Steel Chart
Spyderco’s steel chart provides detailed information on the chemical composition of the many steels we use in our knives. This allows convenient comparison between steels and enables you to better understand blade materials that have similar or vastly different qualities.
Spyderco was one of the first knife manufacturers to include comprehensive information on our blade steels in our catalog and on our website. As we pushed the envelope to feature more high-performance steels in our knives, we also expanded our efforts to educate our customers about those steels. Over the years, we published our steel chart in a variety of different formats, including everything from pocket-sized references to laminated brochures to posters.
Ultimately, we developed the interactive Steel Chart on our website, which allows the quick, easy, side-by-side comparison of multiple steels and the elements they contain. This handy tool, along with the detailed explanations of the effects of each of the alloying elements provided on our Steel Elements page, is one of the best ways of developing your knowledge of blade steels and their unique properties.
Click here to download a PDF of this steel chart (107kb)
Click here to download a two-page brochure with more details about steel(14 MB).
Hover over an element name to get information on its purpose in steel.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Improves strength, machinability, and hardness.
- Creates brittleness in high concentrations.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Adds strength and toughness.
- Increases strength.
- Deoxidizes and degasifies to remove oxygen from molten metal.
- Increases edge retention and raises tensile strength.
- Increases hardness and improves resistance to wear and abrasion.
- Increases corrosion resistance.
- Adds strength and toughness.
*VG XEOS alloy composition based on Spyderco's analysis.
