juust to clarify the terminology.

Technically and precisely speaking, there is no such thing

as stainless steel. What has became an accepted term in the industry isn't correct. All steels
will rust, if proper care is not taken. Simply, some steels resist corrosion better than others,
and that's all there is to it. Thus, the correct term is stain-resistant. Throughout this
document and elsewhere on this site, I use the tern stainless referring to stain-resistant
steels. Lately, a lot of kitchen cutlery makers started using the stain resistant term, which in
my opinion is a good sign.

Surgical Steel

- Also often referred as Stainless Surgical Steel in many knife promotion materials. Clear
sign that you should steer away from that knife. There is no official surgical steel to begin
with, just number of different alloys used in medical instruments and implants such as 17-4,
17-4 PH, 455 stainless and for implants - 316L Stainless or titanium 6AL4V, which isn't even
a steel(detailed info courtesy of CNC machinist for major medical companies). None of those
are known for properties suitable for knives, rather the opposite. They all however are
highly stainless. These days, whatever surgeons use is disposable pretty mush 100% of the
cases. Do you really want a disposable knife in your kitchen? As far as knife marketing is
concerned, the term "surgical" refers to low wear resistant, cheap stainless steels like 420
series or worse. In short, it's bad, stay away.

420 Series

- Low wear resistance, highly stain-resistant, good choice for diving knives, but nothing
interesting for the kitchen. Very low Carbon content, less than 0.3%-0.5%, makes it too
soft for a useful cutting tool in the kitchen. Used mainly in very cheap kitchen knives. Skip
it. Ref - AISI 420 Steel Composition.

440A/440B

- Not too good to begin with, and haven't seen anyone lately using them for the good
kitchen knives. Skip it. A lot of low cost mainstream kitchen knives are made from this or
similar steels. Ref - AISI 440A vs. 440B Steel Composition comparison. Cutco uses 440A in
their kitchen knives, claiming to be the best, but it's far from it.

440C

- Used to be a premium steel for years, by now it's rather old. Ref - AISI 440C Steel
Composition. Still, many makers use it in kitchen knives. Phil Wilson used to use it too.
When heat treated properly, it's a decent performer in the kitchen and outside of it as well.
The only thing is, factories don't heat treat that steel to those high standards. Therefore, if
you can get a custom from the trusted maker, then it is probably worth it, otherwise not
that good. Good toughness and stain resistance. Ref - AISI 440A vs. 440B vs. 440C Steel
Composition Comparison.

12C27

- Another old timer. Swedish stainless razor steel. Interesting one, because it's a very pure,
fine grained alloy. Ref - Sandvik 12C27 Steel Composition. Takes very keen edge. Edge
holding is ok. Several western and Japanese makers use it. It's an ok steel IMHO. If you find
a good maker, he'll make a pretty good knife out of it. Nothing outstanding IMHO, but a lot
of makers like it, which is understandable, it's easy to work with and lots of knife folks(i.e.
customers) like it too.

13C26

- Similar to 12C27, but has less Cr, More C. Identical to Bohler-Uddeholm AEB-L razor
steel. See comments there.

1.4116

- W-Nr standard name of the X50CrMoV15 steel, which is a DIN standard name.
See X50CrMoV15 steel.

154CM/ATS-34

- 154CM (don't mix with a better CPM154 steel) is the original American steel, and ATS-34
is Hitachi version of it. Good stainless steels, not used in mass production kitchen knives
though, too expensive. Some makers use it, in custom kitchen knives. High wear resistance,
but brittle at higher hardness. I personally, wouldn't choose either of them for my custom
kitchen knife, there are better choices. That's not to say they(154CM/ATS-34) are bad
choices, but if I spend few hundreds on custom kitchen knives then I will definitely pick a
better steel, and that will add another hundred or so to the total price. Ref - ATS-34 vs.
154CM Steel Composition Comparison.

AEB-L

- Swedish stainless razor steel. Very pure, fine grained alloy. Virtually identical to Sandvik
13C26 Steel. Slightly less Mn and 0.010% more S, ref - AEB-L vs. 13C26 steel composition
comparison. When heat treated properly, produces very small, fine grain, which positively
affects edge holding, edge stability and toughness. Devin Thomas uses it in his kitchen
knives, with very good results. Working hardness in kitchen and light cutting knives is 61-
62HRC.

