440c vs Aus 8 vs 9cr18mov

A

AshesFall

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Jul 16, 2019
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Now I know these are all similar stainless steels with 440c being the classic American "used to be high end" stainless as some people call it nowadays and then Japanese Aus 8 being the more used in production knives of the 3.. and then there's that "not so popular" Chinese steel 9cr18mov in the background being "not so popular" because it's well.. Chinese lol. So I've had 440c and it's a very decent steel and I've used Aus 8 the most which is also a fine steel that sharpens up real easy, actually easier than 440c in my own experience. But then I bought a knife in 9cr18mov (steel will Roamer R315) out of curiosity to see if it was just the "Chinese tag" that makes this steel not so likeable. Well I was pleasantly surprised to find out I actually like this steel a lot and from my experience, I like it a lot more than the other two. It's like a middle ground between the two imo, it sharpens up easier than 440c while being just as tough as Aus 8. Maybe it's not as rust resistant than the other two (I could be wrong), but it's a good all around stainless that holds a decent edge imo. Now I'm curious, what's everyone's experiences with these 3 steels? Have you tried and liked 9cr18mov? Do you think people just knock it for being Chinese? 3 very similar stainless steels, but people may have a preference and their own opinions on the 3, so I just figured I'd find out.
 
they are not really similar... (imho)

aus8 is the toughest & most simple of the 3 but still excellent overall. 9cr18mov is a nice blend... quite stainless and reasonably tough, I have a large fixed blade in it and it's held up surprizingly well

proper heat treatment for any specific steel is MUCH more important overall and you can't test steel types without HT taken into consideration
 
dirc said:
they are not really similar... (imho)

aus8 is the toughest & most simple of the 3 but still excellent overall. 9cr18mov is a nice blend... quite stainless and reasonably tough, I have a large fixed blade in it and it's held up surprizingly well

proper heat treatment for any specific steel is MUCH more important overall and you can't test steel types without HT taken into consideration
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Yeah I think Aus 10 would have been a better comparison than Aus 8 to the other two, but Aus 10 isn't as common and I haven't used that steel at all, so I just used the more commonly used Aus 8 instead. I was more or less wondering why 9cr18mov isn't gaining more popularity and what people thought about it because my experience was positive. Glad to hear your experience was too. You're definitely right about heat treat though because it is what matters most in a blade.
 
I've used knives in all three steels mentioned.
I think 9cr18mov is a decent steel in an inexpensive knife .
Definately a fine steel for a user/beater knife.
 
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9cr18mov isn’t bad. The ratio of carbon to chromium is better for corrosion resistance (more Cr left in solution), less advantageous for carbide formation ( -> wear resistance) as opposed to 440c.

All reasonable budget options, imo.
 
Heat treatment is going to play a huge role here. I've tried them all. Had the best results from AUS8. I have no doubt the heat treat was the reason.
 
I haven’t used any of the newer 440c only some from the 1970s, so I can’t be certain how they compare. But of these blade steels you are inquiring of, in my usage and experience I can say the Aus 8 is similar to 420hc depending on heat treatment and geometry but just can’t quite match it. The Old Timer 34otb I have is 9cr18mov and it does sharpen easily enough and will take a nice edge but it doesn’t keep it as long as 440c with good heat treat. My Buck 420hc does as well as the 9cr18mov and 9cr seems to chip out in places where in other places it wants to roll the edge and just isn’t consistent throughout the blades. It didn’t cost much but it’s still disappointing as I thought I was going to get 440c performance.

It’s interesting that when I bought the 34otb it was listed as 440c but the Schrade site says 9cr18mov. It maybe similar but it’s different in what I’ve seen.

In my opinion 440c with good heat treat would be the best of these steels in as far as my usage goes. And I’d like to get a few slip joints in 440c, I’m still looking.
 
I would consider those 3 steels on the same "tier" for lack of a better word.

As others have said, the heat treat makes a huge difference. You can have AUS 8 from 3 different companies and get various results on edge retention, ease of sharpening, etc.

I think most folks would agree that Paul Bos and his heat treat sets Buck 420HC above everyone else's 420HC.
 
As others have said, heat treatment and blade geometry should matter more than the ingredients here. For instance, 9Cr18Mov looks good on paper. I have both the Naja and the Baklash from Civivi in 9Cr18Mov. It performs very well on those knives. In the past, I've had 9Cr18Mov in cheaper knives from CRKT and random Chinese companies in which it did not perform all that well.
 
Of the three I much prefer 440C; hard to quantify beyond better edge retention than the other two in my experience. But I just prefer how the blade and edge "feel" while cutting.
For example M4 just "feels" better to me than anything else. Though we cannot compare 440C and M4 in the same ball park. They are on different planets.

9cr18mov does well for me if the geometry is right; if the grind is too shallow angle then the edge doesn't hold up well at all.

Aus8 I've never really liked I only buy it when I can't get a better steel in a knife that I really want.

As far as difficulty to sharpen nothing is difficult to sharpen in this modern age. An Edge Pro
and the right stones, throw in a stropping plate if you must and everything from Aus8 to S110V or you name it, is equally sharp.

Of the three I will go 440C every time given the choice.
 
Banter 247 said:
6bcXpBo.png


9cr18mov isn’t bad. The ratio of carbon to chromium is better for corrosion resistance (more Cr left in solution), less advantageous for carbide formation ( -> wear resistance) as opposed to 440c.

All reasonable budget options, imo.
Click to expand...

the carbon listing on that graph is completely wrong fyi - aus8 is 0.8%, 9cr is 0.9%, and 440c is about 1%
 
If hardened to the same hardness and tested side by side,
AUS8<<9Cr18MoV<440C

In abrasive cutting in the field (daily use), both 9Cr18MoV and 440C will perform noticeably better than AUS8. I'm not certain that in a field use situation that you would notice the difference in performance between 9Cr18MoV and 440C if they were both hardened the same.
 
Now I'm not praising it or anything because I'm still an American guy that likes American made knives with American steels, but I do believe Chinese steels made by a reputable manufacturer with a proper heat treat is well underrated. People see the "Chinese tag" and automatically get turned off when they just may be turning down a decent blade. I'm glad I took a chance and bought my steel will Roamer and I'm sure other skeptics would be happy if they took a chance as well. Like others have mentioned here, Chinese 9cr18mov is a decently fine steel when done right.
 
it's the same reason kershaw and even spyderco use chinese steel on the vast majority of their budget knives, except they use 8cr13mov

(very tough, much less chrome but enough to be called stainless, & performs great if you do the heat treatment well)
 
Banter 247 said:
Goodness. Didn’t notice it jacked up the C listing in graph mode. I rarely use that feature. Thank you for pointing that out.
Click to expand...
I don't think the issue is that you were viewing in graph mode, but rather that your view was set to "Molar %", where you probably want to view "Mass %".

On topic, I haven't yet tried any 9Cr18MoV, but on paper it appears to be a promising budget steel option.
 
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