Old Hunter
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Was just reading through the latest Outdoor Life articles from their on-line website. Saw this article and noticed a number of steels that Buck Knives uses in making standard and special run Buck Knives. I am NOT a steel guru but do have a basic understanding of the common steels used for knife making. Thought it was interesting, I cleaned the advertisements out and formatted it for this thread (as I understand we don't post links here on Blade Forums). OH
Ps Had to split the article into 3 parts, kept exceeding the Blade Forum software limit on characters - if I had realized before I started how long it was, then I wouldn't have posted it at all.
Basic Guide to Knife Steel and Blade Selection
Understanding knife steel doesn't have to be complicated. Here's what you need to know
By Drew Conover
Does the steel your knife blade is made from really matter, or is it mostly marketing so companies can help you lighten your wallet? The answer is… Yes. Yes, knife steel is important, and yes, there are some marketing tricks and traps out there. To help you separate the important characteristics of knife steel from marketing gimmicks, I’ve put together this simple guide.
But, before I make any recommendations, we need to understand why knife steel is important and review some basic terms used to describe steels and blades.
Why Is Knife Steel Important?
Understanding knife steel is important because it can mean the difference between a great time outdoors, and a miserable one. Maybe you brought a knife with cheap steel to field dress an elk? Hope you have the patience to stop and sharpen your knife four times (or more). Got a brittle steel for bushcraft? Your one knife will turn into two smaller ones. Did you buy an uncoated carbon blade for your soggy PNW hunting trip? Welcome to rust city.
A little bit of research and steel knowledge can prevent pain and wasted money in the future. Understanding the basics of knife steel will also help make your time outdoors more enjoyable because your blade will perform the way you expect it to.
Important Knife Steel Terms
These are the descriptors often used to describe the steel of knife blades.
Toughness: A steel’s resistance to breaking or chipping due to bending or impact.
Edge retention: How long a knife will stay sharp.
Hardness: A steel’s ability to be hardened, it’s measured in HRC on the Rockwell Scale.
Corrosion Resistance: How readily a steel will rust
Knife Steel Guide
Knife steels can be broken into two main categories: Stainless and Carbon. Stainless steels have a much higher degree of corrosion resistance, but that doesn’t mean they can’t rust. As the name suggests, stainless blades do stain less than carbon steels. We will start with some solid choices in carbon steels, and we will go through some of the popular steels (and the ones I like). Then we’ll move on to stainless steels. For each category, steels will be listed in order based on edge retention from least to greatest. But know that, generally speaking, heat treatment chosen by the knifemaker can affect edge retention.
Carbon Steels
1095
Common Use: Outdoor, survival, and hunting knives
Toughness: 5/10
Edge Retention: 2/10
Hardness: 56-58HRC Corrosion
Resistance: 2/10
This steel is somewhat of a benchmark steel. It is widely used, and many companies and makers have good heat treats for it. ESEE and KaBar use it almost exclusively, and they do very good heat treatment to get the most out of it. 1095 is a relatively tough steel, but it will need to be sharpened or stropped fairly often. The good news is that carbon steels are usually easier to sharpen than Stainless steels, and 1095 readily comes back to shaving sharp with a little stropping.
It will rust in wet environments if proper care isn’t taken, but it won’t heavily pit. It will stain and have small amounts of surface rust that can usually be wiped away. 1095 is what I consider the entry point for carbon steels. There are other carbon steels that rank below 1095 in edge retention that just aren’t worth it, in my opinion.
A2
Common Use: Outdoor, survival, and hunting knives
Toughness: 6/10
Edge Retention: 4/10
Hardness: 56-58HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 3/10
This is a step up from 1095 in edge retention, and it is tougher as well. This steel seems to readily patina and have blues and dark gray staining, but doesn’t accumulate little orange rust spots. It’s easy to sharpen, just like 1095. A2 is more common from small-batch knifemakers like L.T. Wright and Bark River Knives.
5160
Common Use: Outdoor, survival, and hunting knives
Toughness: 9/10
Edge Retention: 3/10
Hardness: 56-58HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 2/10
This is a high carbon steel that has some added chromium which makes it more corrosion resistant. It is also a very tough steel, which makes it a solid choice for hard work. Winkler Knives makes some excellent blades with 5160. While this steel is a little low on carbon compared to some others, it still manages decent edge retention, and is easy to touch up with a strop.
