Glossary
1075
1075 carbon steel is most commonly used in construction of knives, cutting tools, but also springs. It contains 0,7 - 0,8% carbon, 0,4 - 0,7% manganese and trace amounts of phosphorus and sulfur. It is really easy to sharpen and you can easily…
1086
High carbon steel used for example on Opinel knives. Carbon steel 1086 (known also as XC90) is easy to sharpen and you can easily achieve very high sharpness of the edge. 1086 steel has a very low corrosion resistance. It rusts very easily,…
1095
1095 steel is high carbon steel most commonly used in knife and sword making. It is very easy to sharpen and you can easily achieve very high sharpness of the edge. 1095 is very hard steel with great edge retention and good wear…
154CM
154CM stainless steel is made by American manufacturer Crucible. 154CM steel was originally developed for the production of turbines for aircraft jet engines. Due to its versatility, it has also proved very useful in the production of knives. It…
420
420 steel is considered the lowest range among knife steels, used especially in low end knives. Blades made of this steel have good corrosion resistance. Edge holding ability is very low, meaning the knives need to be sharpened quite often. 420…
420HC
420HC steel should not be mistaken for regular 420 steel. 420HC is stainless steel from American manufacturer Latrobe Specialty Steel. 420HC has higher carbon content than regular 420 stainless steel. The HC means high carbon - carbon…
440
440 steel (440A or 440B) is higher quality steel compared to 420. 440 stainless steel is also used especially for knives of lower price category. Slightly better edge holding ability and wear resistance than 420, as 440 series steels achieve higher…
440C
440C steel is the highest quality steel from the 4xx series, thanks to its high carbon content. It requires only minimal care and knives made of 440C are quite easy to sharpen. Steel 440C is highly corrosion resistant and also is capable to achieve a…
65G
65G steel is a type of carbon steel commonly used in the production of knives, chopping tools, and carving tools. 65G is a carbon spring steel that is easy to sharpen and you can achieve high sharpness of edge. One of the biggest advantages of this…
80CrV2
Tough high carbon spring steel, very often used on scandinavian knives. 80CrV2 steel is known for its extreme toughness and quite good hardness at the same time. On top of that this steel is easy to sharpen. Due to its high toughness, it is also used…
AR-RPM9
AR-RPM9 is a stainless steel developed by the knife manufacturer Artisan Cutlery and CJRB. This stainless steel is produced by the powder metallurgy method. The main advantages of this steel are good edge retention and wear resistance, easy…
AUS-8
Stainless steel manufactured in Japan by Aichi Steel Corporation. Steel AUS-8 is comparable with 440B or 8Cr13MoV steels. It usually reaches a hardness of 57-59 HRC. AUS-8 steel can be sharpened quite easily to razor sharpness. It holds an edge only…
C100
C100 steel is an equivalent of 1095 steel. It is almost identical to steel 1095 (1% carbon, 0.5% manganese). It normally reaches a hardness of 58-60 HRC. Very hard steel with great edge retention and good wear resistance. On the other hand,…
CPM S90V
S90V is ultra premium stainless steel produced by the particle metallurgy process, from the American manufacturer Crucible Industries. Steel S90V has a very high carbon content (2,3%) and an extremely high vanadium content (9%). Thanks to these…
CPM-4V
CPM 4V steel is a powder metalurgy tool steel made by Crucible Industries. CPM-4V steel combines high impact toughness and wear resistance with high hardness. Thanks to high wear resistance, knives made from CPM-4V steel do not require frequent…
CPM-S30V
S30V is a premium stainless steel made by American manufacturer Crucible Industries. It is produced using particle metallurgy method, S30V steel has been specially developed for the needs of the cutlery industry. It ihas a high content of carbon…
CPM-S35VN
S35VN is a premium stainless steel made by American manufacturer Crucible Industries. It is produced using particle metallurgy method. S35VN steel has high content of carbon (1,34%), vanadium (3%) and molybdenum (2%). The specialty of this steel (and…
G10
G10 is a strong and durable fiberglass-based composite material. G10 is produced by soaking several layers of glass fibers in epoxy resin and then processing them under high pressure and temperature. The resulting material is very strong, hard and at…
Grivory
Grivory® is an extremely strong super-plastic made from a combination of thermoplastic polyamides and resin. This material is produced by the Swiss company EMS-Chemie AG. It is extremely resistant and strong, does not crack, does not deform and is…
Micarta
Micarta® is a strong and durable composite material. It is produced by dipping several layers of fibers (paper, or fabric - most often linen or cotton) in thermosetting resin and subsequent processing under high pressure and temperature. The…
N690
N690 is cobalt enriched stainless steel from the Austrian manufacturer Bohler-Uddeholm. The N690 steel is similar in its parameters to the 154CM steel or the Japanese VG-10 steel. N690 is a high-quality stainless steel with a hardness of 58 - 61 HRC…
N695
N695 is equivalent of 440C steel, made by Austrian manufacturer Böhler-Uddeholm. Unlike N690, it does not contain cobalt, and has a lower molybdenum content. It is a good quality steel for knives with a hardness of 57 - 60 HRC. N695 is hard…
Niolox
Niolox is semi-stainless tool steel from the German manufacturer Lohmann. It combines high corrosion resistance and very good edge retention. Thanks to the niobium content, Niolox steel is very fine-grained, which helps the edge stability. The…
PGK
PGK is a tool steel produced by the German manufacturer Lohmann, or US Latrobe. PGK steel combines excellent edge retention, high wear resistance, high toughness and is highly resistant to chipping. It is not stainless steel, but its…
Sandvik 12C27
12C27 is swedish stainless steel produced by Sandvik Materials Technology. It is widely used in knife industry for example by Morakniv or Opinel knives. Excellent steel for regular use - it is easy to sharpen and holds the edge quite well. This steel…