When browsing through custom knives, whether on eBay or at a knifeshow or in a magazine, there are numerous steel "names" tossed around in ways that may or may not be helpful. As a buyer, what good is it to know that a knife is made from 1084 if you don't know what the good and bad characteristics of 1084 are. Many knifemakers and bladesmiths have extensive knowledge of the different steels, and as a bladesmith myself, I know that it can be very difficult to remember that not all of the knife collectors and knife users in the world have this same information at their fingertips. In this guide I will attempt to cover some of the most commonly used knifemaking steels (other than stainless, which I do not work in and therefore have little knowledge of) and give buyers some insight into their characteristics. This guide should not be taken as hard and fast rules, since the final qualities of a steel are at least as dependent upon the heat-treating process as they are on the alloying elements added to the steel. A good heat-treat can make even the simplest steels perform very well, while a poor heat-treat can make even the best tool steels into "doodoo-on-a-stick". If anyone just picked up on that Eddie Murphy reference, I am very impressed.

Anyway, steel can be very basically described as a combination of the two elements carbon and iron. The amount of carbon is generally described as a percentage by weight, which is far different than a percentage by volume when dealing with ingredients of vastly different densities. The amounts of other alloying elements added to steel are also described as a percentage by weight, so it is a relatively simple system to read. As an example, the 1084 that I mentioned above has approximately 0.84% carbon by weight, sometimes referred to as "84 points of carbon". You will probably have noticed that the percent carbon can be readily observed in the designation of the steel. In the 4 or 5 number system, the first two numbers refer to the alloy "series" of the steel, and the remaining two or three numbers are the carbon content. As an example, in 52100, the "52" refers to the fact that this is a steel with chromium as one of the alloys, while the "100" refers to the fact that it typically contains 1.00% carbon by weight. 1084 on the other hand, is in the 10xx series, which are often referred to as the "simple carbon steels". This is in reference to the fact that they have no major alloying elements (other than manganese).

Another way in which steels are sometimes designated is by their "Tool Steel" name. The tool steels are not necessarily all that different than the number designated steels, but the system is geared around the end use or heat-treatment of the material rather than what is going into it. For example, the "S" series of tool steels are designed for shock resistance, while the "H" series of steels are used for hot work. W-1 and W-2 are considered "water-hardening" steels, while the "O" series are theoretically "oil-hardening" steels, and the "A" series are "air-hardening" steels. All of this is further complicated by the fact that each different steel manufacturer has a particular brandname for each tool steel that they produce, and on top of this, L-6 from one company is likely to be slightly different than L-6 from another company. In a vague sort of way, tool steels are held to be better than the number designated steels, although this should not be considered a safe rule to follow. As an example, the differences between 1095 and W-1 are quite minimal. It should also be repeated here that the heat-treatment of a steel is just as important as the alloying elements when it comes down to performance of the final product.

Now I have finally gotten to the meat of the guide, a rough outline of some of the different non-stainless blade steels.

-1045-1070: simple carbon steels commonly seen in modern versions of Japanese knives and weaponry because of their close chemical resemblance to the steels used in Japanese blades. They are often water-quenched. Assuming a good heat-treatment, they are quite tough, but lack some of the edge-holding and wear-resistance ability of higher alloy steels.

-1075-1095: simple carbon steels commonly used for making smaller weapons and knives...the higher carbon content makes them more difficult to heat-treat properly for sword length weapons. In this range, they are commonly oil-quenched. 1084 is considered the holy grail of this category due to its higher manganese content, which makes it blacker when used in pattern-welding along with being easier to fully harden.

-5160: a chromium bearing, medium carbon steel typically used for leaf-springs. It has found wide use among knifemakers for the ease with which it can be heat-treated, the phenomenal toughness it exhibits, and its general availability. It is suitable for weapons of all lengths and sizes, and is particularly prized for bowies and swords.

-52100: a chromium-bearing, very high carbon steel developed and used for ball and roller bearings. It develops excellent carbides if properly heat-treated, and these carbides help with its wear-resistance and edge-holding capabilities. Properly heat-treated, it can be an excellent steel particularly for blades of less than 12", but improperly heat-treated it can be a poor performer and prone to breakage.

-L-6: a nickel-bearing tool steel, often seen in damascus for its bright line characteristics. It is a very flexible and tough steel, and is used in industry to manufacture large bandsaw blades. It is often used with good results in knives, and is especially well suited to swords.

-O-1: a chromium-bearing tool steel that is widely available and generally well-liked. It is suitable for blades of less than 12", since it does not have the shock resistance necessary for larger blades. It is sometimes coupled with steels like L-6 in pattern-welded blades, and in these cases the two steels compliment each other nicely both physically and aesthetically.

I will be adding to this list as I have more time. If you have a particular steel that you would like to know more about, please contact me through my eBay identity Fallinghammerproductions . Before I end, a few general notes on steels and blades.

-Stainless steels should NEVER be used for weapons of longer than 12" that will experience any kind of flex or shock, which is to say actual use. The stainless steels which can be made hard enough to hold a reasonable edge are much too brittle for such use, while the stainless steels which are tough enough to hold up to weaponry useage are too soft to hold a good edge.

-steels of less than 0.70% carbon are generally better suited to blades where flexability and shock resistance are of utmost importance. Steels of more than 0.70% carbon are generally better suited to blades where edge-holding and wear-resistance are the most important characteristics. There are exceptions to these rules, but they are a fair guideline.

-if a knifemaker can't tell you what steel was used, be very wary.

-Also be wary of terms such as "surgical steel", "watered steel", and "spring steel", since they don't really tell you what the steel is. Just because a steel is good for surgical tools or springs does not mean that it will make a good blade. Similarly, "watered" steel is a term that is far too broadly applied, and does not tell you precisely what you are looking at. I hope this guide has been of some use to you.