CPM-D2, D2
Common Use: Folding / EDC, outdoor, and camping knives
Toughness: 4/10
Edge Retention: 5/10
Hardness: 58-60HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 5/10
I specifically put CPM-D2 steel on this list, and not the generic D2 label. CPM indicates that it’s made by Crucible Metals, and is a big step up from regular D2. The problem with D2 is that it’s made by lots of companies in lots of places, and frankly, it varies greatly in quality. Plenty of D2 knives are good, but plenty are sub-par. Your best bet is to choose CPM-D2, or use D2 from a good company. D2 is very corrosion resistant for a carbon steel, and some call it semi-stainless. CPM-D2 offers better edge retention and easier sharpening and higher toughness than other D2 because it’s made from powder with a different process that gives it a more consistent and finer grain structure than regular D2.
52100
Common Use: Hunting and camping knives
Toughness: 8/10
Edge Retention: 4/10
Hardness: 56-60HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 2/10
This was originally a tool steel used for mainly ball bearings in industrial settings. But, as luck would have it, it makes some great knives as well. Montana Knife company uses 52100 and does a great heat treat. This holds an edge longer than the other steels on the list so far, yet it is still easy to strop back to razor sharp.
CPM-3V
Common Use: Hard-use, camping, bushcraft, and survival knives
Toughness: 9/10
Edge Retention: 5/10
Hardness: 60-64HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 6/10
3V is one of my all-time favorite steels. It won’t readily rust, it’s incredibly tough, and it holds an edge better than most carbon steels while still being fairly easy to sharpen. Because it’s so tough, makers can also make it very hard and wear-resistant without being too brittle. Most makers seem to have figured out a good heat treat for this steel and it performs very well across brands.
CPM-CRUWEAR
Common Use: Folders/EDC, outdoor, and hunting knives
Toughness: 8/10
Edge Retention: 6/10
Hardness: 60-62HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 5/10
This is currently my favorite general purpose knife steel. All steels make compromises in some way, but Cruwear is able to score very well in edge retention, toughness, and can be hardened fairly high without being brittle. Yes, it can rust, but not badly, and not quickly. Most Cruwear blades are coated, which mitigates rusting as well. If you’re looking to find a Carbon steel that can take care of a gut-skin-butcher job on an elk without needing sharpening, look for M4 or Cruwear in your hunting knife.
CPM-M4
Common Use: High-end folders/EDC, and competition choppers
Toughness: 6/10
Edge Retention: 7/10
Hardness: 60-62HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 4/10
This steel is all about edge retention. It’s not as tough as others, and can chip under heavy impact, but for cutting performance, M4 is excellent. It has very high wear resistance and very long edge retention. It will stain if not cared for, but it’s not too hard to take care of—if you don’t put it away wet, you shouldn’t have problems. Just apply a light coating of oil occasionally. Benchmade does an excellent heat treatment on their M4 blades and gets top performance out of them.
Ps Had to split the article into 3 parts, kept exceeding the Blade Forum software limit on characters - if I had realized before I started how long it was, then I wouldn't have posted it at all.
Basic Guide to Knife Steel and Blade Selection
Understanding knife steel doesn't have to be complicated. Here's what you need to know
By Drew Conover
Does the steel your knife blade is made from really matter, or is it mostly marketing so companies can help you lighten your wallet? The answer is… Yes. Yes, knife steel is important, and yes, there are some marketing tricks and traps out there. To help you separate the important characteristics of knife steel from marketing gimmicks, I’ve put together this simple guide.
But, before I make any recommendations, we need to understand why knife steel is important and review some basic terms used to describe steels and blades.
Why Is Knife Steel Important?
Understanding knife steel is important because it can mean the difference between a great time outdoors, and a miserable one. Maybe you brought a knife with cheap steel to field dress an elk? Hope you have the patience to stop and sharpen your knife four times (or more). Got a brittle steel for bushcraft? Your one knife will turn into two smaller ones. Did you buy an uncoated carbon blade for your soggy PNW hunting trip? Welcome to rust city.
A little bit of research and steel knowledge can prevent pain and wasted money in the future. Understanding the basics of knife steel will also help make your time outdoors more enjoyable because your blade will perform the way you expect it to.
Important Knife Steel Terms
These are the descriptors often used to describe the steel of knife blades.
Toughness: A steel’s resistance to breaking or chipping due to bending or impact.
Edge retention: How long a knife will stay sharp.
Hardness: A steel’s ability to be hardened, it’s measured in HRC on the Rockwell Scale.
Corrosion Resistance: How readily a steel will rust
Knife Steel Guide
Knife steels can be broken into two main categories: Stainless and Carbon. Stainless steels have a much higher degree of corrosion resistance, but that doesn’t mean they can’t rust. As the name suggests, stainless blades do stain less than carbon steels. We will start with some solid choices in carbon steels, and we will go through some of the popular steels (and the ones I like). Then we’ll move on to stainless steels. For each category, steels will be listed in order based on edge retention from least to greatest. But know that, generally speaking, heat treatment chosen by the knifemaker can affect edge retention.
