To understand the properties of steel you have to first understand what steel is. Steel is iron ore that is melted and mixed with other elements to produce steel. Without these essential elements steel is simply iron and won't hold an edge.

Steel manufacturers add many different elements, but the main one that affects how a knife steel performs is Carbon. Carbon is what gives steel it's ability to hold an edge. The more carbon you add, the better the steel will hold a sharp edge. Unfortunately, steel is unusual in that for every good thing you get, you also get a bad thing too, and carbon undermines steels ability to resist corrosion. As you add more carbon, you increase the risk of corrosion.

Note: For more information on what properties each element brings to a steel, click here to download our Element Tables in PDF format.

O1 carbon steel is a typical example of this procedure. High in it's carbon content with excellent edge retention properties yet it will rust like a bucket if not cared for in a loving manner. This type of steel requires serious maintenance and care, and even then the steel will still discouler naturally over a relatively short period of time.

To offset these problems, steel makers will perhaps add other elements. Chromium is most commonly added to bring corrosion levels back up to acceptable standards making the steel a Stainless steel. Stainless steels are just that however - they stain less than regular carbon steels, but they are in no way exempt from corrosion problems. So it's a good idea to pick the right type of steel for the task to which the knife is to be put and this, to some degree, will be dictated by your budget as steels vary in price dramatically.

buy the best ...

The first consideration of any knife should be the blade, and the steel that it is forged from. After all, as a knife it will be expected to be able to cut, and if you buy a knife from us you will expect it to cut very well indeed. We are often asked which steel grades are good and which are not, and this is not an easy question to answer as the steel that is best for you is the steel best suited to your requirement for the tool. However, we rank steels on a simple grade of 1 to 10, with a 10 rated steel being the best quality and performance, and a lowly 1 rated steel being the most unpure grade with very poor blade performance. Incidentally, we only deal with top grade steel on all of our knives.

The new breed of Superstainless Damascus steels is the best you can buy - irrespective of price. It's very rare, hard to get hold of and expensive too, but it still offers value for money and exclusivity as the edge performance is lightyears ahead of regular steels.

For those of us that can afford neither there is still hope. Japanese ATS-34 is a true Super-grade Stainless steel and offers the edge retention and sharpness of old fashioned O1 Carbon steel without the corrosion tendancies. On the downside, it can be difficult to sharpen. ATS-34 is only manufactured by Hitachi Steels of Japan, and it is infamously unforgiving to forge and work so often attracts a premium by those manufacturers who offer a variant model with an ATS-34 blade.

154-CM is made by Crucible Engineering in America and is to a degree similiar in chemical make-up to Hitachi's ATS-34 with the same levels of edge retention - and the same problems with sharpening too. Japanese steels are highly regarded as superior to American produced steels, and given their history of 9,000 years of knife and sword production most people won't be surprised by this fact. Our own home grown European steels are top of their class too and should not be overlooked. Not as famous for their qualities but extremely capable nonetheless and superior to many American grades of steel.

spot the difference ...

This is not too say that American steels are not good - they are - and alot of emphasis should be placed on how steel is treated and how a knife is produced. For instance, I cannot make knives so if you were to give me a piece of top quality ATS-34 steel and ask me to make a knife from it, the result would be quite poor with the edge retention of a wooden spoon. Give the same peice of steel to a knifemaker or cutler with the experience and knowledge to heat treat and temper the knife in the correct manner and a knife with outstanding edge retention and strength will be the inevitable result.

Of course, as illustrated previously, it's always a good idea to pick the right steel for the right job and sometimes you will need what appears to be a steel with some rather unfortunate properties. SOG for instance use 440A for their military knives. It's hard stuff alright, so much so that it could possibly be accused of being brittle. But for military applications the first concern is the overall strength of the knife, not the edge retention and sharpness properties.

The tabloid press will attempt to convince you that military knives are issued to member of the armed forces for the unpleasant despatch of our enemies. Conjuring up images of a night raid in Central Baghdad with a shady muscular gentleman dressed from head to toe in black, face concealed by his balaclava. His eyes piercing the night seeking out his enemy, his slightly trembling forefinger hovering over the trigger of his silenced Heckler & Koch MP-5 and his trusty military knife by his side. Rubbish!!

