Granbergs - Knowledge Centre

Helpful Information

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How to sharpen a knife

Here at Granbergs we are always asked "so what is the best way to sharpen a knife?"
We stock all the tools under the sun to get the job done! Wether it be a wet stone, ceramic rod or a complet sharpening system.

Please refer to one of the usefull articles and videos below:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Knife-Sharpening-Tricks/
http://www.extremely-sharp.com/direct/sharpknife.html
http://users.ameritech.net , Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
http://www.hub-uk.com/cooking/tipsknives.htm
http://sharpeningtechniques.blogspot.com/

Factors to consider when choosing a knife steel

Hardness: A measure of the steel's ability to resist permanent deformation (measured on a Rockwell Scale) (all of our knives listed on the Granbergs website will have the Rockwell Scale results on the specifications tab)
Strength: The steel’s ability to resist applied forces
Ductility: The steel's ability to flex or bend without fracturing
Toughness: The steel’s ability to absorb energy prior to fracturing
Edge Retention: The ability of the steel blade to hold an edge without frequent resharpening
Corrosion Resistance: The ability of the steel to resist deterioration as a result of reaction with its environment
Wear Resistance: The ability to resist wear and abrasion during use

Knife blade steel types in simple terms

Tool Steel: primarily hard steel alloys used in cutting tools. Some popular steels in this group include D2, O1 and Crucible’s CPM series (i.e. CPM 3V) plus more advanced high speed steels like M4.
Carbon Steel: generally made for rough use where toughness and durability is important. Common in survival knives and machetes. They take a sharp edge and are relatively easy to re-sharpen. The trade-off is being more prone to corrosion given the low chromium content. The most popular carbon knife steel is 1095.
Stainless Steel: basically carbon steel with added chromium to resist corrosion and other elements which increase performance levels but usually at the expense of inferior toughness. Easily the most popular category today and includes the 400, 154CM, AUS, VG, CTS, MoV, Sandvik and Crucible SxxV series of steels. Note that to qualify as a true stainless steel there must be at least 13% chromium.

Knife blade steel types in detail

As one can imagine, there are thousands of different knife and tool steels available, which are utilised by individual cutlery and knife brands worldwide. Although, the entire range of steels can be categorised into few larger groups, like Stainless steels, tool steels, carbon steels etc.; each and every steels has its own unique properties, which gives it a slight edge over another.

And so, we at Granbergs have taken the initiative to put together a list of all of the steels that are used by brands that we distribute, in an effort to make choosing the right knife a little easier. Below you will find both technical and descriptive information about each and every steel type that our brands utilise in manufacturing their blades.

Common Name	Steel type	Country of Origin
1095	AISI - 1095	USA
12C27	SANDVIK - 12C27	SWEDEN
420HC	LATROBE - 420HC	USA
440B	AISI - 440B	USA
440C	AISI - 440C	USA
4410 KRUPP	W - Nr 1.4410	Germany
50X14MF	GOST-50X14MF	Russia
65X13	65X13	Russia
AUS8	AICHI - AUS8	JAPAN
CTS-XHP	CARPENTER CTS - XHP	USA
D2	AISI - D2	USA
D2 (GER)	W - Nr 1.2061	Germany
Damascus	VARIOUS	VARIOUS
MV58	GB - 8Cr15MoV	CHINA
S30V	CRUCIBLE - S30V	USA
U8	GOST – U8	Russia
X12MF	GOST-X12MF	Russia
Z50	AFNOR – Z50CD15	France
Z60	BONPERTUIS – Z60CDV14	France
Z90	AFNOR – Z90WDCV	France

