What steel are utility blades made from?

Planterz

Planterz

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Simple question, what kind of steel are utility blades, box cutters, Xacto knives, etc made from? Obviously isn't stainless since they rust/tarnish easily, but not as easily as steels like L6 or O1.

Just curious...
 
I was told that they were made of a plain carbon steel - 1075 or 1084, something like that. Thats my only knowledge on the subject. Jason.
 
I've often wondered that too.
At my job we use *lots* of X-Actos, snap off blades and single edge razors. The used ones live in a 5 gallon water jug.
It'd be pretty cool to have a knife forged from them :D
Prolly not cost effective, but cool none the less :rolleyes: :cool:
 
I have seen utility knife/box cutter blades that are made from both stainless and non-stainless steels. I have never seen the exact steel named though.
 
Don't toss those old x-acto blades! They can be resharpened pretty easily (steel is fairly soft), and while they won't be quite as razor sharp without some effort, they will be sharp enough for most utility chores.

I think it's some plain carbon steel, something along the lines of 1050, 1060, 1075...
 
This is what I've found so so far:
"Razor blade steel is a martensitic stainless steel with a composition of chromium between 12 and 14.5%, a carbon content of approximately 0.6%, and the remainder iron and trace elements."

I'm sure each company has their own special blend of herbs and spices.
 
JustAnotherDude said:
This is what I've found so so far:
"Razor blade steel is a martensitic stainless steel with a composition of chromium between 12 and 14.5%, a carbon content of approximately 0.6%, and the remainder iron and trace elements."

I'm sure each company has their own special blend of herbs and spices.
Click to expand...

That's for face-shaving razors, I bet.
 
Hardware stores offer "upgraded" replacement utility blades that cost a little more. DeWalt has a Carbide edged version, and Lenox has a titanium-nitride ceramic coated edge version. They might last a little longer but I haven't noticed much of a difference. I'll pay the extra cost if I know I'm going to be cutting fiberglass insulation. My backup utility knives have the plain blades and I have never felt underserved when using them. I think the Carbide edged blades are harder but more brittle.

IMO, if you're going to spend the extra money anyway, I would only purchase them from well respected brands. Also, I might caution against using the coated blades or Carbide blades for scraping things off of glass.
 
ivan_yulaev said:
Don't toss those old x-acto blades! They can be resharpened pretty easily (steel is fairly soft), and while they won't be quite as razor sharp without some effort, they will be sharp enough for most utility chores.

I think it's some plain carbon steel, something along the lines of 1050, 1060, 1075...
Click to expand...

My Dad was a professional artistic wood carver. He would sharpen new exacto blades before he used them. They come sharp but corse. He would strop them until you couldn’t see the edge bevel anymore. You could literally split hairs with them.
 
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Carbon steel (as the ones I have rust after a time), most likely heat treated to higher than typical cutlery hardness levels. I did try to resharpen some before, and the process proved more cumbersome than sharpening a knife blade in, say, 1095.

So it's an old thread. I think it's an interesting discussion that doesn't need a duplicate thread.
 
I bet they are usually made out of something different now than when the thread was started.
 
They are made from the cheapest steel they can buy. I have resharpened and reused utility knife blades and Exacto blades all my life. I keep a small diamond hone in my tool box that brings them back very quickly. I always figured people who threw them away were either lazy or just had no idea how to sharpen a blade.
 
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