In the modern world, steel for knives plays an important role in human life, since this subject has to be encountered almost throughout its existence. Now for the manufacture of a variety of processing technologies that involve the presence of alloys. All added impurities are designed to improve the quality of the created product. Scientists all over the world dream of achieving the quality of alloys to a new level, due to which intricate technologies and formulations arise. Currently, there are certain grades of steel for knives, allowing you to choose the best option, depending on the application.
There is a constant struggle for physical qualities like hardness, heat resistance and wear resistance. Quality steel for knives should provide good resistance to penetration into other bodies. That is, it is obliged to endure serious loads without deforming and without losing its shape. In addition, the ability of the material to wear is of no small importance, which is primarily due to the content of the hardest carbides (vanadium, molybdenum and tungsten). For this reason, the CPM 10V and CPM S90V grades have increased wear resistance.
Each
chemical element in its own way affects steel for knives, giving it one quality or another. One of the basic components is carbon, which predetermines in many respects the main characteristics. Thanks to this element, it becomes possible to
harden steel for knives. Hardness will depend mainly on its ratio. However, at the same time, due to carbon, the
metal's susceptibility to
corrosion increases
. Typically, the presence of carbon should not be less than 0.6 percent, but many manufacturers do not pay special attention to this indicator, producing low-quality products with low cost.
Another common and necessary element is chrome. With its help, it is possible to successfully resist corrosion by adding to steel for knives. If the amount of the component presented exceeds 14 percent, then we can assume that this is a stainless product. However, a high chromium content negatively affects the strength characteristics. Molybdenum is often used as an alloying agent, which can increase heat resistance and corrosion resistance. Of course, it positively affects any steel for a knife.
An interesting element is vanadium, which helps to enrich the physical properties of various alloys. Its main function is to significantly increase the wear resistance and strength. Steel for knives enriched with this element is able to maintain cutting qualities for a long period. However, it should be noted that sharpening such a knife becomes more time consuming. In many cases, cobalt is included in the alloy, which is characterized by high strength. As a rule, it contains brands N690 and VG-10. Knife steel may also include nickel, nitrogen, sulfur, silicon, titanium, and many other chemical elements.