I have a knife with AUS8 Stainless Steel. No idea what that means. I want to know some of the best stainless steels for knifes and all you can tell me about stainless steel would be great. I was browsing google and looking at grades and had no idea what all the numbers meant. Thanks!
The two main ingredients in knife steel are carbon and chromium with some extras that have varying effects on hardness and toughness. Aus8 is similar to 440A stainless with less chromium which would make it a little stronger. I've tested aus8 blades and wasn't real impressed with its edge holding compared to even 5160 carbon steel (the lowest grade I use).
Actually-good grades of stainless is superior to high carbon steels which has been proven by countless tests. Aus8 is a japanese steel from what I know, so I'm not sure what the letter and number designation means. From what I know, Aus8 has similar properties to 440B though with a carbon content of around ~.74%. This is lower content then most other blade steels meaning it has lower edge retention. The stainless steels I'd consider to be best are: Ats-34: Less corrosion resistant then 440c, but is tougher then 440c and still holds a edge quite well 440c: Probably the best all around steel on the market for its price. Highest corrosion resistance and very good edge retention. I wouldn't recommend it on choppers though, a tougher steel like the one mentioned above would probably be better for that. A/B/C indicates the carbon content going from least to greatest. 4xx indicates that its a chrome martensitic steel. 40 indicates that its a high carbon grade compared to (4)20 which has less then .5 percent. CpmS30v: Slightly lower corrosion resistance then 440c due to it not taking a mirror finish, but very high edge retention and improved toughness. Cpm indicates that it's made by compressed particle metallurgy while the v indicates that its a vanadium alloy. I'm not sure what the S30 indicates.
I do engraving on knife blades (actually all kinds of metal but occasionally knife blades). Every company's blades are a little different. I get the idea that different companies have different compounds. All the materials are some compromise between hardness, toughness, corrosion resistance, machineability and other considerations. Stainless is generally not as good as a high-carbon steel, but high-carbon steel rusts and turns black. Stainless is much easier to keep clean.
Ok so listen she already likes me what should I say
