Knife Steel Comparison Chart (staging test)
Pick a steel by the job, not the price tag. For a folder that lives in your pocket and gets wet, CPM MagnaCut is the best all-around choice on this chart: corrosion resistance 9.5 out of 10, toughness 7, edge retention 5. If you would rather not pay for it, 14C28N gives you 8.5 corrosion and 9 toughness for a fraction of the money, and S35VN sits in the middle of everything. The comparison tool below puts any two to four steels side by side, and the full 25-steel chart is underneath it.
Compare two to four steels
The full chart, all 25 steels
Edge retention, toughness and corrosion resistance are the published 1–10 ratings from metallurgist Larrin Thomas at Knife Steel Nerds. Sharpening ease is our own arithmetic, explained below. The CATRA and Charpy columns are the raw laboratory numbers behind the ratings, with the hardness each sample was tested at, because the same steel at a different hardness is a different steel.
| Steel | Family | Edge retention | Toughness | Corrosion resistance | Sharpening ease | CATRA card cut | Charpy toughness | Typical production hardness | Price tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maxamet | powder high-speed tool | 11 | 2 | 4.5 | 0.5 | not published | not published | 67-69 | Super |
| CPM S90V | powder stainless | 9 | 3.5 | 7.5 | 1 | 779 mm at 61.6 HRC | 5.3 ft-lb at 60.7 HRC | 56-59 | Super |
| CPM S110V | powder stainless | 8 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 738 mm at 61.9 HRC | 4 ft-lb at 61.8 HRC | 58-61 | Super |
| K390 | powder tool | 7.5 | 5.5 | 4 | 2.5 | 719 mm at 62.8 HRC | not published | up to 64 | Super |
| M390 / 20CV / 204P | powder stainless | 6.5 | 3.5 | 9 | 3.5 | 620 mm at 61.5 HRC | 4.5 ft-lb at 61.9 HRC | 60-62 | Super |
| CPM Rex 45 | powder high-speed tool | 6 | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | not published | not published | not published | Super |
| S30V | powder stainless | 6 | 4 | 7.5 | 4 | 596 mm at 61.9 HRC | 5.5 ft-lb at 60 HRC | 58-61 | Premium |
| Elmax | powder stainless | 5.5 | 4 | 8 | 4.5 | 559 mm at 61.3 HRC | 7.9 ft-lb at 59.1 HRC | 58-62 | Premium |
| S45VN | powder stainless | 5.5 | 4 | 8 | 4.5 | 554 mm at 61.5 HRC | 6.2 ft-lb at 61.4 HRC | 59-62 | Premium |
| CPM 4V | powder tool | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 538 mm at 63 HRC | not published | 62-64 | Premium |
| CPM CruWear | powder tool | 5 | 8 | 5.5 | 5 | 528 mm at 62.1 HRC | 20.1 ft-lb at 61.7 HRC | 60-65 | Premium |
| CPM MagnaCut | powder stainless | 5 | 7 | 9.5 | 5 | not published | 17.6 ft-lb at 60.4 HRC | 60-64 | Premium |
| D2 | semi-stainless tool | 5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 486 mm at 60.5 HRC | 5.1 ft-lb at 60.2 HRC | 60-62 | Mid |
| S35VN | powder stainless | 5 | 5 | 7.5 | 5 | 520 mm at 61.2 HRC | 9.5 ft-lb at 60.9 HRC | 58-61 | Premium |
| 154CM | stainless | 4.5 | 3.5 | 7 | 5.5 | not published | 5.4 ft-lb at 60.2 HRC | 58-61 | Mid |
| CPM 3V | powder tool | 4.5 | 9 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 463 mm at 60.1 HRC | 41.5 ft-lb at 61.5 HRC | 58-60 | Premium |
| CPM-154 | powder stainless | 4.5 | 5 | 7 | 5.5 | 492 mm at 61 HRC | 8.45 ft-lb at 61.6 HRC | 59-61 | Mid |
| VG-10 | stainless | 4.5 | 4 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 479 mm at 61.6 HRC | 5.8 ft-lb at 60.7 HRC | 59-61 | Mid |
| 14C28N | stainless | 3 | 9 | 8.5 | 7 | 414 mm at 62 HRC | 30.3 ft-lb at 60.7 HRC | 58-60 | Mid |
| 8Cr13MoV | stainless | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | not published | not published | 57-59 | Budget |
