Knife Steel - What Goes Into Knife Steel?

We use the term Knife Steel in this article.Copper: Copper is added to increase the corrosion
However, most of the information applies to steelresistance.
in general. Steel is iron with no more than 2%Manganese: Manganese is added to knife steel as
carbon in it. The higher the carbon in knife steelit aids the grain structure and increases the ability
the harder the blade can be made. The harderto harden the steel. It also increases the strength
the steel the sharper the edge the knife can take.and wear resistance. Manganese is present in
The quality of the heat treatment on knife steelmost cutlery steel.
has a big impact on blade strength. When lesserMolybdenum: This element helps prevent
quality steel is properly heat treated the resultbrittleness in knife steel and helps the steel
can be a blade that is stronger than a blade mademaintain strength at high temperatures. It makes
from higher quality knife steel that had beenthe grain size in the steel smaller which improves
improperly heat treated. Most knife steel isthe hardness and toughness.
tempered martensite which has a fine grainedNickel: Nickel is put into knife steel to increases
crystal structure with lattice irregularities thatthe strength, corrosion resistance and toughness
make it hard.of the steel. The term corrosion resistance is
Several elements can be added to steel toused because all steel will eventually corrode if it is
produce different traits. What follows is a list ofnot cared for properly.
elements commonly added to knife steel and theirNitrogen: Nitrogen can be used in place of carbon
purposes.in knife steel. The Nitrogen atom works similar to
Carbon: This is the most important element to becarbon but offers the advantage of corrosion
added to steel for hardening the steel. Knife steelresistance.
should have greater than ½ % carbon,Silicon: Contributes to the strength of knife steel.
which would make it high carbon steel. CarbonTungsten: Tungsten is added to knife steel to
steel usually means few or no alloy ingredientsimprove the strength, toughness and hardenability
have been added. Knife steel with a high carbonof the knife steel.
content but low chromium content is prone toVanadium: Increases the wear resistance and
rusting and pitting if not kept dry and oiled.ability to harden knife steel. Like Molybdenum it
Chromium: This is added for hardening, and tomakes the grain size in the steel smaller which
increase wear and corrosion resistance. Knife steelimproves the hardness and toughness of the
with at least 13% chromium is consideredsteel.
stainless steel.There are several types of steels that are
Cobalt: Cobalt is added to knife steel to increasecommonly used by the major manufacturers to
the strength and hardness. It permits quenching atmake their knife blades. D-2, 420, 440, 425, AUS.
higher temperatures and intensifies the individualThese types of knife steel and others will be
effects of other elements in more complexdiscussed in another article.
steels.