AUS-8

AUS-8(A) steel is a stainless steel from Japan that contains both chromium and high levels of carbon. It thus strikes a balance between corrosion resistance, sharpness and edge retention. The steel stays sharp for a long time and is between too soft and too hard in terms of hardness: so it does not deform so easily under pressure, but on the other hand it does not splinter either. Optimally, however, it can be resharpened, which will be especially useful for beginners in this field. Perhaps you will have noticed the slight difference between AUS-8 and AUS-8A in some of our knives. The (A) here stands for "annealed" - this indicates that the AUS-8 steel has been heat treated. The heat treatment reduces the brittleness of the material, but the steels are identical in structure. AUS-8A can be brought to a Rockwell hardness of 58HRC to 59HRC and thus has a solid hardness. Difference to AUS-6 and AUS-4: AUS-6 and AUS-4 are steel grades with a significantly lower quality. They lack carbon content in particular, which makes the knife steels significantly less cutting and sharp.  

→ The bottom line: AUS-8(A) is a cutting steel with exceptional corrosion resistance, very wear-resistant and easy to resharpen. You can find knives with AUS-8 steel mostly in the price segment from 80€. 

Recommendation for: Pocket knives, Gentlemen's knives, EDC's