| AEB-L | stainless | 3 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 360 mm at 61.1 HRC | 23.3 ft-lb at 61.6 HRC | 60-62 | Mid |
| AUS-8 | stainless | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | not published | not published | 57-59 | Budget |
| Nitro-V | stainless | 3 | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | 362 mm at 60.4 HRC | 21.3 ft-lb at 61.2 HRC | 62-64 | Mid |
| 420HC | stainless | 2.5 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | not published | 40.8 ft-lb at 57.5 HRC | 56-58 | Budget |
| 1095 | carbon | 1.5 | 4.5 | 0 | 8.5 | 316 mm at 61.8 HRC | 8.1 ft-lb at 60.1 HRC | 55-57 | Budget |
Published chemistry
Weight percent, from each maker’s own datasheet. A dash means the maker does not list that element. 8Cr13MoV and AUS-8 have no maker datasheet in print, so those two rows are the commonly published nominal figures and should be read as approximate.
| Steel | Made by | C | Cr | V | Mo | W | Co | N | Nb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1095 | Generic (US) | 0.95 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 14C28N | Alleima (ex-Sandvik) | 0.62 | 14.0 | – | – | – | – | 0.11 | – |
| 154CM | Crucible | 1.05 | 14.0 | – | 4.0 | – | – | – | – |
| 420HC | Generic (US) | 0.45 | 13.0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8Cr13MoV | Generic (China) | 0.80 | 13.0 | 0.10 | 0.15 | – | – | – | – |
| AEB-L | Buderus / NJSB | 0.68 | 12.9 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| AUS-8 | Aichi (Japan) | 0.72 | 14.0 | 0.20 | 0.20 | – | – | – | – |
| CPM 3V | Crucible | 0.80 | 7.5 | 2.75 | 1.30 | – | – | – | – |
| CPM 4V | Crucible | 1.35 | 5.0 | 3.85 | 2.95 | – | – | – | – |
| CPM CruWear | Crucible | 1.15 | 7.5 | 2.40 | 1.60 | 1.0 | – | – | – |
| CPM MagnaCut | Crucible | 1.15 | 10.7 | 4.0 | 2.0 | – | – | 0.20 | 2.0 |
| CPM Rex 45 | Crucible | 1.30 | 4.05 | 3.05 | 5.0 | 6.25 | 8.0 | – | – |
| CPM S110V | Crucible | 2.80 | 15.25 | 9.0 | 2.25 | – | 2.5 | – | 3.0 |
| CPM S90V | Crucible | 2.30 | 14.0 | 9.0 | 1.0 | – | – | – | – |
| CPM-154 | Crucible | 1.05 | 14.0 | – | 4.0 | – | – | – | – |
| D2 | Generic (AISI tool) | 1.42 | 11.5 | 0.80 | 0.90 | – | – | – | – |
| Elmax | Uddeholm | 1.70 | 18.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | – | – | – | – |
| K390 | Bohler | 2.47 | 4.2 | 9.0 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 2.0 | – | – |
| M390 / 20CV / 204P | Bohler / Crucible / Carpenter | 1.90 | 20.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.60 | – | – | – |
| Maxamet | Carpenter | 2.15 | 4.75 | 6.0 | – | 13.0 | 10.0 | – | – |
| Nitro-V | New Jersey Steel Baron | 0.68 | 13.0 | 0.08 | – | – | – | 0.11 | – |
| S30V | Crucible | 1.45 | 14.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | – | – | – | – |
| S35VN | Crucible | 1.40 | 14.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | – | – | – | 0.50 |
| S45VN | Crucible | 1.48 | 16.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | – | – | 0.15 | 0.50 |
| VG-10 | Takefu (Japan) | 1.00 | 15.0 | 0.25 | 1.0 | – | 1.55 | – | – |
How these numbers were made
Edge retention comes from the CATRA test: a machine pushes a sharpened blade through card stock loaded with silica, and the total card cut is measured in millimeters. Toughness comes from an unnotched Charpy impact test on subsize specimens, reported in foot-pounds. Corrosion resistance comes from Larrin Thomas’s rating of each steel’s chromium in solution. We measured nothing ourselves. We collected published figures, checked them against the source tables, and left blanks where nobody has published a number.
