List of blade materials
Less common materials in blades include cobalt and titanium alloys, ceramic, obsidian, and plastic.
The hardness of steel is usually stated as a number on the Rockwell C scale (HRC).
Stainless steel is a popular class of material for knife blades because it resists corrosion and is easy to maintain.
[citation needed] The latter two are considered premium cutlery steels for both folding knives and fixed blades.
[7] Because the 300 series is non-hardenable (non-Martensitic), they are primarily used in entry-level dive knives and as the outer layers in a San Mai blade.
The HC stands for "high carbon" and it can be brought to a higher hardness than regular 420 and should not be mistaken for it.
In China, A honest Changjiang Stainless Steel developed 7Cr17MoV, a modified 440A, by adding more Vanadium.
[citation needed] Knife blades specified as being "440" can typically be assumed to be the lower-hardness 440A grade.
[42] As all Steel manufacturers have their secret undisclosed elements in their alloys, the main parts are mostly known to public, and when there was a demand for High-end Cutlery in the kitchen Takefu was one of the first with a so-called Alloy Steel that required little to no maintenance for daily home cook users as well as the professional kitchen.
Due to extreme demand 10 years ago and Chinese counterfeits, the steel has been excluded from the Japanese market only and no longer can be exported from outside Japan.
Toughness levels are not high compared to CPM S90V steel, however, they have high wear resistance and edge strength, making them a good choice for knives designed for light cutting and slicing works.
These steels can contain 26% to 42% chromium as well as 10% to 22% nickel and 1.5 to 10% of titanium, tantalum, vanadium, niobium, aluminum silicon, copper, or molybdenum, etc., or some combination thereof.
[citation needed] Carbon steel is a popular choice for rough-use knives and cheaper options.
This is no longer the case since the coming of super-advanced alloy metallurgy such as VG-10 and SG-2 powder steel for example.
These high-end stainless alloys now have all the benefits including hardness, toughness, and corrosion resistance, and passed the limits of Carbon steel.
They are more homogeneous than stainless than other high alloy steels, having carbide only in very small inclusions in the iron.
The only advantage they now hold over high-end stainless steel alloys is much lower production costs.
