Types of steel and their characteristics
[Types of steel]
Some of the popular and widely available steel used to make knives are mainly high carbon steels and stainless steels :
① The higher the rockwell hardness( HRC ), the harder and better the knife cuts.
② The higher the carbon content( C% ), the harder and sharper the knife is. However, it is difficult to sharpen.
③ The higher the chromium content, the less rusty the knife is. If it contains more than 11% chromium, the steel belongs to the stainless steel.
a. High carbon steel
Steel Grade | HRC | C% | Cr% |
Aogami Super | 65~67 | 1.45 | 0.4 |
Aogami #1 | 63~65 | 1.3 | 0.4 |
Aogami #2 | 62~64 | 1.1 | 0.35 |
Shirogami #1 | 61~64 | 1.3 | - |
Shirogami #2 | 60~63 | 1.1 | - |
Tamahagane | - | 1.2~1.5 | - |
b. Stainless steel
Steel Grade | HRC | C% | Cr% |
ZDP189 | 65~67 | - | - |
SPG2 | 64~66 | - | - |
Gingami #3 | 60~61 | 1.00 | 13.75 |
VG10 | 60~61 | 1.00 | 14.5~15.5 |
AUS 10 | 59~60 | 0.95 | 13~14.5 |
AUS 8 | 56~58 | 0.80 | 13~14 |
Element symbols : HRC = Rockwell hardness, C = Carbon, Cr = Chromium
[Ease of sharpening]
High carbon steel | |||||||
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Aogami Super |
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Aogami #1 | |||||||
Aogami #2 | |||||||
Shirogami #1 | |||||||
Shirogami #2 | |||||||
Tamahagane | |||||||
a : HRC ( Dulability of sharpness ) | |||||||
b : Ease of sharpening |
Stainless steel | ||||||||
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ZDP189 |
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SPG2 | ||||||||
Gingami #3 | ||||||||
VG10 | ||||||||
AUS 10 | ||||||||
AUS8 | ||||||||
c : HRC ( Dulability of sharpness ) | ||||||||
d : Ease of sharpening |