3 best steel fof Knive blades

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patrickjames

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Feb 11, 2006
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Being relative new to the World of knives I never new there was so many different steels for knife blades.I guess there are different steel for different uses,but what is your 3 favorite steels and why?Maybe I can learn something.Currently I have AUS-6 on my SOG and 1095 on my RAT-7,440-C on my HK and ATS-34 on my Buck Strider
thanks Patrick
 
I like carbon steel myself since it's easy for me to sharpen to a razor edge (I'm very sharpening challenged).

In particular, I like the SK-5 steel composition that SOG uses for the Bowie and Recon Bowie. Whatever formulation & heat treat Mr SOG uses really makes for a great steel. I'm fortunate to have an old old Tigershark with SK-5 steel... and it takes that same fantastic edge.

My (other brand) knife uses O-1 steel and yep, I like that too, I'm able to put an incredible edge on it.

I have a few Kabar's and the 1095 steel is just fine also.

If you want to try an exotic, find a SOG X-42 Field Knife with BG-42 steel. Hard as nails/rocks/diamonds, you get the idea, but my pal Tim gave mine an edge he says was slicing off his fingerprints.... scalpel sharp, even sharper.

Cheers,

Carl
 
It is just important to use the proper heat treatment for the stell as the steel itself. So properly heat treated 440C, S30V and 154CM have been recent favorites but I still like L-6, D2 and 1095 as well.

Vince
 
Thats been my concern about some custom Knife makers.Not the steel but the heat treat.(but I really dont know much about it.It was just been a thought when I have considered a custom knife.)I hope I do not wear you all out with questons, but what the differents between 440A,440B and 440C steels?.I think I have all 3 on different knives.
Thanks Patrick
 
as near as I understand about the 440 series: A is good stuff, B is good stuff, C is the best stuff. Why ?? From a metallurgical viewpoint I haven't a clue, its just what I read.

Vince makes a good point about the interplay/interweave of composition and heat treat, and that caused me to have a brainstorm.

Think of baking a cake. There are certain must-have ingredients and other nice-to-have ingredients. They are tossed into a bowl, mixed together, poured into a pan, then baked.
Consider then the interplay of ingredients. A dash too little, a dash too much, some of this, none of that.... if you have many possible components, with some math one can calculate the number of possibilities.
So in the world of steel composition there are many many many possible recipes for "1095" and "L6" and "D2".

In another world, consider music. Take the musical score, then tweak it to make it more palatable to your ear: add a chord, delete a chord, change the timing, hold a note longer..... so many possibilities and opportunities to make "the final mix" better ... or worse.

Cheers,

Carl
 
I found this info on the web and along with cost factor these are the differences. 440C is the more expensive as well.

Grade 440C is capable of attaining, after heat treatment, the highest strength, hardness and wear resistance of all the stainless alloys. Its very high carbon content is responsible for these characteristics, which make 440C particularly suited to such applications as ball bearings and valve parts.

Grades 440A and 440B are identical except for slightly lower carbon contents (0.60 - 0.75% and 0.75 - 0.95% respectively); these have lower attainable hardnesses but slightly higher corrosion resistances. Although all three versions of this grade are standard grades, in practice 440C is more available than the A or B variants.

Vince
 
i personally would like to thankyou for the info vince , as i`ve often wondered that myselof

cheers

SIRGALANT
 
vjb.knife said:
It is just important to use the proper heat treatment for the stell as the steel itself. So properly heat treated 440C, S30V and 154CM have been recent favorites but I still like L-6, D2 and 1095 as well.

Vince
Click to expand...
Vince,
You are right on the money when you say that the heat treating is the key. There are some exceptions to this (such as Swedish powder steels that can Rc to 64 without becoming brittle) but most good knife steels are similar and work very well if heat treated to their full potential.

440C is prefered by some large blade makers (Bowies, etc.) because it will take a high polish without fisheyes but D2 will look cloudy if you buff it bright most of the time. But D2 (not technically a stainless) is extremely wear resistant and will take an edge and hold it for a long time if heat treated properly.

A lot of knife steels became so by accident. 154CM was originally developed for fan blades in jet engines. The knife makers tried it and found that it was a stainless that held an edge closer to tool steel than other stainless steels available at that time. ATS34 is the Japanese answer to 154CM in blanks that were knife maker friendly. They were virtually identical at their inception (ATS34 has a small amount of copper added, 154CM has no copper).

The key is to find a steel that fits your knife's application and a good maker (such as SOG) who knows how to heat treat. Buy that knife and you will not be disappointed.:thumbup:
Best regards,
Denny
300WSM
 
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