We offer a number of different steel options for our blades including both stainless steel and carbon blades. At the bottom of this page you will find detailed information on our two most common steels that we sell: AEB-L Stainless Steel and CPM-M4 Carbon Steel.
We also have worked with a number of other steels including CTS XHP stainless steel, S110V stainless steel, 01 carbon steel, 52100 carbon steel, S35VN stainless steel, and 1075 carbon steel among others. Each has their pros and cons.
To help you understand some of the core roles of each component in the various steels we referenced an article from Blade HQ that has a great, simplified breakdown of each of the "ingredients" that are common in blade steels today:
- Carbon - This ingredient is essential to steel’s creation; all steel will have some amount of carbon. It is the most important hardening element, but as it is added it can reduce the toughness of the material. Carbon reduces the amount that the knife will wear over time. So, the amount of carbon in the blade tells you a lot about the quality of the steel. Low carbon means there is (.3% or less), medium has between (.4-.7%), and high is (.8% and above).
- Chromium - Combats corrosion. Stainless steel knives will have chromium as a major ingredient, typically at a minimum of 12%. Chromium will also increase the strength of a knife, but adding chromium in large amounts decreases toughness.
- Cobalt - Strengthens the blade.
- Copper - Combats corrosion.
- Manganese - Hardens the blade. If added in high quantities it can increase brittleness.
- Molybdenum - Maintains the steel's strength at high temperatures.
- Nickel - Adds toughness.
- Nitrogen - This element is sometimes used as a replacement for carbon in steel.
- Phosphorus - Improves strength.
- Silicon - Increases strength. Also, removes oxygen from the metal while it is being formed.
- Sulfur - Increases machinability but decreases toughness.
- Tungsten - Increases wear resistance.
- Vanadium - Increases wear resistance and makes the blade harder.
If you really want to geek out on blade steels you can reference this excellent article from Zknives.com which has in-depth information about what contributes to blade performance. Zknives.com also offers a chemical composition breakdown of virtually every blade steel currently used as well a a short summary about the steel and its qualities.
If you have questions on any of the other steel options we offer, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@noraknives.com or call: 951.892.0432
CPM M4 & AEB-L Stainless Steel INFO BELOW
For a printable PDF copy CLICK HERE
