Show HN: I built a knife steel comparison tool
51 comments
·May 17, 2025hunter-gatherer
Cool tool. I recently picked up a White River knife in CPM Magnacut. I could have used this tool when I was shopping around, but it looks like I landed on a good knife steel anyways. I haven't used it enougj yet to work on sharpening it though, so we'll see how that goes.
kurthr
It seems like the steel data comes from larger database on hardness/toughness/corrosion? Can you say where that data is coming from or if it's your own measurements? If you could show the data (eg HRC) that supports the radar chart it would be easier for a purchaser to know if their steel actually meets the purported performance after purchase.
I guess what confuses me most is that heat treatment/hardening seem crucial to understanding how a knife is going to perform, but that seems left out. It's even possible to have a great treatment on a blank and screw it up (overheat) when doing the initial edge shaping. Furthermore, the sharpening angle of a blade edge seems to greatly affect edge retention especially for softer steels. It would be great to know what angles different (properly hardened) steels could reasonably support. That's something the user can control after purchase.
LooseMarmoset
As a knife-maker, may I request 80CRV, 1084, and 1075? They're very commonly-used steel grades in knives.
Also, 440 has a number of grades.
Cool tool!
EDIT: It might also be interesting to point out the manganese levels, and whether the steel is a deep- or shallow-hardening steel. Those factors help indicate whether the steel will form a hamon or not.
globular-toast
Also maybe the steel that Wusthof uses, whatever it is. They don't seem to tell you what is, though.
Zak
Wüsthof prints the steel it uses on the blades of many of its knives: X50CrMoV15[0], which is also called 1.4116 and 5Cr15MoV.
It's not in OP's tool, but this article[1] by metallurgist Larrin Thomas includes it. His ratings are 2.5 for toughness, 2.5 for wear resistance, and 8 for corrosion resistance. It is a bad steel for any kind of knife and especially bad at Wüsthof's prices.
[0] https://zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=X50CrMoV...
[1] https://knifesteelnerds.com/2021/10/19/knife-steels-rated-by...
williadc
It's very likely 8cr13mov, which is listed
p-s-v
yes, I will add this info.
thanks for the feedback
eichin
Hmm, it feels like there'd be some interesting crossover between this and https://seattleultrasonics.com/pages/knife-database but while the "Quantified Knife Project" has a lot of numeric test-result data, it looks like they only have "marketing names" for the steel used (if you click through the links in the "model name" column for each knife.)
(Ah, the raw data is available https://github.com/seattleultrasonics/Quantified-Knife-Proje... has a "Blades" tab which might be enough to correlate.)
p-s-v
thanks for sharing, i will check these out... previously was unaware of these
keisborg
I looked through most of the charts, and I it seems like you cannot get the best of two worlds. Can you get good edge retention, ease of sharpening and toughness at the same time?
It would be nice with an example on how knife steel properties work. I assume there are balanced tradeoffs.
p-s-v
that is correct, edge retention, ease of sharpening and toughness usually come at a trade off to one another.
A harder blade is more brittle (less tough) and keeps its edge longer... but is also more difficult to sharpen once it gets dull.... generally speaking.
out-of-ideas
comparison is kind of fun; i'd recommend keeping static colors per selection though (when toggling items, the change to colors of items already in the graph made it a bit annoying to decipher)
reconnecting
Impressive work. I've always wondered how it's possible to "decompile" steel types. For example, one of my everyday use knives is a Kabelmesser pocket knife (WW2). It's probably from Solingen, although there's no logo on it.
I really like it because of the high-carbon steel, but I have no idea what specific type of steel was used, as I don't see much of such steel these days.
Onavo
It's not hard, just expensive. You need to pay a lab to do it, and the testing is very much destructive most of the time.
dehrmann
XRF might be able to non-destructively tell you the alloy.
bobmcnamara
The magic spice gun was my first thought as well, but they struggle to measure lighter elements like carbon.
bberenberg
I would be interested to see all the steel types ranked by total surface area within the polygon.
smiley1437
I went through manually and these appear to have the highest volumes:
H1
H2
CPM Magnacut
Sandvik 12C27
Interestingly they are all weak on Edge Retention.
shawn_w
Calling magnacut weak on edge retention is an... interesting take. It's not record setting, but it's far, far above the other 3 you listed.
The data this site is using really seems questionable.
p-s-v
good idea... i could add that
williadc
Sandvik 14c28n is common for budget knives. It would be nice to see it on this list.
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adamgordonbell
Anyone else like ceramic knives? I have a couple paring knives.
Super sharp but very brittle.
jofer
We received a two knife set as a wedding gift many years ago. This was well before they were common, and it was quite a nice gift. I strongly agree with the "don't buy a knife you can't sharpen" point that folks often make, but ceramic knives do have their niche.
They're great for minimizing oxidation along cuts. E.g. cutting iceberg lettuce and avoiding having the edges turn brown. They're also very lightweight, which is nice for some things, while being bad for others. I'd never use them the way I do my workhorse chef's knife, but there are certainly tasks I prefer them for. Dicing lots of hot peppers comes to mind, oddly enough, as does some very precise and relatively tedious knifework like making very even matchstick cuts for carrots/radishes/etc (the large one has a very wide blade, which is great for this, and is lightweight enough to reduce fatigue).
Overall, I can see why folks like them. It's not really the "no need to sharpen" point. It's more the "lightweight and very thin" part, along with a non-oxidizing edge.
I'm still kind of opposed on principle, I suppose, but I do use the set we were gifted fairly often, despite having some very nice steel cutlery that I'm very fond of. I can't blame anyone for buying them now that they're priced more reasonably than they used to be.
eichin
I haven't used one for food yet, but I picked up a cheap ($35) kyocera as a workshop knife and it's been great; dropped it on concrete and knocked a 1mm² chunk off of the very tip, but the edge is still great after six months of casual abuse (mostly cardboard, rubber, and plastics.)
virtue3
Leans too far into disposable culture. Even a solid steel knife and a cheap electric sharpener will last longer.
And you can sharpen all your paring knives etc.
p-s-v
ceramic knives are great, but they are basically disposable because once they chip (they will) its incredibly difficult to sharpen them again.
MrBuddyCasino
I would never buy a knife you can’t sharpen. Nothing stays sharp forever.
adamgordonbell
They can be sharpened to a very sharp edge that they retain for a long long time.
In my vague home use, brittleness leading to chipping is more of an issue.
loloquwowndueo
*knives
Also - paring knife, not pairing knife.
Hey HN!
I'm a bit of a knife steel geek and got tired of juggling tabs to compare stats. So, I built this tool: https://new.knife.day/blog/knife-steel-comparisons/all
It lets you pick steels (like the ones in the screenshot) and see a radar chart comparing their edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening on a simple 1-10 scale.
It's already been super handy for me, and I thought fellow knife/metallurgy enthusiasts here might find it useful too.
Would love to hear your thoughts or any steel requests!
Cheers!