What's the toughest available stainless?

Toughness is generally understood to mean having a high work of fracture. In other words, a tougher steel can absorb more shock, bending, and other deformation without fracturing than a less tough steel of the same dimensions can.

For cutlery we also want hardness so the edge won't roll or flatten. Since toughness usually goes lower as a given steel is made harder, there is always a trade off to be made. A better question might look like this: "Which stainless knife steel exhibits the best toughness at Rc 60?"
 
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for a martensitic steel found in blades, probably something like 420J2 or 12C27M. Keep the carbon content down if you want toughness.
 
The blade would be purposed mainly as a camp knife for wet and muggy environments. Maybe a 5" blade that can take care of most of the tasks besides chopping or anything that would be purposed for a very large or very small knife.
 
You might consider the laminated stainless knives like Cold Steel and Fallkniven. Here's Fallkniven's break test results at their website. The Njord or the A1 would be about what you're looking for.
 
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