Steel specific applications in cutlery.

I get a fair amount of questions in regards to which steel is the "best" for certain applications. I've run across several well written articles and thought this author has done an admirable job laying out the basics. I think this sort of information would do well as a sticky post as new steels and opinions unfold.

Feel free to add your own findings and make sure to link the source and give credit where it's due.

:wavey:

Here's an excerpt from Joe Talmadge's website

"A. Introduction

Steel is the heart of the blade. The search for higher-performance steels has to a number of wonderful materials in recent years. Steel by itself isn't the sole determiner of knife performance, of course. Heat treatment, blade geometry, handle geometry and materials all effect how a knife performs for a particular job. However, those other qualities can be difficult to measure. You can't tell by looking at it how well a blade has been heat-treated, and you can only make educated guesses on how well the blade and handle geometry will work. With steel, however, you can get a full listing of its alloying elements, something measureable and somehow satisfying.

As a result, it's easy to fall into the trap of putting too much emphasis on the steel itself. A knife is more than steel, and it's important not to forget that. In addition, many modern steels perform so well, that knife decisions can often be made based on other factors than marginal increases in steel performance.

The question of "what's the best steel" or "rank the following steels in order from best to worst" often comes up. The resulting replies can never be totally accurate, because depending on the jobs the knife will be used for, the blade geometry, and the quality of the heat treat, what is "best" and what is "worst" can be very fluid. If you want to make an educated decision about steels, try to learn the basics of steel properties, and go from there."


http://zknives.com/knives/articles/knifesteelfaq.shtml