List of elements used in the production of knife and tool steels

Element Symbol	Element Name	Description
C	Carbon	Improves tensile strength, edge retention, hardness, resistance to wear and resistance to abrasion.
Cr	Chromium	Chromium improves corrosion resistance, wear resistance, hardness and tensile strength.It is also good carbide former. At least 13% Cr.Is required for a steel to be categorised as stainless steel,but in larger amounts it can decrease steel toughness.
M	Molybdenum	Molybdenum improves strength at high temperatures, machinability, resistance to corrosion, resistance to brittleness. It is also great carbide former.
W	Wolfram (Tungsten)	Improves wear resistance, toughness and performance in high temperatures. It is also the best carbide former after Vanadium.
V	Vanadium	Improves wear resistance, hardenability, grain refinement, edge stability and toughness. It is also a strong former.
Co	Cobalt	Cobalt Improves attainable hardness and red-hot hardness. It also intensifies individual effects of other elements in complex steels.
Ni	Nickel	Nickel improves mainly toughness and when used in the forging of Damascus steels, it is responsible for the brighter, shiny patterns.
Mn	Manganese	This element, improves grain structure, hardenability, as well as strength and wear resistance. It is only used in very small amounts, as large concentration can make the steel too hard and brittle.
Si	Silicon	Very similar to Manganese, it deoxidises during steel manufacturing process and increases steel strength.
Cu	Copper	In small amounts of 0.20 – 1.00% it helps in preventing surface deoxidisation (rust).
P	Phosphorus	Found in pretty much all steel types in minute amounts. It helps with strength and machinability od the steel.
S	Sulphur	Not desirable in knife steels, therefore miniscule amounts are used to increase machinability of the steel. Large amounts will decrease toughness.

* Related article - Steelmaking

List of steel types and the associated brands

Steel: 1095 (AISI-1095)

Country of Origin: United States

Knife Brands: J&V Adventure, Kappetijin Knives, Tramontina

Probably the most well-known and widely used simple carbon steel in the knife making industry. 1095 is used by many custom knife makers and although it can rust quite easily, it does keep a very good edge and can be hardened up to 64HRC.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	Mn %	Si %	P %	Hardness
0.90 – 1.03	0.00	0.00	0.30 – 0.50	0.03	0.05	58-64 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AFNOR – XC90
BS – BH95S
DIN – CK100
JIS – SUP4
SIS - 1870
W-Nr – 1.1275

Steel: 12C27 (Sandvik 12C27)

Country of Origin: Sweden

Knife Brands: Joker Knives, Kizlyar Supreme, Mora Knives

A very pure alloy with very well proven track record. Mostly used in the Scandinavian brands of knives. This steel has good corrosion resistance properties as well as exceptional toughness.

C %	Cr %	P %	Mn %	Si %	S %	Hardness
0.60	13.50	0.03	0.40	0.40	0.01	54-61 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

GOST - 65X13
GOST - 65KH13

Steel: 420HC (LATROBE – 420HC)

Country of Origin: United States

Knife Brands: Joker Knives, Kappetijin Knives

Simply put, this steel is great value for money for budget knives. As well as the above-mentioned brands, 420HC is extensively used by BUCK knives of USA for decades with great success. It is not the best steel for edge retention, but its simple chemical compositions, makes it quite cheap. But a cheap steel in the right hands can still perform quite well. Ideal steel for outdoor, rough use type knives.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	V %	Mn %	Si %	Hardness
0.46	13.00	0.00	0.30	0.40	0.40	55-57 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AISI - 420
GOST - 40X13

Steel: 440B (AISI – 440B)

Country of Origin: United States

Knife Brands: Joker Knives

Although this steel is not rated very high by some of the knife enthusiasts, most of these opinions are merely based on personal biases and hear-say comments. In the knife manufacturing industry, everything comes down to a delicate balance between practicality, performance and cost. And if you add to the mix a very high quality of workmanship and forging standards, then the 440B will start to meet all criteria. In fact it is the steel that is still being used by one of United States top outdoor knife manufacturers, Randall Cutlery. The main reason for why companies sometimes tend to go for 440B over 440C is because 440B is almost 100% rust resistant and ideal for outdoor adventure type knives. Also, 440B is also less brittle under high impact if accidentally struck against very hard surface.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	Mn %	Si %	P %	Hardness
0.75 – 0.95	16 - 18	0.75	1.00	1.00	0.04	58-60 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AFNOR – Z2CND1805
CSN – 17042
DIN – X91CrMoV18
GB – 9Cr18MoV
JUS – C.4772

Steel: 440C (AISI – 440C)

Country of Origin: United States

Knife Brands: Kizlyar Supreme, Joker Knives, J&V Adventure, Kappetijin Knives, Down Under Knives

When first introduced, the 440C was the flagship of complex Stainless steels and the most premium steel available. Only the very best and most expensive knife brands could afford the 440C. However, steel manufacturing has come a long way since then and so these days this steel is widely produced by many steel companies worldwide. Although 440C is still used by some custom knife makers, it is now more common with production and handmade production lines. It is considered a reliable and more affordable alternative to modern complex alloys.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	Mn %	Si %	P %	Hardness
0.95 – 1.20	16 - 18	0.75	1.00	1.00	0.04	58-60 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AFNOR – Z100CD13
CSN – 17042
DIN – X105CrMo17
GB – 95Cr18
GOST – 110X18M
W-Nr – 1.4125

