How To Choose The Best Knife Steel?

there are six key properties for the best knife steel

Hardness is the ability to resist deforming when subject to stress and applied forces.   Hardness in knife steel’s is often referred to as strength and is generally measured using the Rockwell C scale (HRC).

Toughness is the ability to resist damage like cracks or chips when being used in heavy duty applications.  This also defines the steel’s ability to flex without breaking.   Note that the stronger or harder the steel the less tough it will likely be.  Note the measurement of toughness is less standardized as hardness.

Wear resistance is the steel’s ability to withstand damage from both abrasive and adhesive wear.  Abrasive wear comes from softer surfaces coming in contact with rougher ones.  Adhesive wear occurs when debris is dislodged from one surface and attaches to the other.  Wear resistance generally correlates with the steel’s hardness but is also heavily influenced by the specific chemistry of the steel.  In steels of equal hardness, the steel with larger carbides (think hard, wear resistant particles) will typically resist wear better.

Corrosion resistance is the ability to resist corrosion such as rust caused by external elements like humidity, moisture and salt.  Note that a high resistance to corrosion does involve a sacrifice in the overall edge performance.

Edge Retention represents how long the blade will retain its sharpness when subject to periods of use.  It’s all the rage these days but unfortunately the measurement of edge retention lacks any defined set of standards so much of the data is subjective.  To me, edge retention is a combination of wear resistance and an edge that resists deformation.