Grades of Steel:

In America most professional knives are one of the following grades of steel:

420 - Steel with at least 12 - 14 % chromium, and a minimum of 0.15% carbon
440A - Steel with at least 16-18% chromium, and a minimum of 0.60% carbon
440B - As above, with at least 0.75% carbon
440C - As above, with at least 0.95% carbon

The higher the amount of carbon in a blade, the better edge it will retain. In addition, the chromium in the blades will allow it to keep it's stainless qualities, keeping it rust resistant.

Of all of these, 440C Stainless Steel is the highest quality, and 420 is the lowest quality. However, there are MANY knives on the market that are of a lower quality steel than 420; brand name knives, like Henckels, Shun, Wusthof, Meridian, and Messermeister do not deal with anything less than 420 steel, All of these brands make inexpensive home sets. If you buy one of them, as an upgrade from lesser-quality no-name brands, you will see the difference immediately.

Many cheaper knives will list their steel as "440 Stainless Steel," hoping to confuse the consumer into thinking it is 440C. Be sure that the knife you are buying is 440C for the best quality!



Hardness of Steel

Steel is measured on a scale called the "Rockwell Hardness" scale.

All knives are tested on the Rockwell Hardness C scale, abbreviated as HRC. To test a knifes hardness, the knife is indented by a 120 degree diamond cone, and is tested to see how far the cone can indent, using 150kg of force.

A high-quality knife will have a Rockwell Hardness of somewhere in the range of 55-62C.