Steel: 4110 KRUPP (W-Nr 1.4110)

Country of Origin: Germany

Knife Brands: Tramontina, Joker Knives

Often referred to simply as the German KRUPP steel; this is a well-known steel that has been used by many production knife manufacturers especially those that specialise in camp and kitchen knives. The Brazilian cutlery giant, Tramontina, has made an extensive use of this steel with proven track record in the hospitality industry specially. There are also some higher end handmade production brands like, Grohmann Knives of Canada that use this steel for production of their range of well known Canadian belt knives. The 4110 is highly rust resistant with reasonable toughness.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	V %	Si %	Mn %	Hardness
0.48 – 0.60	13.00 – 15.00	0.50 – 0.80	0.05 – 0.15	1.00	1.00	56-58 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

DIN - X55CrMo14
EN - X55CrMo14

Steel: 50X14MF (GOST-50X14MF)

Country of Origin: Russia (RUS)

Knife Brands: Kizlyar Knives

Also known as the GOST series steel, this is a well-known and proven grade of steel mostly used in the kitchen knives and anything with longer blades as it is reasonably mild at 54-56HRC and therefore less likely to break or chip on impact. This steel is highly rust and stain resistant.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	V %	Mn %	Si %	Hardness
0.45-0.50	14.5 – 15	0.60 – 0.65	0.10 – 0.15	0.60 – 1.00	1.00	54-56 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AFNOR – Z50CD15
DIN – X50CrMov15
GB – 5Cr15MoV
JUS – C.4770
UNE – F.3422
W-Nr – 1.4116

Steel: 65X13 (GOST – 65X13)

Country of Origin: Russia

Knife Brands: Kizlyar

A very clean and high quality Russian stainless alloy steel used by many custom knife makers in Russia and surrounding countries. Although some compare it to AISI-440A, it is far from it. In composition and characteristics it is much closer to Sandvik 12c27. It is mostly hardened to between 56-57HRC and us used to smaller to medium size knives. It holds a good edge, relatively light and is highly rust resistant.

C %	Cr %	Ni %	Mn %	Si %	P %	Hardness
0.60 – 0.70	12 – 14	0.00 – 0.50	0.25 – 0.80	0.20 – 0.50	0.03	56-59 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

GOST – 65KH13

Proprietary Equivalents:

Bohler-Uddeholm-Marss 500
Erasteel – PMC27
Sandvick – 12C27

Steel: AUS8 (AICHI-AUS8)

Country of Origin: Japan

Knife Brands: Kizlyar Supreme, 5.11 Tactical

A well-tested and proven stainless steel, which is used by just about every big name brand on mid priced knives. If tempered and worked properly, the steel can perform quite well. The carbon content is not very high, so edge retention is average, but on the same token, AUS8 makes is responds well even to fairly primitive sharpening gear and be honed to a full polished edge.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	Mn %	Si %	V %	Hardness
0.70 – 0.75	13 – 14.50	0.10 – 0.30	0.50	1.00	0.10 – 0.26	56-59 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AICHI – AUS8A
GB – 8Cr15MoV

Steel: CTS-XHP (Carpenter CTS-XHP)

Country of Origin: United States

Knife Brands: Olamic Cutlery

A relatively new air hardened steel with characteristics, similar to both 440C in terms of its rust resistance, but also similar to D2 as it can be hardened up to 64HRC. The CTS-XHP is a premium quality cutlery steel and is not cheap and therefore it is only really used in top of the line custom knives.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	Mn %	Si %	V %	Hardness
1.60	16.00	0.80	0.50	0.40	0.45	57-64 HRC

Steel: D2 (AISI-D2)

Country of Origin: United States

Knife Brands: Kappetijin Knives, Olamic Cutlery

This type of tool steel has a proven track record in the production of high quality knives as far as the WWII. The D2 steel and its equivalents are produced worldwide by pretty much every single steel manufacturer. D2 is a reasonably tough semi stainless steel, with greater edge retention capabilities than standard stainless blades. However, It is a harder steel, therefore more difficult to maintain. This steel is ideal for heavy use outdoor knives.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	V %	Mn %	Si %	Hardness
1.50 – 1.60	11.5 – 12	0.60 – 0.90	0.98 – 1.10	0.15 – 0.45	0.10 – 0.40	60-64 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AFNOR – Z160CDV12
BS – BD2
DIN – X150CrMoVCo12
GB – Cr12Mo1V1
GOST - X12MF
JUS – SKD11
MSZ – K8

