Tool Steels in Knife Making
Tool steels were designed for cutting tools, dies, and punches — applications demanding extreme wear resistance and toughness. Knife makers discovered that these properties translate beautifully to blade performance. CruWear and CPM 3V are two of the most respected tool steels in the knife community.
Composition and Hardness
| Property | CruWear | CPM 3V |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon | 1.10% | 0.80% |
| Vanadium | 2.40% | 2.75% |
| Tungsten | 1.15% | — |
| Typical HRC | 62–65 HRC | 58–61 HRC |
Edge Retention: CruWear's Advantage
CruWear's higher carbon content and the addition of tungsten (which forms very hard tungsten carbides) give it significantly better edge retention than 3V. In CATRA testing, CruWear at 64 HRC outperforms 3V by a substantial margin on abrasion resistance.
Toughness: 3V's Advantage
CPM 3V was specifically designed to maximize toughness. Crucible's data shows 3V has among the highest toughness of any knife steel at high hardness. This makes 3V the choice for hard-use knives that take lateral stress, prying, batoning, and impact.
CruWear wins on edge retention and wear resistance — the choice for a knife used for cutting tasks that needs to stay sharp. CPM 3V wins on toughness and resistance to chipping — the choice for hard-use fixed blades, survival knives, and anything that might see prying or batoning.