Cronidur 30

- Same as X30CrMoNi1-5-1.

Cowry-X

- Latest super duper PM steel. Ultra high carbon and chromium content. C - 3% and Cr -
20%. Very high hardness, several makers harden it to 65 or even 67HRC. As you can guess
very expensive too. ZDP-189 and MC-66 are very similar, in that those two have the same
C and CR content. Exact element makeup unknown. Overall, very good edge holding and
toughness. Hard to sharpen compared to other steels, nothing impossible though. So far
Hattori is the only one making kitchen knives out of it.

CPM™ 154

- Crucible Particle Metallurgy version of 154CM. Significantly better then it's predecessor.
Purer steel, with finer carbides. Elemental makeup is identical to 154CM, however, rumors
are CPM154 contains small amounts of Vanadium, thus being more wear resistant, however
Crucible representative stated Vanadium in the alloy is residual, not intentional. Toughness
and finishing properties are increased considerably. Easier for makers to work with, and for
the user it means quite tougher, little but more wear resistant and finer edged knives.
Several custom makers use it for kitchen knives, no factory knives in CPM-154 though. Phil
Wilson makes fillet and chef's knives out of it. Can go up to 61HRC, although not many
makers take it there. Very good choice. Ref - AISI 154CM vs. CPM154 Steels Composition
Comparison.

CPM™ S90V(CPM420V)

- CPM S90V (420V is the old name) is a very high alloy steel from Crucible Particle
Metallurgy. Very high wear resistance coupled with very high corrosion resistance. Ref -
CPM S90V Chemical Composition. As you can see alloy content is extremely high. Because
of the very high Vanadium content it's really difficult for the makers to work with. Upper
limit for hardness is 61HRC. For now, the only maker I know of, making kitchen knives with
S90V is Phil Wilson. Sadly, Phil isn't making large kitchen knives anymore. On the other
hand, paring knife from S90V or even small chef's knife is also a very good choice. Perhaps
I'll get one later too. I have S90V Lochsa folder from Scott Cook, heat treated by P. Boss to
60HRC. Very good edge holding. Definitely a good choice for a quality kitchen knife if the
maker knows how to work with it.

CPM™ S110V

- CPM S110V is another very high alloy steel from Crucible Particle Metallurgy. Very high
wear resistance coupled with very high corrosion resistance. The news is the addition of the
Niobium - Nb. Ref - CPM S110V Chemical Composition. As you can see, alloy content is
extremely high in S110V too. Because of the very high Vanadium content it's really difficult
for the makers to work with. Recommended hardness by Crucible is 61-63HRC. Although,
Phil Wilson did manage to get it to 64HRC and make exceptionally good cutters out of it. For
now, the only maker I know of, making kitchen knives with S110V is Phil Wilson. The real
problem with the steel is that it's pretty hard to get from Crucible in knife making suitable
sized bars. Edge holding ability is even greater than that of the CPM 125V and CPM 10V.
Mainly because of the addition of the 3.5% Niobium. Nb carbides are very hard, harder than
Vanadium carbides, and overall carbide volume is very high in this alloy. Thus, wear
resistance and edge holding for abrasive cutting is extremely high.

CROMOVA 18

- Yoshikin proprietary stainless steel for their brand Global knives. Cr indicates Chrome in
the alloy, Mo is for Molybdenum and Va is for Vanadium. Exact chemical composition was
unknown, except for 18% of alloying content in it. Eventually, several credible sources
provided information that Cromova 18 was a rebrand for Aichi AUS-6M steel. Similar
compared to X50CrMoV15 types of steel. Highly stain resistant with pretty good edge
holding ability. There's a competing theory, where Cromova 18 is supposedly much
better Aichi AUS-118 steel, but it is unlikely that high end alloy would be so obscured.

