Knife steel and DLC coating

carbon steels

Are types of steel that contain few other elements apart from carbon. Carbon is extremely hard and keeps the knife sharp. In addition, carbon steel can be extremely finely ground because it contains no chromium. This means that very fine cutting tools can be implemented.

The downside is obvious. Without chromium, the carbon steel is susceptible to oxidation (rust). Rust not only looks ugly, it also damages the cutting edge and thus the edge retention, which is why these knife steels require special handling and sufficient care.

  • Benefits
  • Fine, extremely sharp cutting edge realizable
  • Quick and easy to resharpen
  • Tough steel → good for rough chopping work where the cutting edge is subject to shock loads
  • Disadvantage
  • prone to rusting
  • intensive care

stainless steels

Stainless steels are not sensitive to rust, but generally contain less carbon. Thus knives made of stainless steel are generally somewhat softer than knives made of carbon steel. In addition, the many brittle chrome particles, also known as carbides, prevent the cutting edges from being ground very finely. The toughness of the steel is also reduced, which can lead to breakouts on the cutting edge during rough work.

  • Benefits
  • Resistant to rust
  • No maintenance necessary
  • Disadvantage
  • Lower toughness

DLC coating

DLC stands for diamond-like carbon. These diamond-like carbon layers are very hard, extremely smooth and slippery and chemically resistant. For these reasons, this coating is used, among other things, in the racing sector and in the aerospace industry.

Due to the many positive properties, we also offer this high-tech coating for our knife blades. Because with the anthracite/black appearance, the blade not only looks very elegant, but is also extremely resistant to scratches and other influences due to its high hardness. The high gliding ability ensures less friction between the blade and the material to be cut, which means that less force (cutting pressure) has to be exerted. The biggest advantage, however, is that carbon steels, which are normally sensitive to rust, become resistant to oxidation. The knife edge and the engraving are of course not coated, which is why they should still be preserved with oil or grease in case of carbon steel.