strategy9
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2015
- Messages
- 4,188
Anyone with in depth insight want to add or chime in, it is strongly encouraged, but i wanted to put together a somewhat short, (it's long, but for the amount of information packed in, it's actually pretty short), somewhat "laymen term" and understandable explanation of how some of your more basic steels compare to one another, as well as where 440c actually sits amongst them.
Steel is iron with carbon added for improved hardness
Stainless steel is steel with at least 13% chromium (by weight) added in to ward against rust. (D2 is 12% max, hence why it is called an "almost stainless" tool steel)
As per how 440c stacks up against other "basic" steels;
440c Carbon/Chromium content = 0.95-1.2%/16-18%
8cr14mov has a 0.8/14% max
Aus8 has a 0.75/14.5% max
12c27 has a 0.6/13.5% fixed
Making 440c more hardenable w/ better edge potential, better stain resistance, and higher carbide content for "toothiness".
440c also has more then twice the molybdenum of aus8 and 8cr14mov, (12c27 has 0) improving on toughness and adding slightly more carbides.
Aus8 and 8cr14mov both balance out the "carbide" levels a bit with adding a (very) small amount of the harder carbide Vanadium into the mix;
0.25% max for aus, and 0.15% for 8cr,
and aus8 helps boost its corrosion resistance and a bit of toughness with up to 0.5% nickel, However with the lower carbon content I imagine this nickel content also softens it up just a tad which leads to it's easy sharpening to a wicked sharp edge, but also leads to its common lackluster edge "holding" ability.
They are much more similar to a modified 440a which has the same lower carbon levels as aus8, but still has the higher chromium content of 440; all other factors the same. And even 14c27n is only a slightly lower carbon level 440a with less additives, less chromium, but adds some nitrogen to help improve hardness and corrosion resistance, also the svandik steel methodology boasts it to create a very pure and evenly distributed (consistent) steel ensuring better quality end product.
7cr17 is actually identical to 440a + a little bit of nickel added, whereas good 9cr18mov is more on par with a lower level carbon 440c w/ slightly higher chromium and molybednum levels, + a small bit of vanadium and nickel. Aus10 would be more on par with a vanadium and nickel enhanced 440c with lower chromium levels.
That all said, 440c (with a good heat treat) is still a GREAT basic all arpund stainless steel for baseline knives, and upwards of $100 for a nicer one shouldn't be considered "too much". It is the first " super" stainless, and still the standard by which others are measured.
440xh (cts-xhp) is then vanadium (0.45) and nickel (0.35) enhanced 440c with a boosted carbon level of 1.6% (up 0.4).
Basically if 440c is a tough old blue collar worker, then 440xh is 440c that hit the gym pretty hard...
(Another way to view it, it appears to be a true stainless d2 with half the vanadium and a nickle boost for softness)...
Take a good 440c with just a .2% increase in carbon, double the molybdenum, drop 4% chromium (carbides) and replace it with harder vanadium, and throw in a splash of nitrogen and a pinch of tungsten, and you have s30v.
440c in the gym with a good healthy diet and supplements
440v (cpm s60v) is then 440c + a whole 1% carbon bump, a mid equivalent chromium content (17%), the same vanadium as s30v, but instead of all the fancy additives like tungsten and nitrogen and extra moly, cut the bull and just add an extra 1.5% vanadium...
Like 440c on steroids! (I can imagine it takes a real keen edge for slicing like none other, but is hard as nails and tough to sharpen, and probably prone to chip?)
All in all in all though, diet and excersise is the most ideal way to go, and based on alloying elements and properties alone, along with my keen liking for 440c as a tried and true classic, (allbeit without having tried cts-xhp or s60v in person) my money is that s30v is in fact the best knife metal of the bunch all things considered, and s60v is probay a great hard slicer but that's about it... CTS-XHP appears to be an improved 440c so I can't wait to try it, because I do appreciate the original quite a bit.
Steel is iron with carbon added for improved hardness
Stainless steel is steel with at least 13% chromium (by weight) added in to ward against rust. (D2 is 12% max, hence why it is called an "almost stainless" tool steel)
As per how 440c stacks up against other "basic" steels;
440c Carbon/Chromium content = 0.95-1.2%/16-18%
8cr14mov has a 0.8/14% max
Aus8 has a 0.75/14.5% max
12c27 has a 0.6/13.5% fixed
Making 440c more hardenable w/ better edge potential, better stain resistance, and higher carbide content for "toothiness".
440c also has more then twice the molybdenum of aus8 and 8cr14mov, (12c27 has 0) improving on toughness and adding slightly more carbides.
Aus8 and 8cr14mov both balance out the "carbide" levels a bit with adding a (very) small amount of the harder carbide Vanadium into the mix;
0.25% max for aus, and 0.15% for 8cr,
and aus8 helps boost its corrosion resistance and a bit of toughness with up to 0.5% nickel, However with the lower carbon content I imagine this nickel content also softens it up just a tad which leads to it's easy sharpening to a wicked sharp edge, but also leads to its common lackluster edge "holding" ability.
They are much more similar to a modified 440a which has the same lower carbon levels as aus8, but still has the higher chromium content of 440; all other factors the same. And even 14c27n is only a slightly lower carbon level 440a with less additives, less chromium, but adds some nitrogen to help improve hardness and corrosion resistance, also the svandik steel methodology boasts it to create a very pure and evenly distributed (consistent) steel ensuring better quality end product.
7cr17 is actually identical to 440a + a little bit of nickel added, whereas good 9cr18mov is more on par with a lower level carbon 440c w/ slightly higher chromium and molybednum levels, + a small bit of vanadium and nickel. Aus10 would be more on par with a vanadium and nickel enhanced 440c with lower chromium levels.
That all said, 440c (with a good heat treat) is still a GREAT basic all arpund stainless steel for baseline knives, and upwards of $100 for a nicer one shouldn't be considered "too much". It is the first " super" stainless, and still the standard by which others are measured.
440xh (cts-xhp) is then vanadium (0.45) and nickel (0.35) enhanced 440c with a boosted carbon level of 1.6% (up 0.4).
Basically if 440c is a tough old blue collar worker, then 440xh is 440c that hit the gym pretty hard...
(Another way to view it, it appears to be a true stainless d2 with half the vanadium and a nickle boost for softness)...
Take a good 440c with just a .2% increase in carbon, double the molybdenum, drop 4% chromium (carbides) and replace it with harder vanadium, and throw in a splash of nitrogen and a pinch of tungsten, and you have s30v.
440c in the gym with a good healthy diet and supplements
440v (cpm s60v) is then 440c + a whole 1% carbon bump, a mid equivalent chromium content (17%), the same vanadium as s30v, but instead of all the fancy additives like tungsten and nitrogen and extra moly, cut the bull and just add an extra 1.5% vanadium...
Like 440c on steroids! (I can imagine it takes a real keen edge for slicing like none other, but is hard as nails and tough to sharpen, and probably prone to chip?)
All in all in all though, diet and excersise is the most ideal way to go, and based on alloying elements and properties alone, along with my keen liking for 440c as a tried and true classic, (allbeit without having tried cts-xhp or s60v in person) my money is that s30v is in fact the best knife metal of the bunch all things considered, and s60v is probay a great hard slicer but that's about it... CTS-XHP appears to be an improved 440c so I can't wait to try it, because I do appreciate the original quite a bit.
Last edited:
you can also find some facts from google 