MC66

- Henckels current alias for the Hitachi ZDP-189 PM steel. MC stands for Micro Carbide and
66 is the target hardness on the Rockwell scale. Used by Henckel in their Twin Cermax and
Miyabi 7000MC lines.
SRS-15

- Japanese Powder Metallurgy(PM) steel. Excellent choice for kitchen knives. Ref - SRS-15
PM Steel Composition. As you can see, it's really high on Carbon, and all that Tungsten with
Vanadium increase wear resistance significantly. Overall, it can get to 64-65HRC no
problems. Akifusa gyuto that I have, is made of SRS-15, and I can only attest to its
excellent performance.

SG-2

- Japanese Powder Metallurgy(PM) steel. Made by Takefu steel company. Excellent choice
for kitchen knives. Also known as SGPS, well Fallkniven uses it under that name. As far as I
know SG2 stands for something like Super Gold. For curious minds - Takefu SG2 steel
composition. Shun uses SG2 steel in their elite line. It's a good steel, according to other
accounts, less of a performer compared to SRS-15. Although, I've seen quite negative
comments on SG2 performance in Fallkniven U2 folder. On the other hand, folks seem to be
happy with SG2 performance in Shun elite knives. Achieves very high hardness, Shun Elite
knives are officially 64HRC, although lately 62HRC figure is cited quite often too. Ref - SRS-
15 vs. SG2 Steel Composition Comparison.

SKD11

- Japanese tool steel. It is same as AISI D2. Stain Resistant, not truly stainless. Very good
edge holding. Yoshikane uses this steel for their kitchen knives, hardened to 64HRC. Most of
the reports I've seen are very positive. Some indicate microchipping along the edge. Though
this is perhaps related to sharpening angle. For the record, I haven't seen western kitchen
knives in D2 steel. Ref - SKD11 Steel Composition.

S30V

- Quite good cutlery steel. CPM S30V was developed by Crucible Metallurgy with knives in
mind, which is very rare in the industry. Apart from Shirogami and Aogami steels, I don't
really know any others created for knives. Based on very tough and wear resistant CPM3V.
Has added Cr and other elements. Although, it has added too much chromium and Carbon
to be as tough. Can get pretty hard, up to 62HRC. Better wear resistance than 154CM. It
was quite hyped up back in early 2000 when it first appeared, but proper heat treatment
isn't that simple and several manufacturers and even custom makers produced knives that
were either too soft or chipped easily. Obviously that didn't work well for S30V reputation.
Also, compared to many other alloys this one is more difficult to machine and process.
Perhaps that explains why some makers choose to run this steel at 58-60HRC. Haven't seen
many S30V at 62HRC to be honest. Phil Wilson is really good with this steel, and makes
kitchen knives out of it. Unfortunately, Phil is shifting his focus mainly to smaller fillet, chef's
and paring knives. Longest being 6"-7".
S30V is pretty popular with other makers. I have Trace Rinaldi TTKK, that I've used in
the kitchen for years. It's not exactly a kitchen knife, but held up pretty well. For very good
information regarding this steel I highly recommend Phil Wilson's CPM S30V Introduction.
Ref - CPM S30V Steel Composition.

VG-10
 - Very good stain resistant steel. Used widely in Japanese kitchen knives. From western
makers Fallkniven uses it in some of their blades like K2 - White Whale. Most of the
Japanese blades are 60-61HRC, except for Tojiro, who makes them at 62HRC, Tojiro
Santoku, Tojiro Paring. Fallknivens are 59HRC. Old, but very good performer. Needs
minimal care to avoid corrosion. Takes very good edge and easy to sharpen even at 62HRC.
Good edge holding. Ref - VG-10 Steel Composition

X30CrMoNi1-5-1

- Also Cronidur 30. Stainless steel, used in aero-space industry. Henckel uses it in their
limited edition knives. For a while I didn't think much of Cronidur 30 steel, even though I
knew it had Nitrogen in it. Later, one of the German knife guys pointed out that the amount
of Nitrogen in the alloy is quite high 0.40% and more. So, overall the steel should exhibit
properties of high carbon steel. Good wear resistance and relatively good toughness too.
Still, 1000$+ price tag is very high for the knife of this steel. Bohler-Uddeholm Vanax 35
steel and Vanax 75 Steel, both have much higher Nitrogen content in them, 1.35% and
4.20% respectively and the knives out of those steels cost much less too. Plus Vanax series
steels have Vanadium in them, which definitely helps with abrasive wear resistance. Ref -
Cronidur 30 (X30CrMoNi1-5-1) Steel Composition.

