In the modern world, steel for knives plays an important role in human life, since with this object we have to face practically throughout existence. Now the manufacturing process uses a wide variety of processing technologies, which involve the presence of alloys. All added impurities are designed to improve the quality of the product created. Scientists of the whole planet dream to achieve that the quality of alloys reached a new level, thanks to which there are intricate technologies and recipes. Currently, there are certain grades of steel for knives, allowing you to choose the best option, depending on the field of application.
There is a constant struggle for physical qualities like hardness, heat resistance and wear resistance. Quality steel for knives should provide good resistance to penetration into other bodies. That is, it is obliged to endure serious loads without deforming or losing its form. In addition, the ability of the material to wear is of no small importance, which is primarily due to the content of the hardest carbides (vanadium, molybdenum and tungsten). It is for this reason that the brands CPM 10V and CPM S90V have increased wear resistance.
Each chemical element has its own effect on steel for knives, giving it a certain quality. One of the basic components is carbon, which in many respects predetermines the main characteristics. Thanks to this element, it becomes possible to harden steel for knives. Hardness will depend mainly on its ratio. However, at the same time, due to carbon, the susceptibility of the metal to corrosion increases . Typically, the presence of carbon should not be less than 0.6 percent, but many manufacturers do not pay special attention to this indicator, producing low quality products with low cost.
Another common and necessary element is chrome. With it, you can successfully resist corrosion by adding to steel for knives. If the amount of the presented component exceeds 14 percent, then it can be considered that this is a stainless product. However, the high content of chromium negatively affects the strength characteristics. As a doping agent, molybdenum is very often used, which can improve the heat resistance and corrosion resistance. Of course, it positively affects any steel for the knife.
An interesting element is vanadium, which helps enrich the physical properties of various alloys. Its main function is to greatly increase the wear resistance and strength. Steel for knives enriched with this element is capable of a long period of preserving cutting qualities. However, it should be noted that sharpening such a knife becomes more laborious. In many cases, the alloy includes cobalt, characterized by high strength. It, as a rule, contains marks N690 and VG-10. Also, the knife steel can include nickel, nitrogen, sulfur, silicon, titanium and many other chemical elements.