Chromium-Vanadium Steel (Modified: Fill & Download for Free

Steel starts with iron. Carbon is then added to the iron. To make stainless steel there is the addition of chromium. To modify the strength of steel several other things are added such as manganese, vanadium, boron, and many others.So, by definition, there is no such thing as pure stainless steel.

If you are very carefull with your knife you could use a Carbon Steel with something like 1% of Carbone. It holds the edge very well and is easy to sharpen. However Carbon Steels rust very very fast…For most outdoor uses you may use a “stainless” steel, resistant to outdoor uses. These steels have for example something like 13% of Chromium and around 0,5% of Carbone /or/ around 1% of Carbone, 15% of Chromium and some Molybdenium. There is a LOT of these steels. Also, generic 420C and 440C steels (for example) could be very good with one brand and very bad with another brand. Some other factors like thermic treatement, steel purity, grain thickness, and edge sharpening are very important. Sandvik steels are a good reference in Europe speaking about steel purity and grain thickness. 12C27 and 14C28N are classics.There is also high end steels like RWL 34 that are made with something like C>1%, Chromium>13% and Molybdenium >2% + other components like Vanadium and Nitrogen, associated with very specific technics like powder metallurgy. The high quality of these steels makes these both more resisting to corrosion than classical 440C and have a better edge holding. However these often could be a bit technical to re-sharpen due to high hardness.If you need to use your knife in water or near to the sea you will definitly need something more corrosion resistant. A solution could be to lower the Carbon content. 420J2 is a good example. However it is way less hard and don’t hold an edge very well. The best option is often to use modified 420C/440C series where a part of the Carbone is replaced with Nitrogen >0,2% and where Molydenium > 1% is added. These components are also very good for cutting power and edge holding + these corrosion steels always use very specific metalurgy technics to garantee an high purity. This makes this type of steels a very good choice.

SAE 304 is the most common stainless steel. It contains 18% of Chrome and 10% of Nickel. This is why flatware are sometime marked 18/10. It is quite stainless but not very hard. It has an austenitic microstructure which makes it amagnetic and quite corrosion resistant.SAE 316L is a low Carbon and Molybdenium alloyed version of 304 that displays improved corrosion resistance. It is used in very harsh environments containing acid or salt.SAE 430 is similar to 304 without Nickel. It has a ferritic microstructure. It is magnetic and a bit less corrosion resistant. It is often called 18/0. Nickel prices vary a lot so that 430 displays a better economic stability. It is also useful for people highly allergic to Nickel.SAE 410, 420, 440 are quenched and tempered steel that displays a very high hardness but a way lower corrosion resistance than standard stainless steel. The quenched microstructure is called Martensite and displays the highest strength, hardness… brittleness of all stainless steel microstructures. This type of steel is alloyed with Chromium and Carbon. There is several categories described by the old AISI system.410 and 420A have the lower Carbone content (0,15 and 0,2%) and are the most corrosion resistant. These are often used in mechanisms that have to resit to high solicitations or for some springs.420B reach 0,3% carbon and is then a bit harder. It is used for mechanical blades like in blenders.420C has 0,4 to 0,5% of Carbon. It is used for knives blades that have to hold an edge. 420HC is a modified version with some Vanadium to help edge holding. There is a lot of other 420C modified versions that displays higher hardness, corrosion resistance and/or cutting power.440A is 0,5% carbon steel with a higher Chromium content and some Molybdenium. It is more corrosion resitant while still holding an edge quite well. It is often used for chief knives because corrosion resistance is an important matter in professional kitchens. There is a quite good Vanadium modified version too that is probably the most used knife steel in Germany.440C had once be the most common steel for high end knives. It has both a lot of Carbone and a lot of Chromium, with some Molybdenium. However Chomium + Carbon makes Chromium Carbide and then lower the corrosion resistance of the steel. This type of steel also display a harsh microstructure that is better for thick blades than thin ones. It is not always easy to temper. All of this makes that improved 420C, like Sandvik 12C27M, are often prefered nowdays.