Carbon Steels
1095
Common Use: Outdoor, survival, and hunting knives
Toughness: 5/10
Edge Retention: 2/10
Hardness: 56-58HRC Corrosion
Resistance: 2/10
This steel is somewhat of a benchmark steel. It is widely used, and many companies and makers have good heat treats for it. ESEE and KaBar use it almost exclusively, and they do very good heat treatment to get the most out of it. 1095 is a relatively tough steel, but it will need to be sharpened or stropped fairly often. The good news is that carbon steels are usually easier to sharpen than Stainless steels, and 1095 readily comes back to shaving sharp with a little stropping.
It will rust in wet environments if proper care isn’t taken, but it won’t heavily pit. It will stain and have small amounts of surface rust that can usually be wiped away. 1095 is what I consider the entry point for carbon steels. There are other carbon steels that rank below 1095 in edge retention that just aren’t worth it, in my opinion.
A2
Common Use: Outdoor, survival, and hunting knives
Toughness: 6/10
Edge Retention: 4/10
Hardness: 56-58HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 3/10
This is a step up from 1095 in edge retention, and it is tougher as well. This steel seems to readily patina and have blues and dark gray staining, but doesn’t accumulate little orange rust spots. It’s easy to sharpen, just like 1095. A2 is more common from small-batch knifemakers like L.T. Wright and Bark River Knives.
5160
Common Use: Outdoor, survival, and hunting knives
Toughness: 9/10
Edge Retention: 3/10
Hardness: 56-58HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 2/10
This is a high carbon steel that has some added chromium which makes it more corrosion resistant. It is also a very tough steel, which makes it a solid choice for hard work. Winkler Knives makes some excellent blades with 5160. While this steel is a little low on carbon compared to some others, it still manages decent edge retention, and is easy to touch up with a strop.
CPM-D2, D2
Common Use: Folding / EDC, outdoor, and camping knives
Toughness: 4/10
Edge Retention: 5/10
Hardness: 58-60HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 5/10
I specifically put CPM-D2 steel on this list, and not the generic D2 label. CPM indicates that it’s made by Crucible Metals, and is a big step up from regular D2. The problem with D2 is that it’s made by lots of companies in lots of places, and frankly, it varies greatly in quality. Plenty of D2 knives are good, but plenty are sub-par. Your best bet is to choose CPM-D2, or use D2 from a good company. D2 is very corrosion resistant for a carbon steel, and some call it semi-stainless. CPM-D2 offers better edge retention and easier sharpening and higher toughness than other D2 because it’s made from powder with a different process that gives it a more consistent and finer grain structure than regular D2.
52100
Common Use: Hunting and camping knives
Toughness: 8/10
Edge Retention: 4/10
Hardness: 56-60HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 2/10
This was originally a tool steel used for mainly ball bearings in industrial settings. But, as luck would have it, it makes some great knives as well. Montana Knife company uses 52100 and does a great heat treat. This holds an edge longer than the other steels on the list so far, yet it is still easy to strop back to razor sharp.
CPM-3V
Common Use: Hard-use, camping, bushcraft, and survival knives
Toughness: 9/10
Edge Retention: 5/10
Hardness: 60-64HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 6/10
3V is one of my all-time favorite steels. It won’t readily rust, it’s incredibly tough, and it holds an edge better than most carbon steels while still being fairly easy to sharpen. Because it’s so tough, makers can also make it very hard and wear-resistant without being too brittle. Most makers seem to have figured out a good heat treat for this steel and it performs very well across brands.
CPM-CRUWEAR
Common Use: Folders/EDC, outdoor, and hunting knives
Toughness: 8/10
Edge Retention: 6/10
Hardness: 60-62HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 5/10
This is currently my favorite general purpose knife steel. All steels make compromises in some way, but Cruwear is able to score very well in edge retention, toughness, and can be hardened fairly high without being brittle. Yes, it can rust, but not badly, and not quickly. Most Cruwear blades are coated, which mitigates rusting as well. If you’re looking to find a Carbon steel that can take care of a gut-skin-butcher job on an elk without needing sharpening, look for M4 or Cruwear in your hunting knife.
CPM-M4
Common Use: High-end folders/EDC, and competition choppers
Toughness: 6/10
Edge Retention: 7/10
Hardness: 60-62HRC
Corrosion Resistance: 4/10
This steel is all about edge retention. It’s not as tough as others, and can chip under heavy impact, but for cutting performance, M4 is excellent. It has very high wear resistance and very long edge retention. It will stain if not cared for, but it’s not too hard to take care of—if you don’t put it away wet, you shouldn’t have problems. Just apply a light coating of oil occasionally. Benchmade does an excellent heat treatment on their M4 blades and gets top performance out of them.
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