BJ, you have a wonderful technical vocabulary

by bj , Monday, June 25, 2018, 21:54 (2344 days ago) @ former hater of plastic

I think a lot of the research in the esoteric steel is to make it more wear resistant. People used to say that carbon steel was much better than stainless steel. In terms of edgeholding the best current stainless steels are as good as the best carbon steels. But in toughness, carbon steels are typically better, even the older cheap carbon steels. Because of the toughness, and the price, is why most tools are made with the older carbon steels. I think a piece of the esoteric steel sufficient to make a 4" blade for a folder might cost up to $50. Nobody wants to put several hundred dollars of steel into a hammer.

For the most part the high performance steels are made for industrial use, tool and die work, etc. They aren't made for knives because the knife market is too small. Knifemakers have picked through the different offerings of the steelmakers and chosen steels to try in knives. Spyderco for instance chooses a lot of steels to try that nobody else has tried in knives.