Are we really to believe that someone with access to such a powerful assault weapon would carry a military knife as a backup? I think not. A handgun perhaps, but not a knife. The reality of the life of a military knife is far more mundane than our imaginative press could fathom, and is not newsworthy (thus the occasional fabrication ... or dramatisation). These knives are tools and nothing but. Used to open crates, cut rope and netting, cut through forestation, or to be forced into the ground as a tent peg when nothing else will do. As such the edge must be reasonably sharp but moreover strong, with an edge that lasts for a long time.

The sportsman that requires a hunting knife requires almost the opposite properties. A knife that is razor sharp, yet easy to sharpen and service. Strength is still important but by no means paramount, so a good grade of surgical steel would be the order of the day here.

	steel performance tables ...	Easy To Sharpen	Edge Retention	Very Sharp	Very Tough	Resists Rust
	Stainless Damascus Supersteel The best of all World's: incredible sharpness and edge retention, with ease of sharpening and servicing too, very corrosion resistant. Typically a folded mix of two types of Stainless Supersteels. Expensive, but worth the extra money if you can justify the expense.
	Damascus Steel A folded mix of two types of steel, either Carbon or Stainless. Excellent edge retention and sharpness properties generally, but this varies with the quality of the two steels which are folded together. Pretty to look at too.
	Stainless Supersteels 154-CM, RWL-34, ATS-55 and of course ATS-34. World class edge retention and sharpness. Extremely corrosion resistant and very pure in compound form. Can be tricky to resharpen but by no means impossible. Very forgiving, a joy to own and use.
	Premium Grade Stainless Steels AUS-10, AUS-8, BG-42, MVS-8, GIN-1, CPM-440V, VG-10, Sandvik 12C-27 and CDV-14. Impressive edge retention and sharpness, corrosion resistant and quite pure in compound form. Easy to resharpen, and a nice choice for top quality hunting knives.
	Surgical Grade Stainless Steels AUS-6M, AUS-118, 440C, and 400 Series Stainless. The benchmark for many knives now, and used extensively by most manufacturers. Very good sharpness, edge retention is acceptable but the steel is easy to service and sharpen. Corrosion resistance is good.
	Hard Compound Steels 440A, D2 Tool Steel, etc. Very hard compound steels offering reasonable sharpness, but excellent strength and edge retention. Perfect on survival type knives and often found on military collectables. D2 can be unusually expensive and will rust if not cared for.
	Branded Stainless Steels 425-M and 440-XH, G2. Good levels of sharpness with acceptable levels of edge retention, so it's a good job they're easy to sharpen. A hard compound steel found primarily on folders and used extensively by companies like Buck and Schrade.
	Carbon Steels Pure High Carbon steels like O1, W1 or 1095 feature excellent edge retention and sharpness. Ease of sharpening is guaranteed too, but be careful. Care for the steel or it will corrode very quickly indeed (we're talking minutes here).
	420 Series Stainless Steel Typically found on presentation and display knives which do not require superb levels of edge retention, also on some of the cheaper hunting knives. Sharpness is okay which justifies it's entry into the surgical grade category, but not the most fantastic steel in the World.
	Pakistan Steel When I said 'there are no bad steels, just degrees of good steel' ... I was lying! Absolutely no ideas what's in it - iron I think - and that's about it. Dreadful levels of sharpness, no edge retention to speak of, and once it's blunt you'll never get an edge on it again.

how to make your choice ...

As the buying customer, you make the choice. It is advisable to stay away from grade 1 or 2 steels unless you are looking for a presentation item or you just don't have the budget. Grade 3 Carbon steels are still popular with traditionalists, and it's good stuff as long as you are prepared to care for it. But for a regular everyday knife we would recommend a grade 4 steel or above.

This is not a 'league table' of steel and inevitably some will argue that O1 should really be a grade 8 steel instead of a 3. But use this table as a guide, keep to the guidelines and choose a steel with relevance to the task in hand. After all, there's no point spending serious money on a tool which you wish to use to chop down the nettles at the back of the garden, but if you're after a high quality folder for everyday carry or a sports knife to take to deepest Peru, you might be best advised to spend that little bit more and get something that will last a lifetime.

Arguably however, this advice is just that - advice. And the chances are you made your decision to buy the knife you like even before you got to this page. That's not a bad thing, it is to be encouraged, and that's why the World of cutlery is as diverse as it is today.

SPECIAL LINKS
Download: Element Tables
Download: Steel Charts

LEGAL NOTE: THIS ARTICLE REPRESENTS THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND IS PRESENTED STRICTLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND INFORMATION PURPOSES PURPOSES ONLY.