Steel: German D2 (W-Nr 1.2061)

Country of Origin: Germany

Knife Brands: Kizlyar Supreme, Kizlyar Knives, Ground Zero Knives

Very close and almost identical steel in its composition to American produced AISI D2 steel, with slightly lower Vanadium amount. It is more commonly used by European knife manufacturers as it is more cost effective to buy the steel locally than from the United States. This type of tool steel has a proven track record in the production of high quality knives as far as the WWII. The D2 steel and its equivalents are produced worldwide by pretty much every single steel manufacturer. D2 is a reasonably tough semi stainless steel, with greater edge retention capabilities than standard stainless blades. However, It is a harder steel, therefore more difficult to maintain. This steel is ideal for heavy use outdoor knives.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	V %	Mn %	Si %	Hardness
1.45 – 1.60	11 – 13	0.70 – 1.00	0.70 – 1.00	0.20 – 0.60	0.10 – 0.60	60-64 HRC

The closest alias to this steel type is the AISI D2 and many more produced by almost every single steel manufacturer worldwide.

Steel: Damascus

Country of Origin: Originated from Damascus (Syria) many centuries ago, but now this type of steel is reproduced worldwide, both on smaller custom made quantities and mass industrial production.

Knife Brands: Kappetijin Knives, Kizlyar Knives, Olamic Cutlery, Nord Crown,

Damascus steel is a layered type of forged steel, where a combination of various steel types (carbon & alloy) steels are forged together to make a unique looking billet with its own unique characteristics. Its unique properties, gave it an edge over other basic metals which were used in the making of swords and other weapons of the era when the Damascus steel was first introduced. Therefore, historically many cultures viewed Damascus steel as having some kind of mystical powers. However, over the past century as the complexity of alloys saw extraordinary advances, Damascus steels started to loose their edge and preference. On the other hand, Damascus steel is still in very high demand and some blades can cost thousands of dollars. These days, it is more about the craftsmanship of forging the steel, not to mention that the above complex alloys are now used in forging the modern Damascus and naturally some of the unique properties of those steels become the part of the newly form Damascus blade.

The brands that are mentioned above, mostly forge their own Damascus steel billets, therefore listing the exact combinations of steels used is somewhat difficult. However, we have put together a list of some of the more common combinations used by some of our knife brands.

Kappetijin Knives: Dennis Kappetijin uses a combination of alloy steel with various carbon steels. Most common combinations include:

- 4340 Alloy steel and 1065 Carbon steel

- 15N20 Nickel steel and 1075 Carbon steel

Kizlyar Knives: Kizlyar factory forges its own Damascus steel in-house from the combinations of various stainless alloys with Russian GOST75 carbon steel. Stainless alloys used are mostly from Russian steel manufacturers and most often include 65X13, 40X13 and X12MF.

Nord Crown: The factory is really only a studio of art knives therefore all the forging is outsourced. Most of the blade blanks and billets are forged at the Kizlyar factory, others are purchased from well known Damascus billet forgers in Sweden, who specialise in high chromium rust resistant Damascus steel.

Olamic Cutlery: Combination of high carbon steels with Russian tool steels. The exact details of the combination used is undisclosed.

Steel: MV58 (GB-8Cr15MoV)

Country of Origin: China

Knife Brands: J&V Adventure knives, Joker Knives

The MV58 also referred to NA58, has been widely used by a number of well known knife manufacturers from Spain and Italy with very good results especially as a middle range high carbon stainless. MV58 can be hardened up to 60 HRC without becoming too brittle. In the last 5 years especially, many more brands are experimenting with the MV58 steel as a cheaper alternative to AUS8 and 440B series steels, and many are able to get better results than the more expensive alternatives.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	Mn %	Si %	V %	Hardness
0.70 – 0.75	13 – 14.50	0.10 – 0.30	0.50	1.00	0.10 – 0.26	56-60 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AICHI – AUS8

Steel: S30V (CRUCIBLE S30V)

Country of Origin: United States

Knife Brands: 5.11 Tactical

One of the best and premium quality stainless steels with extreme toughness and edge retention capabilities. This steel Was purpose built for high quality knives and widely used by custom made knife makers around the world.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	W %	Mn %	V %	Hardness
1.45 - 1.46	14.00	2.00	0.10 - 0.40	0.50	4.00	56-61 HRC

