Today, when the market is actively captured by heavy-duty powdered steel knives, the stereotype that the higher the hardness of the steel, the better, has taken root in the minds of many people. Such statements are true, but by no means true. And all because knives with low metal hardness also have their advantages. Moreover, knives made of steel with high hardness have specific disadvantages. Let's talk about this and that.
In recent years, a certain formal standard has been established on the knife market that it is not comme il faut to take a blade with a steel hardness index below 60 HRC. Many citizens are chasing blades with a hardness of about 65 HRC and are willing to overpay for the material. Others even want to see at least 70, or even all 75 HRC in their blade. Such buyers are not stopped by the fact of the high cost of powder steels. There is some logic in this approach when choosing a tool: it is quite obvious that a knife made of high-quality steel should last a long time. But in fact, everything is not so simple.
The higher the HRC value, the harder the knife, and as a result, the better it keeps the blade sharpened. Blades made of powdered steels hold it 3-6 times longer than blades made of conventional steels. This is useful when you need to use the tool for a long time. However, its disadvantages directly follow from the advantages of such a material. Sharpening knives with a hardness of more than 65 HRC is noticeably more difficult. They need quality tools. You can completely forget about sharpening with the help of improvised materials in field conditions.
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The next extremely important problem of hard steels, which is forgotten by many citizens, is the fragility of such a material. The higher the hardness, the lower the resistance of the material to side loading. Experienced blade lovers know what to cut and even more so try to cut something with a knife with with a blade hardness above 60 HRC - this is not the best idea, since chips or even breakage of everything are possible blade. In addition, high HRC knives tend to rust much faster when exposed to harsh environments.
Another thing is knives made of mild steels with an HRC index of up to 60 points. Of course, such knives deform more easily and keep sharpening much worse. However, they also have many undeniable advantages. A tool with a low blade HRC is much easier to sharpen (including using improvised tools in the field), it has almost no problem of blade chipping or complete breakage. And most importantly, such knives are corny cheaper, which, in case of urgent need, allows them to do everything from digging the earth to chopping firewood. Therefore, choosing steel for a knife should be based on practical needs and the tasks facing a person.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about why a knife that did not take root in the USSR PC MOOiR is in great demand in the West.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/241121/61375/