Description
Premium powder metallurgy stainless steel. High vanadium content provides excellent wear resistance. Very popular in custom and high-end production knives.
Properties
Edge Retention
Corrosion Resistance
Toughness
Ease of Sharpening
Chemical Composition
C
1.70%
Carbon
Cr
18.00%
Chromium
Mo
1.00%
Molybdenum
V
3.00%
Vanadium
✓ Pros
Outstanding edge retention for a stainless steel. PM process gives excellent toughness. Good corrosion resistance. Can achieve high hardness. Very popular in European knives.
✗ Cons
Expensive. Grinds slowly due to high vanadium. Harder to sharpen than simple stainless steels. Requires careful heat treatment.
Grinding Notes
Grinds slowly - high vanadium carbides are very hard. Ceramic belts essential. Frequent belt changes needed. Cool grinding absolutely critical.
Polishing Notes
Takes excellent polish despite high carbide content. PM structure helps. Beautiful bright finish. Popular for tanto and recurve grinds.