14 | -- | -- | 0.4 | 4 | -- | -- | 0.03 | 0.35 | 0.02 | -- | -- |
| 154CM | 1.05 | 14 | -- | -- | 0.5 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | 0.3 | -- | -- | -- |
| ATS-55 | 1 | 14 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | -- | -- | -- | 0.4 | -- | -- | -- |
| VG-10 | 0.95-1.05 | 14.50-15.50 | 1.30-1.50 | -- | 0.5 | 0.90-1.20 | -- | -- | 0.03 | 0.6 | -- | -- | 0.10-0.30 |
| BG-42 | 1.15 | 14.5 | -- | -- | 0.5 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | 0.3 | -- | -- | 1.2 |
| MBS-26 | 0.85-1.00 | 13.00-15.00 | -- | -- | 0.30-0.60 | 0.15-0.25 | -- | -- | 0.04 | 0.65 | 0.01 | -- | -- |
| MRS-30 | 1.12 | 14 | -- | -- | 0.5 | 0.6 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 0.25 |
| CPM-S30V | 1.45 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | 2 | -- | 0.2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 4 |
| CPM-S60V | 2.15 | 17 | -- | -- | 0.4 | 0.4 | -- | -- | -- | 0.4 | -- | -- | 5.5 |
| CPM-S90V | 2.3 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 9 |
| CPM-10V | 2.45 | 5.25 | -- | -- | 0.5 | 1.3 | -- | -- | -- | 0.9 | 0.07 | -- | 9.75 |
| CPM-3V | 0.8 | 7.5 | -- | -- | -- | 1.3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2.75 |
| Hitachi Blue | 1.40-1.50 | 0.30-0.50 | -- | -- | 0.20-0.30 | 0.30-0.50 | -- | -- | 0.025 | 0.10-0.20 | 0.004 | 2.00-2.50 | 0.5 |
| Sandvik 12C27 | 0.6 | 13.5 | -- | -- | 0.4 | -- | -- | -- | 0.025 | 0.4 | 0.01 | -- | -- |
| Sandvik 12C27 Mod. | 0.52 | 14.5 | -- | -- | 0.6 | -- | -- | -- | 0.25 | 0.4 | 0.01 | -- | -- |
| Vascowear | 1.12 | 7.75 | -- | -- | 0.3 | 1.6 | -- | -- | -- | 1.2 | -- | 1.1 | 2.4 |
| X-15TN | 0.42 | 15.55 | -- | -- | 0.46 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.21 | 0.017 | 0.23 | 0.002 | -- | 0.29 |
| ZDP-189 | 3 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Common Steel Elements and their Properties
Below is a listing of elements commonly added to knife steel and a brief description of what these elements can do to a knife blade.
Carbon (C)
- Present in all knife steels.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
Chromium (Cr)
- Increases hardness, tensile strength, wear resistance, and toughness.
- A steel with at least 13% steel is considered “stainless”.
- Provides resistance to wear and corrosion.
Cobalt (Co)
- Increases strength and hardness, and permits quenching in higher temperatures.
- Intensifies the individual effects of other elements in more complex steels.
Copper (Cu)
- Increases corrosion resistance.
Manganese (Mn)
- Increases hardenability, wear resistance, and tensile strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Improves grain structure.
- In larger quantities, increases hardness and brittleness.
Molybdenum (Mo)
- Increases strength, hardness, hardenability, and toughness.
- Improves machinability and resistance to corrosion.
Nickel (Ni)
- Adds strength and toughness.
Niobium (Nb)
- Improves strength and toughness.
- Provides corrosion resistance.
- Improves grain refinement and precipitation hardening.
- Formally known as Columbium.
Nitrogen (N)
- Used in place of Carbon for the steel matrix.
- The Nitrogen functions in a similar manner to Carbon in knife steel, but it offers unusual advantages in corrosion resistance.
Phosphorus (P)
- Improves strength, machinability, and hardness in small concentrations.
- Creates brittleness in high concentrations.
Silicon (Si)
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
Sulfur (S)
- Improves machinability, but decereases toughness when added in knife steel.
Tungsten (W)
- Adds strength, toughness, and improves hardenability.
Vanadium (V)
- Increases strength, wear resistance, and increases toughness.
- Refines steel grain and helps blade take fine edge.
so i heard that no knife steel is perfect, and you cant have hardness, and toughness together. but when i looked above there was a few materials that seemed to improve both. if you have something hard, its better edge retention, but to hard it will chip. if it is tough, it will bend and dent instead of crack and chip, but decreases edge retention. right? so you cant have both i thought. im confused.