Summary

• Carbon steel is "less expensive than stainless and has an excellent edge-holding capability."

• There is no such thing as "stain-proof" steel.

• High carbon steel can "take a licking and keep on ticking.”

• Tough CPM3V is used by the U.S. Navy so "the guys could really be hard" on their knives and not worry about breaking them.

While stainless, or stain-resistant, blade steels continue to capture the fancy of everyday knife users, the tried-and-true carbon steels remain at the top of the list for many others—a fact not lost on major manufacturers, many of which continue to offer broad selections of knives with carbon steel blades.

Of course, the old discussions concerning edge-holding capability in contrast to ease of maintenance, toughness and tensile strength persist. However, knife factory officials assert that a balance can be achieved with carbon steel to offer the best of everything when it comes to a using knife, particularly one that is subjected to extremes of climate in the field.

1095, 1095CV, 1085 & D2



Ka-Bar celebrates its 110th birthday this year
and over most, if not all, of the 110 years it has
offered knives with carbon steel blades. An
example is a 2008 reintroduction of a model
boasting one of the company’s former names
—Union Cutlery—the Union Cutlery Fixed
Blade Hunter in D2 tool steel. The handle is
licorice jigged bone.

Affordable and Machinable A2

Chris Reeve Knives produces a large number of hollow-handled one-piece knives that begin life as a single round bar of steel. Applying his knowledge and background in the tool-and-die industry, Chris Reeve said A2 tool steel is the logical choice for producing such knives in greater numbers.

“High-carbon steels have their purpose,” he explained, “and A2 is the cheapest grade of high-carbon, high-chrome tool-and-die steel. A2 is basically an economic choice for that style of knife. I would not use it for any of my other knives because there are better materials. For instance, on the Green Beret and other military knives I use CPM S30V [stainless]. Because there is such a lot of material to machine out of the round bar to gain the hollow-handled knife, it is a toss-up between the ability to machine the material and the qualities of the knife at the end of the day.”

Reeve added that the A2 also holds an edge well and probably loses only 5-to-10 percent of its capability to hold that edge when compared to S30V. “When you get into the minutiae of the knife world, and we deal in a highly specialized world,” he noted, “we get lost in these little areas where you have got to have the latest material because it is so great.

“People forget that an edge-retention change can potentially be just a couple of percentage points, and the average guy would never know the difference. There are many components other than edge retention that make a good knife steel, and the biggest downside to A2 is that it corrodes. I wish I could make the one-piece knives of a material that was stainless and could hold a good edge and was also affordable and machinable, but this is wishful thinking in the world of machining because alloys can get harder to machine.”

Like a Timex Watch

During a decade in the knife industry, Mike Fuller of TOPS Knives has marketed an extensive line of knives with carbon steel blades. Roughly 90 percent of TOPS’ knives use 1095 steel, while the DART (Direct Action Rescue Team) knife has a blade of S30V, and the balance of the TOPS line is in 154CM stainless.

“When I got into this business, I found that the common thread among engineers, marketing people, and others was that a blade steel needed to be easily accessible, easy to work with and easily machined, with a moderate and steady cost,” Fuller commented. “One person that helped me in the beginning was John Greco, a long-time knifemaker, and he told me the high-carbon alloys are like Timex watches. They take a licking and keep on ticking.”

Fuller identifies his primary clientele as military special operations, law enforcement and emergency services, whom he says hack and whack and use knives for prying, chopping and numerous chores in the field. From the customer perspective, TOPS delivers carbon blades that stand up to serious punishment and are easy to touch up when necessary.

“For us, 1095 was the best,” he continued. “The capability of 1095 to resist oxidation in its regular state is very, very limited, and this is why we specifically powder coat the steel with an epoxy/polyester hybrid that has withstood a seven-day saltwater spray test that doesn’t mar it at all. The only area that is exposed is the very final sharpened edge, so we provide a small container of rust inhibitor.”

TOPS offers a sharpening service for its customers and also includes a Lansky pocket sharpener with most purchases. Fuller said that carbon steel facilitates differential heat treating, allowing the edge to be hardened to a greater degree than the body of the blade. In most stainless situations, he contended, the entire blade must be hardened the same throughout.

CPM 3V: Tough as Nails

According to knifemaker Steve Ryan, director of Surefire’s Edged Weapons Division, the CPM 3V on the company’s Echo fixed-blade model has proven popular. Extensive testing went into the choice of the carbon steel and, at high hardness levels, even above 60 Rc on the Rockwell scale, the steel will resist chipping, he noted. Each blade is also coated with a rust-resistant material.

“We have tested the hell out of it, and the primary reason we picked CPM 3V is that when we were in the development phase for the Echo, the U.S. Navy said they needed something the guys could really be hard on and not worry about too much,” Ryan remarked. “The Echo is an enigma in the industry. It holds its edge so darn long, and even if it dulls a little it will still cut because the grind is not wedgy.

“One of the things that impresses me most about the steel is its toughness. Even at a Rockwell of 62 it will dent without chipping, and you can hit something that will bend the edge physically and it still won’t chip.”

One of the keys to the Echo’s strength is the knife’s blade geometry. Similar to a chisel grind, it employs two different grind planes with the second being considerably wider than on most standard grinds. Thanks to the grind’s large, flat surface, you can line up the cutting edge with less guesswork, while there is easy access to the edge for sharpening, Ryan observed.

A Secure Place

Carbon steel may have found worthy competition from the stainless steels of the world, but in the long run its place in the product lines of knife manufacturers remains secure. There are choices, and there are steels more suitable for certain activities than others. In the end, it is consumer preference that drives much of what is available in the marketplace.