Steel Deep Dives
All 49 Blade Steels
A browsable card grid of every steel covered in the Bible: premium powder steels, conventional stainless, reactive carbon, and reference-only non-hardenable stainless. Click any card for the full deep-dive (composition, performance analysis, kitchen guidance, and artisan-maker examples). For filtering and sorting by performance characteristics, see the comparison index on the home page.
Tier 1
PremiumCD#1
PM tool steel
Tier 1
PremiumCPM MagnaCut
PM martensitic stainless
Tier 1
PremiumElmax
PM stainless
Tier 1
PremiumS35VN
PM stainless
Tier 1
PremiumSG2 / R2
PM stainless
Tier 1
MidCPM-154
PM stainless
Tier 1
EntryATS-34
Conventional stainless
Tier 1
EntryCTS-BD1N
Nitrogen-enhanced stainless
Tier 2
PremiumZDP-189
PM ultra-high carbon stainless
Tier 2
MidVG-10
Co-alloyed stainless
Tier 2
MidVG-MAX
Co-alloyed stainless
Tier 2
EntryAUS-10
Conventional stainless
Tier 2
EntryAUS-8
Conventional stainless
Tier 3
MidAEB-L
Conventional stainless
Tier 3
MidFC61
Conventional stainless
Tier 3
MidNitro-V
Nitrogen-enhanced stainless
Tier 3
MidSilver Fox SF100
Conventional stainless
Tier 3
Entry10Cr15CoMoV
Conventional stainless
Tier 3
Entry440C
Conventional stainless
Tier 3
EntryACUTO440
Conventional stainless
Tier 3
EntryN690
Co-alloyed stainless
Tier 3
EntryNitro-B
Nitrogen-enhanced stainless
Tier 3
EntrySandvik 14C28N
Nitrogen-enhanced stainless
Tier 3
EntryZwilling FRIODUR
Process-hardened stainless
Tier 3
BudgetX50CrMoV15 / 4116
Conventional stainless
Tier 4
Mid52100
High-carbon bearing steel
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 4
MidD2 / K110
Semi-stainless tool steel
Tier 5
PremiumAogami Super (Blue Super)
Reactive high-carbon
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
Mid15N20
Carbon Damascus layer steel
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
Mid8670
High-carbon nickel alloy
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
MidAogami
Reactive high-carbon
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
MidAogami
Reactive high-carbon
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
MidDamascus (5160/4340)
Pattern-welded Damascus
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
MidShirogami
Reactive high-carbon
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
MidShirogami
Reactive high-carbon
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
Entry1080
High-carbon
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
Entry1095
High-carbon
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
EntryAISI 4340
Ni-Cr-Mo alloy steel
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
EntryAISI 5160
Chrome-vanadium spring steel
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 5
EntrySK-4 / Kigami
Reactive high-carbon
⚠ Reactive carbon: requires active care
Tier 6
Budget3Cr13
Conventional stainless
Tier 6
Budget440A
Conventional stainless
Tier 6
Budget5Cr15MoV
Conventional stainless
Tier 6
Budget7Cr17MoV
Conventional stainless
Tier 6
Budget9Cr18MoV
Conventional stainless
Tier 6
BudgetWanbasian Stainless
Undisclosed stainless
Tier 7
—316 / 316L
Austenitic stainless
Reference only: not a kitchen steel
Tier 7
—SUS1A-1
JIS cutlery grade
Reference only: not a kitchen steel
Tier 7
—SUS430
Ferritic stainless
Reference only: not a kitchen steel