Shop tool
Knife steel selector
Tell me what you are making, what you want to spend, and how far along you are, and I will point you at the steels that fit. Below the picker is the full reference table it draws from, so you can read the whole decision space yourself.
Find your steel
Top 3 for that work
1084
1084: A tough, forgiving all-rounder for learning to forge and heat-treat and one of the most forgiving first heat treats.
- Austenitize
- 1475–1500°F
- Quench
- Fast oil (Parks 50)
- Temper
- 350–400°F
80CrV2
80CrV2: A tough, forgiving all-rounder for learning to forge and heat-treat and one of the most forgiving first heat treats.
- Austenitize
- 1500–1525°F
- Quench
- Medium-fast oil
- Temper
- 350–400°F
15N20
15N20: A tough, forgiving all-rounder for learning to forge and heat-treat and one of the most forgiving first heat treats.
- Austenitize
- 1450–1500°F
- Quench
- Medium-fast oil
- Temper
- 400–500°F
Heat-treat figures are published starting points, not shop-verified for your exact stock. Confirm against your steel supplier’s datasheet before you quench.
The full steel reference
Edge retention, toughness, and corrosion resistance are read off the metallurgist ratings published by Larrin Thomas at Knife Steel Nerds on a 0–10scale. Heat-treat figures are published starting points from supplier datasheets and Knife Steel Nerds articles, cited per steel — verify them for your own stock before you quench.
| Steel | Family | Edge | Tough | Corrosion | By hand | Cost | Heat treat (published starting points) | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1084 | Plain carbon | 2.5/10 | 8/10 | 1/10 | Yes | Budget |
| [1][2][3][4] |
| 1095 | Plain carbon | 2/10 | 7.5/10 | 1/10 | Yes | Budget |
| [1][2][3] |
| 80CrV2 | Low alloy | 3/10 | 7/10 | 1/10 | Yes | Budget |
| [1][2][3] |
| 5160 | Low alloy | 2/10 | 9/10 | 1/10 | Yes | Budget |
| [1][2][3][4] |
| 52100 | Low alloy | 3.5/10 | 6.5/10 | 1/10 | Yes | Mid |
| [1][2][3][4] |
| W2 | Plain carbon | 2.5/10 | 8/10 | 1/10 | Yes | Mid |
| [1][2][3] |
| O1 | Tool | 3/10 | 7.5/10 | 2/10 | Yes | Mid |
| [1][2][3] |
| 15N20 | Plain carbon | 2.5/10 | 8/10 | 1/10 | Yes | Budget |
| [1][2][3] |
| AEB-L | Stainless | 3.5/10 | 8.5/10 | 9/10 | No | Mid |
| [1][2][3] |
| 440C | Stainless | 3/10 | 8/10 | 8.5/10 | No | Mid |
| [1][2] |
| D2 | Tool | 6/10 | 5/10 | 4/10 | No | Mid |
| [1][2] |
| CPM-154 | Powder stainless | 5/10 | 6/10 | 8/10 | No | Premium |
| [1][2][3] |
| S35VN | Powder stainless | 5.5/10 | 7/10 | 9/10 | No | Premium |
| [1][2] |
| MagnaCut | Powder stainless | 6/10 | 7.5/10 | 9.5/10 | No | Premium |
| [1][2][3] |
Ratings and heat-treat science throughout this table are credited to Knife Steel Nerds (Larrin Thomas); the numbers stay exactly as published there and on the linked supplier datasheets.
Common questions
- What steel should a beginner forge first?
- 1084. Its carbon content lets it harden just past the point where a magnet stops sticking, so a forge and a bright oil quench give repeatable results without a kiln. It is cheap, tough, and the most forgiving heat treat on this list, which is exactly what a first knife needs.
- Can I forge and heat-treat stainless steel at home?
- Not with just a forge and an oil quench. Stainless steels like AEB-L, 440C, S35VN, and MagnaCut, along with air-hardening tool steels like D2, need a temperature-controlled kiln and a cryo step to hit their properties. This tool hides those steels for a first-knife smith on purpose: recommending them at the forge would be bad, safety-adjacent advice.
- Which steel is toughest for a big chopper or sword?
- 5160, a chromium spring steel, is the toughest on this list and the traditional choice for large hard-use blades. Keep the austenitizing temperature below 1550°F, since grain growth above that sharply cuts the toughness you chose it for.
- Why do these guides push so hard on verifying heat-treat numbers?
- The temperatures here are published starting points from supplier datasheets and Knife Steel Nerds articles, cited per steel. Real stock varies, and sources differ by 25–75°F on some of these steels. Treat every figure as a starting point to confirm against your own supplier datasheet, not a shop-verified recipe.
- Is MagnaCut worth it for a home forge?
- MagnaCut is a modern powder stainless that pushes toughness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance together better than older stainless. But it is a stock-removal steel: it needs a kiln, cryo, and a double temper, so it is not a forge-and-oil project. If you are set up for a controlled heat treat and want a do-it-all stainless, it earns its premium price.