Knife steel comparison tool | Knife Making Courses

At a glance

Ratings run from 1 (low) to 5 (high), relative to the other steels on this page.
They are a guide, drawn from published composition and test data. Heat treatment and edge geometry change real results.
Compositions and hardness ranges come from the steel standards and makers' data sheets.

Choose up to 4 steels

Toughness

10844

80CrV25

AEB-L4

Edge retention

10842

80CrV22

AEB-L2

Rust resistance

10841

80CrV21

AEB-L4

Ease of sharpening

10845

80CrV25

AEB-L5

Beginner-friendly

10845

80CrV24

AEB-L1

1084: The classic first forging steel. Simple to harden in a fast oil. Typical 58–61 HRC. C 0.80–0.93, Mn 0.60–0.90.

80CrV2: Very tough. A favourite for bushcraft knives and choppers. Typical 58–61 HRC. C 0.75–0.85, Cr 0.40–0.60, V 0.15–0.25.

AEB-L: Fine-grained razor steel. Tough and easy to sharpen; a top choice for kitchen knives. Typical 59–62 HRC. C 0.67, Cr 12.8.

All steels in one table

Steel	Type	Composition (%)	Typical HRC	Toughness	Edge retention	Rust resistance	Ease of sharpening	Beginner-friendly
1084	Carbon	C 0.80–0.93, Mn 0.60–0.90	58–61	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●
1095	Carbon	C 0.90–1.03, Mn 0.30–0.50	58–62	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●
80CrV2	Carbon (low alloy)	C 0.75–0.85, Cr 0.40–0.60, V 0.15–0.25	58–61	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●
O1	Tool steel	C 0.85–1.00, Mn 1.00–1.40, Cr 0.40–0.60, W 0.40–0.60	58–62	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●
52100	Carbon (low alloy)	C 0.98–1.10, Cr 1.30–1.60	60–63	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●
15N20	Carbon (nickel)	C 0.75, Ni 2.0, Mn 0.4	58–60	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●
440C	Stainless	C 0.95–1.20, Cr 16–18, Mo 0.75	57–59	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●
AEB-L	Stainless	C 0.67, Cr 12.8	59–62	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●
14C28N	Stainless	C 0.62, Cr 14, N 0.11	58–61	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●	●●●●●

Ratings 1–5, relative within this table: an editorial guide from published composition and test data. Compare steels side by side.

How to read the ratings

The ratings compare the steels on this page with each other, on a 1 to 5 scale. They are our editorial summary of published composition and testing, not lab results for any one blade. A steel's real performance depends heavily on its heat treatment, hardness and edge geometry.

Toughness: resistance to chipping and breaking.
Edge retention: how long the edge stays sharp.
Rust resistance: mainly from chromium.
Ease of sharpening: steels with lots of hard carbides take longer on the stones.
Beginner-friendly: how forgiving the steel is to forge and harden with a forge and oil quench.

Questions people ask

Which knife steel is the toughest?

Of the steels here, 80CrV2 and 15N20 are the toughest. Tough steels suit knives that chop, baton or flex, such as bushcraft and camp knives.

Which knife steel holds an edge longest?

Among these steels, O1, 52100, 440C and 14C28N hold an edge a little longer than plain carbon steels. Powder-metallurgy steels, not listed here, hold an edge much longer still.

Which steel is best for a kitchen knife?

AEB-L and 14C28N are excellent stainless choices: fine-grained, easy to sharpen and rust resistant. Carbon steels such as 52100 and O1 give a superb edge if you are happy to dry and oil them.