Whats the strongest and sharpest metal that is/was used for knives?

Question

I know about damascus steel and mokume-gane but I want to know if there are any better metals out there.

Answer 1

There is a test to see how hard a steel is and how well the steel will hold an edge. It is called the Rockwell test ( A diamond is pressed into the steel to a set depth, the pressure used is the resulting number.) and it is usually displayed by a knife manufacturer as the RC value. The numbers cover a range such a RC 55 - 57. The higher the number value the better. 50 - 55 is average, 55 - 60 is very good and 60+ is exceptional.
As for better steels, Damascus steel is actually a layering of Damascus steel over a common tool steel core. and as for some other high quality steels, there are 14-4CrMo ( RC 60 - 62 ), 154CM ( RC 58 - 60 ) those are some steels that qualify in the stainless steel category. Others that fit into the non-stainless cat. are White steel ( RC 66 - 64 ), Blue steel ( RC 60 - 62 ) and D2 ( RC 60 - 62 ). These are all high quality steels, the last 3 are often used in the milling machines that make the other knives out there.

hope that helps.

Answer 2

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RE:
Whats the strongest and sharpest metal that is/was used for knives?
I know about damascus steel and mokume-gane but I want to know if there are any better metals out there.

Answer 3

Damascus steel is overrated. Hundreds of years ago it was great, but the concept was thought to combine softer and harder steels to get the benefits of both of toughness hardness and edge retention but it actually caused the blades to break and chip easily, because of the different grades of steel. There is no perfect steel, one may be better for holding an edge, while another may be tougher, or better against corrosion. My favorite is 1075 carbon steel. 1075 is a well balanced steel with good edge retention and softer then 1095 so it's less likely to chip or break. A blade that holds a good edge is usually a harder steel making it more brittle, while softer steel is far tougher but doesn't hold a good edge, and stainless steel is best for corrosion but also can be quite brittle. So I think 1075 is soft enough to make it plenty tough, but hard enough to hold a good edge and easy to sharpen, the only downside is corrosion which if taken care of properly or coated it will be fine.

Answer 4

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/awhQI

Steel is the most common: STAINLESS STEEL: Basically, the only reason you ever want to buy a stainless steel sword is either if you want it to break in half and cut you really bad, or if you are smart and know that it is ONLY for display and to look pretty for decoration. CARBON STEEL: This metal is good for a nice edge that will stay on your sword and is what most would call, "a functional sword" and in fact, it is functional so if you are on a budget it is definitely the way to go. FLEXIBLE STEEL: This metal is extremely good quality and will hold out a long time and even keep an edge fairly long. The only problem, IT IS EXPENSIVE! If you really want to go all out this is really the way to go because it is very flexible henceforth flexible steel. ingot

Answer 5

There's a trade-off. You can have sharpness or you have have strength.

A classical example of sharpness is casting a silk scarf and allowing it to to float down by it's own weight into an oriental blade (thousands of folded layers of soft and hard steel) and the silk be cut with no further force beyond gravity. That's sharp.

Slicing through armor in a single blow and being able to continue would be an example of strength. Plain wrought work, as opposed to cast or stamped, would have the advantage here.

Answer 6

Here is a link to a forum where people talk about knifes rather often, just search there for knife making and you get a lot of hits:
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1152763863/9#9
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1157499782/9#9
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1164633729/8#8
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1181584902/0 (also has links to knife forums)

You get the idea, many of the guys (and few girls) there are beginners, so asking questions is normal.
You will have to sign up to ask though.

Answer 7

titaniam easy peasy ( from commercial)