Top contenders of the toughest steel?

james terrio said:
The toughest steel by far is 1018 that's not hardened at all.

As for something will actually take and hold an edge and withstand a ridiculous amount of abuse, I don't know of anything tougher than Busse's INFI or CPM-3V at 58Rc as HT'ed by Peter's. I have yet to see any maker or fan of plain carbon steel knives put their favorite against either of those in a head-to-head challenge.
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As far as the Busse Steels go it would be INFI, SR101 (52100) and SR77 (S7) so I wouldn't take any of those lightly for taking extreme abuse...
 
Top contenders of the toughest steel?

S5 - S7 - MicroMelt CD#1 - Calmax - Caldie - Viking - K329 - K306

If I could choose probably Unimax
 
After reading a lot about steels and toughness over the past year or so, I remembered that I have a couple of cheap wood chisels in my workshop, as well as a cheap flay prybar. I have hammered on both of these tools to cut nails chip concrete, etc., and they stay in one piece. I'm not sure how well the pry bar would hold a keen edge but wood chisels are usually pretty good at holding an edge. I'm not sure what steel would be used in cheap tools such as these, I wonder if it would be something even less than 1095 such as 1084.

There are more elaborate ways to describe toughness, but basically it amounts to some amount of ductility when a steel reaches its yield stress. Steels with toughness will bend, steels that are brittle will just break at that point.
 
"Spring steel"

No need for anything fancy at all for toughness. Price for 8 inches 4 dollars and a proper temper and you can pry all day and sharpen at night, no biggy.
 
The Mastiff said:
S1
S5
S7
3V
4V
A8
A8(mod)
A2
4140
5160
1050-1060
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I was really surprised it took someone this long to mention 4140. I would put it right up there with S7 in toughness for steels commonly used in a cutting tool and yes I would put both of them above INFI.
 
All the steels people have mentioned here can be made into excellent blades. (well, maybe not 1018 ;) )

So obviously there are lots of alloys that exhibit high toughness - probably more toughness than any reasonable person would ever actually need in a knife. The fun part is selecting one with the balance you prefer of toughness, edge-holding, corrosion-resistance, ease of sharpening, cost, availability, and so forth.

For an actual quantifiable measurement of toughness, look up the Charpy test values of whatever steel you're interested in.
 
PatrickKnight said:
I was really surprised it took someone this long to mention 4140. I would put it right up there with S7 in toughness for steels commonly used in a cutting tool and yes I would put both of them above INFI.
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What have you done with these steels that would lead you to that conclusion? Or is your opinion strictly academic? Based on stats alone all you have to do is look at the numbers. Sometimes in different situations the numbers lie. Sometimes the heat treatment and design make all the difference..... Have you used all of these steels head to head to form that opinion? When you do, let me know what you find out.
 
The_Knife_Man said:
With everyone wanting a folding pry bar nowadays; who would be top contenders of the toughest steel?
Next comment will be "define tough"...
So, tough as in, can beat the hell out of it and not thing twice about it. Use to pry stuff if necessary.

Ya, ya, I hear ya. Using a tool not for its intended purpose.
For discussion sake; is it M4, 3V, perhaps something else.
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The problem with this question, one that comes up so often these days, is that a steel tailored toward the maximum toughness one would want in a prying tool would make a very poor knife blade,

...and the steels that would give you an excellent cutting edge with the wear resistance to last for long term cutting tasks would be too brittle to pry with.


Being the OP is asking about a folder, find one from a quality maker in a tough steel like CPM 3V and don't look back.


Folks who think they can use a folding knife for any serious prying are fooling themselves.


Big Mike
 
Out of steels I have used...


If you want extreme toughness combined with good edge holding you really can't beat S7.

CPM3V holds a better edge and is still tougher than just about anything out there.

I have tested 5160 extensively and it is as tough as it gets and also holds a good edge.



Also check out S5, 15n20, 1050, 1060, 1075, L6, 80CRV2 (L2)... there are quite a few that are good.
 
Out of the ones it tried cpm 3v,cruwear, sr101, 5160 and a2 are all tough steels that perform really good. 3v being my favorite sinceits really tuff(wink wink) and still fairly wear resistant as well. But I also like cruwear, sr 101 and a2 and 5160 would be my least favorite but still a great steel. From what I heard, s7, s5, pd1, zwear, a8 and l6 are all really tough steels. Also most of the 10xx series steels are good. And even tnough its not a steel but sm 100 is some extremly tough and expensive stuff. It was the only metal that NASA tested in their ball bearing crushing machine that it could not crush. But at $500 a pound itbetter be some great stuff. But like anything a lot depends on geometry and heat treat. You can the toughest steel but if if has poor heat treat and/or improper geometry and it will perform piss poor.
 
I made the following chart after researching this issue of "toughest steel. I used close to 20 separate graphs and countless articles to compile the data that I used to come to the conclusion that for my purposes S7 was the Tough/Price/Availability sweet spot.

65962_1541132516114900_5806160483216506614_n.jpg


Tough: This is some seriously tough material. I've been testing it and have been very impressed at how it performs. I've been tempering mine to between 56-58Rc without any cryogenic treatment.

Price: In-scope for production steel for my use, and not out of reach for the average knife maker who needs something more exotic.

Availability: Can purchase in various widths and lengths from more than one online retailer. Stock is always on hand.

- Hal Zucati
 
Awesome chart........I am a S7/S5 fan as well. What is your opinion of S5. Has a lot more Si vs Mo. in it. S7 has the opposite, more Mo. than Si. Depending on the chart it appears that S5 is tougher and more wear resistant.
 
For me its not just about the "perfect steel" I have to add in the criteria, the "perfect steel" that I can get shipped to my shop that's within my price range, in the size I need and with the finish I need for my projects.

For a throwing knife I wanted something that would resist impact and tip breaking above all else, I looked around and found that indeed there were other materials with more of the potential properties that I was looking for, but they did not come in the format or price range that I needed.

Also, I used the heat treat process as a method of elimination, I'm working inside a clean shop with a shared airspace that I have strict limits on the amount of airborne gases and particulate... so air hardening was important. I also hate mess, so for me something that didn't require me to have vats of oil and splatter etc.... was a big selling point.

Getting my hands on S5 is much harder for me than S7, in fact I haven't been able to find ground flat stock S5, only round stock. And I'll be honest, there is a practical limit to how bound up in metal specs I'm going to get.


I think for me the combined factors equal my whole, and compromise comes in the form of pragmatic exclusion.
 
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