What a Steel! - What do those ingredients mean to me?

In "What a Steel! Part 1" and in future "What a Steel!" posts, I will do my best to accurately list what each steel contains, giving them their characteristics.  In doing so, I won't be listing what each ingredient does each time it is listed, instead I will use this post as a reference and will point each "What a Steel!" post back to this one for reference.  This will allow you, my readers and customers, the ability to better determine how each of the ingredients affect the steel performance, both in a positive and negative manner. 

The one component that remains consistent amongst all steels is iron.  However, iron is not sourced from one or two locations, but multiple locations and from multiple sources.  Iron is inherently a soft metal and is hardened and made usable as a knife blade by the addition of other ingredients, each of which adds and/or detracts a quality or qualities, such a corrosion resistance.
Please feel free to comment on this post as well as any other post.

This post will be updated often as new information becomes available and does not contain all elements used in the production of various types of steel. 

Carbon - C

• Most common element added to iron.
• Increases hardness.
• Increased edge retention.
• High carbon steels tend to be a bit more resistant to corrosion.
• According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), a for a steel to be considered high carbon, it must contain at least 0.3% carbon.  Many high carbon steels used in knife manufacturing hover in the 1.00% area.

Chromium - Cr

• Added to create stainless steel.
• A minimum of 10% chromium is required for a steel to be considered stainless according to AISI.
• When exposed to oxygen, chromium forms a protective barrier to aid in corrosion resistance.
• Corrosion resistance (rust resistance) is not the same as corrosion proof (rust proof) and most stainless steels will oxidize (corrode) given the ideal conditions.
• Hardness and toughness also benefit from the addition of chromium.

Copper - Cu

• Aides in corrosion resistance

Hydrogen - H

• Used in place of carbon to make H1 stainless steel.
• Used to partially replace carbon to make X15 stainless steel.
• H1 stainless steel has shown strong evidence to be the closest to a true "rust proof" stainless steel.

Manganese - Mn

• Aides in ability to harden and overall hardness
• Aides in overall toughness.
• Adds to corrosion resistance
• Aides in the ability to machine.

Molybdenum - Mo

• Aides in the ability to harden and in overall hardness.
• Aides in toughness and corrosion resistance.
• Helps with the ability to machine.

Nickel - Ni

• Aides in overall toughness.
• May aide in corrosion resistance.
• Necessary ingredient in austenitic (chromium/nickel) stainless steel, which is the most common variety. According to the AISI, this type of stainless steel accounts for approximately 70% of all stainless steel production.

Niobium - Nb

• Aides in grain production
• Aides in corrosion resistance

Phosphorous - P

• Aides in the ability to machine.
• Aides in the ability to harden.

Silicon - Si

• Added to metal in the molten state to aide in the removal of gases and oxidation.
• Aides in overall strength.

Sulfur - S

• Aides in the ability to machine.

Tungsten - W

• Aides in toughness and wear resistance.
• Aides in the ability harden.

Vanadium - V

• Added to aide in wear resistance and strength.
• Allows for fine grain production during heat treatment attributing to the overall hardness (HRc) of the finished blade, edge retention and overall sharpness.
• Toughness also benefits from the addition of vanadium.

Rob

When it comes to keeping your knives sharp, do you shy away from all in one kits?

In my last post, I wrote of the Spyderco Sharpmaker and it's relative ease of use.  Some of you might prefer an alternative method of sharpening, whether it be a different manufacturer's kit, the use of bench stones or ?.  The only kit National Knives currently carries is the Spyderco Sharpmaker, in fact most of National Knives sharpening products are produced by Spyderco. 

Here are some of Spyderco's Bench Sharpening Stones. 

Spyderco Bench Sharpening Stone, 2" x 8" x 1/2", Fine Grit 302F

Spyderco Bench Sharpening Stone, 2" x 8" x 1/2", Medium Grit 302M

Spyderco Bench Sharpening Stone, 2" x 8" x 1/2", Ultra Fine Grit 302UF

These stones will take care of most sharpening tasks, but take a bit of time and practice to find a perfect technique.  One advantage to using bench stones over a kit, is the user can sharpen their knife to whatever angle they prefer, where as kits may limit the angle.

Purchasing a set of these stones, if one so chooses, can get a bit pricier than a kit.  The 302F and 302M (top two) are $39.99 each + shipping (starting at $3.99 and .99 for each additional item) and the 302UF is $51.99 + shipping (starting at $3.99). 

These sharpening stones do not require the used of any type of lubricant, they are autoclave save, dishwasher safe and can be easily cleaned using a plastic scouring pad and an abrasive cleanser.  The high alumina ceramic used to make these is produced in the United States.

Rob

Keeping those knives, scissors, etc. sharp

A dull knife will make any job more challenging than a sharp knife will.  A dull knife can potentially cause more injuries as you will exert more force when cutting than you would if you were using a sharp knife.  A knife is a tool made to simplify your task, you can relate a dull knife to a coin and a sharp knife to a flat edge screwdriver, both can potentially get the job if unscrewing/screwing done, just one (the sharp knife/flat edge screwdriver) is going to make it a whole lot easier and is going to require a lot less effort on your part.  Your pocket knives, hunting knives, kitchen knives, scissors of all varieties, lawn mower blades and more, they all perform better when properly sharpened. 

You say that you don't know how to properly sharpen a knife?  Good news!  Spyderco manufactures the Triangle Sharpmaker, model 204MF which is a relatively inexpensive kit that is very easy to use and gets your knives back in to proper working order.  It comes with a "How To" DVD and instruction manual, 2 - fine grit triangle rods and 2 - medium grit triangle rods, 2 - brass safety rods and a base that doubles as a storage container for the rods.

Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker Sharpening Set, Instructional DVD 204MF

National Knives sells this kit for $51.99 + shipping (starting at $8.99).  Replacement fine and medium rods are available for $11.49 + shipping (starting at $3.99) and are sold individually.  For those that have knives in poor shape and need to remove a lot of metal fast, you can purchase the optional diamond rods for $41.99 + shipping (starting at $3.99) for a set of 2 rods.  If you are really looking for a professional edge Spyderco also manufactures an ultra fine rod that polishes up the edge of your knife.  The fine, medium and ultra fine stones are made of high alumina ceramic, can be cleaned with a plastic scouring pad and a powdered abrasive cleaner and are autoclave safe.  The diamond rods should be rinsed in fresh, clean water.

This kit is capable of sharpening both plain edge knives and serrated edge knives, but also has the capability of sharpening pointed items like fish hooks, darts, awls and more.

Rob