Carbon vs Stainless Steel

[Larrin]

In this article I covered the history of the carbon vs stainless steel debate, the differences between carbon and stainless steel, and where the debate stands today.

https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/09/10/carbon-vs-stainless-steel-in-knives/

 

[Marcelo Amaral]

Thanks for writing that! It's funny that my favorite stainless are aeb-l (for sharpenability) and CPM154 (for a good balance of high slicing retention and sharpenability), which are in the opposite sides of large/small chromium carbide groups (assuming CPM154 would be in the bigger sized carbide group). I felt a big difference in sharpenability between CPM154 and XHP from Harner (i imagine it would be CTS-XHP?). The former easier to sharpen with more teeth and the latter harder to sharpen with a more refined edge.

 

[Larrin]

CPM-154 has a lot more carbide than AEB-L: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/03/16/micrographs-of-niolox-cpm-154-and-aeb-l/

XHP has even a little more carbide than that.

 

[Marcelo Amaral]

It makes sense, thank you!

 

[tedg]

Wow, that's some intense reading. Lots of interesting stuff. Thanks for all you're effort.

 

[Nemo]

Really interesting. Thanks Larrin.

Can you explain the mechanism by which the wear resistance imparted by high carbide volume increases slicing edge retention? Do carbide hardness and size play a role, or only carbide volume?

My (admittedly limited) sharpening experience is that while PM steels are a bit harder to remove metal from than some traditional stainless steels, they are somewhat easier to deburr. Assuming that I am not imagining this, do you think that the smaller carbide size is responsible?

 

[Larrin]

Really interesting. Thanks Larrin.

Can you explain the mechanism by which the wear resistance imparted by high carbide volume increases slicing edge retention? Do carbide hardness and size play a role, or only carbide volume?

My (admittedly limited) sharpening experience is that while PM steels are a bit harder to remove metal from than some traditional stainless steels, they are somewhat easier to deburr. Assuming that I am not imagining this, do you think that the smaller carbide size is responsible?

Carbide hardness and volume increases slicing edge retention. Carbides are harder than the steel so they help resist abrasion during cutting. Size seems to impact slicing edge retention less than would be expected, as shown in this article: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/06/18/maximizing-edge-retention/

Deburring is easier if the steel is at higher hardness, and more difficult with significant amounts of retained austenite. It could be that your PM steels are more brittle (burr breaks off easily) or have had a cryo treatment while your "traditional" stainless steels did not.

 

[Nemo]

Carbide hardness and volume increases slicing edge retention. Carbides are harder than the steel so they help resist abrasion during cutting. Size seems to impact slicing edge retention less than would be expected, as shown in this article: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/06/18/maximizing-edge-retention/

Deburring is easier if the steel is at higher hardness, and more difficult with significant amounts of retained austenite. It could be that your PM steels are more brittle (burr breaks off easily) or have had a cryo treatment while your "traditional" stainless steels did not.

That all makes sense.

 

[Konge]

Super cool, I always enjoy your articles.

 

[HRC_64]

Good read. Thanks for posting.