X45CrMoV15

- German steel. Similar to X50CrMoV15 steel. As you can deduce contains 0.45% C.
Nothing interesting. Used by several western makers including F. Dick. Technically and
practically, this is not a high carbon steel. Medium it is. Ref - X45CrMoV15 steel
composition.

X50CrMoV15

- German steel. Very stain resistant. Other than that not much to speak of. The cryptic
X50CrMoV15 stands for 0.5% carbon, the other 15% is composed of 14% or 14.5% of Cr,
some Mo and V. X in the name is a an indicator for high alloy steel, 0.5% C content means,
by definition X50CrMoV15 isn't a high carbon steel, despite of some marketing claims. In
fact it has less C content compared to 440C steel. However, it's plenty tough and resists
corrosion well and it is a high alloy steel. If you don't want to bother maintaining your
knives this is a good choice. Except for the low edge holding ability of course. In the end,
you end up sharpening it a lot more often, so low maintenance statement is really arguable.
Used by Wusthof, Victorinox and others in their high end knives. Ref - X50CrMoV15 Steel
Composition. If you are interested, you can also read up on DIN And EN Steel Standards
Naming Conventions.

X55CrMoV15

- Variation of 1.4116 steel. Pretty much the same, except for the slightly higher C content -
0.55%. Used by Messermeister. Not sure who else uses it. You can see the detailed
differences in composition on this X55CrMoV15 vs. X50CrMoV15 steel composition
comparison graph.

ZDP-189
 - Latest super duper PM steel. extremely high carbon and chromium content. C - 3% and
Cr - 20%. Very high hardness, several makers harden it to 65 or even 67HRC. As you can
guess very expensive too. Cowry-X and MC-66 are very similar, in that those two have the
same C and CR content. Although, Henckel representative in Tokyo did confirm MC66 being
ZDP-189. Exact element makeup unknown, whatever I have in the Knife Steel Chart is not
confirmed by Hitachi. Unlike Cowry-X, ZDP-189 contains Molybdenum, Tungsten and
Vanadium. Overall, very good edge holding and toughness. Hard to sharpen compared to
other steels, nothing impossible, really. Ref - ZDP-189 Steel Composition.

erminology clarification again. Since we already know that all steels are Carbon steels
strictly speaking, under the term Carbon Steels I refer to the steels with no, or very low
stain resistance.

Common note for Aogami 1, Aogami 2, Shirogami 1 and Shirogami 2 steels

- All the steels listed are produced in two versions, Type A and Type B, where type A has
higher carbon compared to average spec, they are designed for forgers, to compensate for
the loss of carbon during forging, type B is more common for stamped or CNC cut knives.
Thanks to Shinichi Watnaabe for providing the exact info.

Aogami(Blue) 1 (YSS)
 - Also referred as Ao-Ko, or Ao-ichi-ko, where ichi is one in Japanese and ko is steel.
Hitachi high carbon steel(C 1.3%-1.4%), very pure(P <= 0.025%, S <= 0.004%)
specifically developed for tools and knives. Ref - Aogami 1 Steel Composition. In my
experience - very good steel, and very popular choice for high end Japanese kitchen knives.
A lot of Japanese custom makers use it. Takes very fine edge, and holds it long time. Easy
to sharpen, even at 65HRC. Slightly better wear resistance compared to Aogami(Blue) 2,
however slightly less tough compared to it. I have several kitchen knives in this steel:
Watanabe Honyaki Gyuto, Nakiri and others. Takes patina easily, but just wiping it clean
during cutting and washing after using it, prevents rust completely.
Ref - Aogami 1 vs. Aogami 2 vs. Aogami Super steels composition comparison chart.
Ref - Aogami 1 A steel composition, Aogami 1 B steel composition.

