They retain a razor sharp edge and are relatively easy to re sharpen.
Pocket knife steel.
The steel used in your knife can affect its cutting performance edge retention corrosion resistance ease of maintenance and much more.
There are no junk steels per se used in today s knife making unless it s one of those surgical stainless steel knives produced by who knows where and how.
There s your base line or entry level alloys which offer solid performance for mundane edc uses which include 420hc 440c 8cr13mov 8cr17 12c27 and many others.
Decent edge holding capabilities and fairly easy to resharpen this steel is a good balance of the most desirable traits for knife steel.
Cold steel recon 1 series tactical folding knife with tri ad lock and pocket clip made with premium cpm s35vn steel 4 8 out of 5 stars 470 84 99 84.
This stainless steel is commonly used in knife blades and offers good corrosion resistance at a low cost.
A hard strong blade steel.
If you can only legally carry a smaller knife be sure to check out our guide to the 14 best small pocket knives for edc.
While h1 steel lives in a specialist category as a fishing or boating knife lc200n holds its own as an edc knife steel.
This is a stainless steel commonly used on many mass manufactured pocket knives and represents a solid affordable all round choice.
The hardness level of steel is determined using a universal scale called the rockwell c test commonly called the rockwell hardness scale hrc.
Once considered the high end in us knife steels 440c is a good all round steel that has now been overshadowed by many of the newer super steels on the block.
The blade steel is one of the most dominant factors when it comes to determining the quality of the knife.
Carbon steel pocket knives are commonly built for rough use where toughness and sturdiness is important.
Carbon steel blades are the standard in survival camping knives and swords.
Of course there are other factors to consider as well but blade steel is perhaps the most important one.
Our pick for the premium pocket and folding knife in the world is the benchmade north fork knife which boasts high quality steel that provides comfort in holding carry and using while delivering unrivaled results.