HARDNESS

Maintains sharpness without excessive fragility.

CORROSION

Resistant to humidity and liquids.

RETENTION

Ability to maintain the razor's edge.

SHARPENING

Easy to maintain and repair.

✨ Stainless Steel

Less maintenance, ideal for everyday use.

• Iconic: Buck 110 & Buck 112
• Survival: Mora Kansbol & Mora Garberg

🔥 Carbon Steels

Extremely sharp and easy to sharpen (requires oil).

• Performance: Mora Bushcraft Survival
• Craftsmanship: Old Bear Walnut & Olive

Series 420 & 440 (Stainless Steel)

420 : Carbon content 0.15% to 0.40%. Flexible, resistant (57 HRC), ideal for high-end scalpels and razors.

420HC / 420C : High carbon content. Hardened to a greater than 420. Standard at Buck and Gerber .

420J2 : Durable low-carbon stainless steel.

440 (A, B, C) : 440A is highly corrosion-resistant (7Cr17MoV is an improved version). 440B has a higher carbon content. 440C has the highest carbon content, offering the greatest hardness in the series.

10xx Series (Carbon Steels)

1095 : (0.90-1.03% C) The most popular for bushcraft. Very hard but more brittle than lower grades.

1084 : (0.80-0.93% C) Appreciated by cutlers for its ease of heat treatment.

1045 to 1070 : Used according to carbon content for machetes (1070), swords or axes (1060), and striking tools (1045/1055).

Swedish steels (Sandvik)

12C27 Sandvik : 57 HRC. Created for disposable razors. Used by Morakniv and Opinel .

14C28N : Designed for Kershaw. Cutting edge of 13C26 with nitrogen and chromium for increased rust resistance.

Japanese steels (Hitachi & Aichi)

VG10 (V Gold 10) : Stainless steel (1% C, 15% Cr, 1% Mo, 0.2% V, 1.5% Co). Very fine grain, used by Fallkniven .

AUS-8 : Comparable to 440B with added vanadium for wear resistance. Widely used by SOG .

3G : Laminated powder steel (3G core + VG2 layers). Superior cutting edge to VG10.

Blue Steel / White Steel : Pure carbon steels. "Blue" is enriched for edge retention, "White" is closest to sword steel (very fine).

SK-5 : Japanese tool steel (Steel Kougu) for heavy-duty use.

High-Performance Powders & Alloys

D2 : 12% Chromium (stainless steel threshold). Excellent edge retention. Requires some effort when sharpening. See our D2 knives .

CPM S30V / S35VN / S90V / 20CV : Powder metallurgy. S30V (1.45% C) is the premium choice of ZT and Buck .

154CM / ATS-34 : Molybdenum-modified martensitic stainless steel. The ATS-34 is the Japanese version by Hitachi.

CTS-204P : Equivalent to M390, with more Tungsten (0.65%).

Chinese steels (3Cr13 to 9Cr13) : 8Cr13MoV is similar to AUS-8. 9Cr contains cobalt and vanadium for increased strength.

European & Specialty Steels

X46Cr13 (Z40) : The No. 1 stainless steel in France. 0.46% C, ideal for everyday use.

X50CrMoV15 : German (Thyssen-Krupp), rich in chromium. Reference for high-end kitchen knives.

Bohler N690 / N695 : N690CO (Austria) is cobalt-enriched (high hardness). N695 is comparable to VG-10. MOX27Co : French, 60 HRC hardness, virtually dull-free. AN-58 : Spanish low-carbon stainless steel. C75 / XC75 : Classic carbon steel that develops a natural gray/blue patina.

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