Sharpening ease is arithmetic, not a measurement. Nobody publishes a sharpening test, so we derive it:
sharpening ease = 10 − edge retention rating, held between 0.5 and 10
Worked example, done by hand. CPM MagnaCut has an edge retention rating of 5. Ten minus five is five, which is inside the range, so MagnaCut scores 5 for sharpening ease. Maxamet has an edge retention rating of 11. Ten minus eleven is minus one, which falls below the floor, so Maxamet scores 0.5. That matches what people report at the stones: MagnaCut comes back with ordinary diamond plates, Maxamet fights you.
The reason this works is that the thing which makes a steel hold an edge — hard carbides spread through it — is the same thing that makes it slow to grind. It is a fair rule of thumb and nothing more.
What the chart will not tell you
Heat treatment moves these numbers further than the choice of steel does. A well-treated 14C28N blade will beat a badly treated S35VN blade at almost everything. Blade geometry matters more again: a thin edge in a mediocre steel out-cuts a thick edge in a great one. And every laboratory number here was measured on a test sample, not on the knife in your pocket.
Common questions
What is the best knife steel?
For a pocket folder that has to resist rust, CPM MagnaCut, because it is the only steel on this chart that scores 9.5 for corrosion resistance without giving up toughness. For a hard-use fixed blade, CPM 3V, at 9 for toughness. For value, 14C28N. There is no single winner, which is why the chart has four columns instead of one.
Is MagnaCut better than S35VN?
On the published measures, yes. MagnaCut rates 7 for toughness against 5 and 9.5 for corrosion resistance against 7.5. The two tie on edge retention at 5. So MagnaCut is meaningfully tougher and much more rust-resistant for the same cutting life. S35VN is not a bad steel. MagnaCut is a newer one designed to take the compromise out.
Which steel holds an edge the longest?
Of the steels here, Maxamet, rated 11 on a scale that stops at 10. CPM S90V and CPM S110V follow it. All three are slow and unpleasant to sharpen, which is the trade you are making.
What is the best budget knife steel?
14C28N. It rates 9 for toughness and 8.5 for corrosion resistance, which beats several steels that cost three times as much, and it sharpens easily. It gives up edge retention to do it.
Does heat treatment matter more than the steel?
Often, yes. Look at the hardness column next to each laboratory figure. The same steel run three points of hardness apart behaves like two different materials.
What does the HRC number mean?
Rockwell C hardness, a measure of how far a diamond point sinks into the steel. Higher numbers hold an edge better and chip more easily. Most pocket knives land between 58 and 62.
Are the super steels worth paying for?
Only if you cut enough to notice. A steel rated 9 for edge retention against one rated 5 will go roughly twice as far between sharpenings. If you sharpen once a month either way, you have bought nothing.
Related on Popular EDC
MagnaMax against MagnaCut, 14C28N against M390, the utility knives worth carrying, and every Popular EDC tool in one place.
Sources
Ratings and laboratory data: Knife Steels Rated by a Metallurgist and Testing the Edge Retention of 48 Knife Steels, both by Larrin Thomas. Chemistry: maker datasheets from Crucible Industries, Böhler, Uddeholm, Alleima, Carpenter, Takefu and New Jersey Steel Baron. The whole table is also published as a plain data file with a source note on every figure.
Data updated September 2026. Ratings and laboratory figures re-checked against the published source tables on 15 September 2026.