Aogami(Blue) 2 (YSS)

- Also referred as Ao-Ko II. Hitachi high carbon steel, specifically developed for tools and
knives. Ref - Aogami 2 Steel Composition. Very pure alloy - P <= 0.025%, S <= 0.004%.
In my experience very good steel, just like its brother Aogami 1. As mentioned above, it's
slightly tougher compromising wear resistance a bit. Although, at those levels of hardness
63HRC and above, the difference is really hard to tell, at least in home kitchen use.
Watanabe makes his Honesuki knives out of Blue 2, one of my favorites, Kumagoro Gyuto is
also made out of it. Aritsugu also makes his high end knives from blue 2, I have only very
positive experience with his Honkasumi Yanagi and Fugubiki, both blue 2, 65HRC+.
Ref - Aogami 1 vs. Aogami 2 vs. Aogami Super steels composition comparison chart.
Ref - Aogami 2 A steel composition, Aogami 2 B steel composition.

Aogami(Blue) Super (YSS)

- Hitachi high carbon steel, specifically developed for tools and knives. Aogami Super Steel
Composition. Another solid performer from Aogami family. This one has highest wear
resistance and lowest toughness of three. I have Takeda Chukabocho(cleaver) and Takeda
Deba in Aogami super. Both knives exhibit very good edge holding, and Deba is just fine
crushing chicken bones. Both knives are hardened to 61HRC. Later on I've
acquired Moritaka Chukabocho, also Aogami Super steel, hardened to 65HRC. Edge holding
is just outstanding and even though it has really hefty, 230mm long, 112mm wide blade,
with 10° per side edge, never had a single chip on it in more than two years. Ref - Aogami 1
vs. Aogami 2 vs. Aogami Super steels composition comparison chart.

Kigami 2 (YSS)

- Better steel compared to JIS KS series, but worse than both, Aogami and Shirogami.
Used in high end tools and low/mid class kitchen knives. Ref - Kigami 2 Steel Composition.

Kigami 3 (YSS)

- Very similar to Kigami 2, with less Carbon. Ref - Kigami 2 vs. Kigami 3 Steel Composition
Comparison.
SK3

- Solid performer as a cutlery steel, Tsukiji Masamoto uses it in his Carbon steel kitchen
knives. Ref - SK3 steel composition.

SK4

- Low grade steel, mainly due to impurities. Used mainly in hand tools like axes and
hammers. Can be found in cheap kitchen knives as well. Ref - SK4 steel composition.

SK5

- Similar to SK4, with even less Carbon. SK3 vs. SK4 vs. SK5 steel composition
comparison.

O1

- Similar to 1095 and Aogami steels by makeup. Gets very hard and has very good edge
holding ability. As far as I know several custom knife makers produce kitchen knives out of
this steel. Good choice, no resistance to corrosion obviously. L.R. Harner aka Butch works
with O1 kitchen knives. Ref - O1 steel composition.

Shirogami(White) 1 (YSS)

- Also referred as Shiro-Ko 1 or simply Shiro-Ko. Identical to Blue 1, except for the absence
of Cr and W. So, it's pretty much very pure carbon steel. Takes very fine because of this.
Very popular knife steel for high end Japanese cutlery and especially with Honyaki type
blades. Very good edge holding, very high working hardness, 64-65HRC.
Ref - Shirogami 1 steel composition, Shirogami 1 A steel composition, Shirogami 1 B steel
composition.

Shirogami(White) 2 (YSS)

- Also referred as Shiro-Ko 2 and Shiro-ni-ko. Same as Shiro-Ko 1, except slightly lower C
content. Very good edge holding, very high working hardness, 64-65HRC.
Ref - Shirogami 2 steel composition, Shirogami 2 A steel composition, Shirogami 2 B steel
composition.

Shirogami(White) 3 (YSS)

- Also referred as Shiro-Ko 3. Same as Shiro-Ko 1, except contains C - 0.8%. Good edge
holding, gets very high hardness. Not too tough. Haven't seen any knives in Shirogami 3 so
far. May be used in tools like chisels. Ref - Shirogami 3 steel composition.