Steel: U8 (GOST – U8)

Country of Origin: Russia (RUS)

Knife Brands: Kizlyar Knives

Water cooled heavy carbon tool steel, widely used in Russia by custom knife makers. When heat treated properly this steel is quite tough and has excellent edge retention characteristics. This is not rust resistant steel, therefore most knives manufactured from it, would have to be either coated or at least feature a mirror polished finish.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	V %	Mn %	Si %	Hardness
0.70 – 0.85	0.00 – 0.30	0.00 – 0.60	0.00 – 0.10	0.10 – 0.50	0.10 – 0.40	59-61 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AFNOR – Y90
AISI – W1
DIN – C80W2
GB – T8
JIS – SK75
UNE - C80KU

Steel: X12MF (GOST-X12MF)

Country of Origin: Russia (RUS)

Knife Brands: Kizlyar Knives

Premium quality high carbon tool steel produced in Russia. Its closes Western equivalent is the AISI D2 tool steel. This is a top quality tool steel, which has been widely used by knife makers for quite some time and is known for its edge retention capabilities. The X12MF can be hardened to well over 60HRC, when used for production of hard tools, like chisels etc. However, when used in knives it is hardened within 58-60 HRC, so that it is kept within the manageable hardness levels for field dressing. This steel has is very similar to stainless steel apart for the high carbon content, which makes it a little more prone to rust that standard stainless steels. However, the mirror finish on the Kizlyar knives, helps a lot in reducing the chance for rust to build up on the blades.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	V %	Mn %	Si %	Hardness
1.45 – 1.65	11.0 – 12.5	0.40 - 0.60	0.70 – 0.90	0.15 – 0.45	0.15 – 0.35	58-63 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

AFNOR – Z160CDV12
AISI – D2
BS – BD2
DIN – X150CrMoVCo12
GB – Cr12Mo1V1
MSZ – K8
JUS – SKD11

Steel: Z50 (AFNOR – Z50CD15)

Country of Origin: France (FR)

Knife Brands: Kizlyar Knives

Also known simply as the Z50 steel, this is a well-known and proven grade of steel used in kitchen knives and also outdoor / hunting knives, which require a milder edge for fast field dressing. At 55-56HR, this steel is considered reasonably mild and therefore less likely to break or chip on impact. This steel is highly rust and stain resistant and when hardened to around 56HRC, it can deliver good edge retention characteristics.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	V %	Mn %	Si %	Hardness
0.50	14.5	0.65	0.15	1.00	1.00	55-56 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

GOST – 40X15MF
DIN – X50CrMov15
GB – 5Cr15MoV
JUS – C.4770
UNE – F.3422
W-Nr – 1.4116

Steel: Z60 (BONPERTUIS – Z60CDV14)

Country of Origin: France (FR)

Knife Brands: Kizlyar Knives

Also known simply as the Z60 steel, this steel closest relative is the Japanese AUS8. Like the AUS8, in the right hands this steel can work quite well and has very goods rust resistance and edge holding capabilities. It must be said that Z60 is the improved version of the AUS8, as it chemical composition is slightly different giving, making it less brittle and it also has a greater hardness range. This steel has widely been used by Kizlyar knives with a very good track record. Kizlyar hardens the Z60 to 56-58HRC giving it a hard enough edge, but still mild enough for the ease of maintenance.

C %	Cr %	Mo %	V %	Mn %	Si %	Hardness
0.60 - 065	14.00	0.55 – 0.65	0.15 – 0.20	0.20	0.35 – 0.40	56-58 HRC

The closest aliases to this steel type are the following:

SANDVICK – Z60CDV14
AICHI - AUS8

Steel: Z90 (AFNOR – Z90WDCV)

Country of Origin: France (FR)

Knife Brands: Kizlyar Knives

Often referred to as the Z90 steel, this steel closest and better known alias would be the AISI M2 high speed tool steel, which have been extensively used by custom knife makers and even some large production brands like Gerber (back in the 90s). As a high speed tool steel, the Z90 can hold its temper even at reasonably high temperatures. This steel has a high resistance (toughness) and better edge retention than some of the other popular tool steels, like AISI D2. This steel can be hardened to over 64HRC, however, most production knives will be hardened to 60-62HRC. The main reason for this is, the balance between edge retention and the ability for the user to sharpen and maintain the knife without the need for specialised sharpening equipment.