Knife Material

PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE SELECTED THE MOST POPULAR MATERIALS THAT I THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT. THE FIRST PART IS KNIFE HANDLE MATERIAL AND THE SECOND HALF IS ABOUT KNIFE STEEL.

CARBON FIBER - is used as a knife handle material. It is a premium composite of thin strands tightly woven into various patterns and set in resin and comes in colors. It looks very nice.

MICARTA - is used as a knife handle material which is layers of linen cloth soaked in resin and it is pressed together. Various colors are available. It is very strong.

T-6 ALUMINUM - is used as a knife handle material which is an air craft grade aluminum. It is strong and light weight. It can be hard anodized in various colors.

KRATON - is used for knife handles and it is a thermoplastic elastomer that is flexible and holds up well in most environments and is molded to the steel handle.

G10 - is a very tough knife handle material that consists of layers of fiber glass soaked in resin and it is compressed and baked. Many knife companies are using this material.

ZYTEL - is used as a knife handle material, it is a light weight glass filled nylon that is super strong and very durable. COLD STEEL KNIVES uses this material as well as other brands.

KYDEX - is a mixture of acrylic and pvc (poly vinyl chloride) which has outstanding impact and chemical resistance. It can be molded or formed and has many applications.

DELRIN - is a light weight and durable polymer, which is molded to form. It makes for a very good knife handle material that many companies are using in current production knives.

STEELS

420 - stainless steel is a common low carbon high chromium knife blade material which has excellent corrosion resistance.

154CM - is a very popular American made premium stainless steel. It makes a tough blade and has good edge holding ability. Many knife companies are using this steel.

ATS34 - is a Japanese made stainless steel considered the equal of 154CM. Its cleaner than 154CM. Prices have increased for this imported steel by 50%. It makes an excellent knife blade.

S30V - is an American made premium stainless steel made for knife blades. It is a powder made steel with uniform structure. More and more companies are going to this steel.

D2 - is an air hardened tool steel which has corrosion resistant properties. It holds a good working edge if heat treated properly.

440C - is a high chromium stainless steel. It has good hardness and excellent corrosion resistance. It is capable of holding a good sharp edge.

AUS6 - is a stainless steel used for corrosion resistance in areas where environment is a concern. Many companies use this steel for kitchen knives.

AUS8 - is a stainless steel that has a higher carbon content than AUS6 which will allow a very sharp edge. The higher the carbon content the better the knife blade will hold a sharp edge.

CPM-440V - is made using powdered steel in an atomized melting process. It is high carbon content type of stainless steel which contains vanadium.

DAMASCUS - is a specially forged layered steel consisting of various steels. It makes a tough knife blade and has an excellent edge quality. It is expensive.

NOTE: THE KEY INGREDIENT IN GETTING A GOOD SHARP KNIFE IS THE HEAT TREATING PROCESS. IF IT IS NOT DONE CORRECTLY THE KNIFE EDGE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO HOLD A SHARP EDGE.

Authors Personal Notation: This commentary as well as all my previous commentaries are my personal opinion only. I mean what I say and I say what I mean. If my commentaries offend you please leave now, go some where else. If you think you know so much, go start your own Blogger page and then we can all see how much you know.

Teddy Jacobson / Pistolsmith www.actionsbyt.com 281 277 4008 tjacobson@houston.rr.com www.actionsbyt.blogspot.com/