YJ GIS Industrial Limited

The performance of a knife depends mainly on the steel. The essence of steel is a carbon containing iron alloy, generally rich in other elements, outdoor knife steel M390, D2, ATS-34, VG-10, etc., is to add chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten and other different elements in the steel to improve some of the performance of the knife body. The quality of steel is mainly measured from the following five dimensions: hardness, toughness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance and sharp retention. Some knives use type D2 steel, which is a high-quality tool steel with a hardness of 59-60HRC.

1. Hardness

The hardness of the tool usually refers to the strength, which is generally measured by HRC. Generally speaking, the hardness of 58-60HRC is enough, too hard will affect the toughness of the blade.

2. Toughness

Toughness refers to the ability of steel to bend without breaking. If the blade toughness is insufficient, the hard edge will break, which is the most difficult damage to repair. If the blade is too soft, it may cause a large rolled blade, which is also difficult to recover. The harder a knife is, the less tough it is. Therefore, some knives will use the way of clamping steel to clamp the hardness of the steel between two pieces of good toughness steel, both to maintain the toughness of the steel body, but also to strengthen the hardness of the blade.

3. Wear resistance

Wear resistance is the ability of steel to withstand abrasion and adhesive wear. Wear resistance is generally related to the hardness of the steel, but it is also largely affected by the specific chemicals in the steel. In the same hardness of steel, the greater the carbide content of steel is particularly wear-resistant. The higher the hardness of the general tool, the better the wear resistance.

4. Corrosion resistance

Corrosion resistance refers to the ability to resist corrosion, such as rust caused by moisture, moisture, salt and other factors. Note that high corrosion resistance does come at the cost of reducing the sharpness of the blade. At present, the best corrosion resistant steel on the market is H1 steel, which basically does not rust, of course, the edge retention is relatively poor, and the price is high, and it is more suitable for use as a metal part on diving equipment, or as a diving knife.

5. Sharpness retention

Sharpness retention represents how long a knife can stay sharp after a period of use. This is an aspect that people are concerned about nowadays, but there is a lack of clear standards, and most of the data is subjective.