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Show HN: I built a knife steel comparison tool

(new.knife.day)
130 points p-s-v | 1 comments | 17 May 25 17:13 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

Hey HN!

I'm a bit of a knife steel geek and got tired of juggling tabs to compare stats. So, I built this tool: https://new.knife.day/blog/knife-steel-comparisons/all

It lets you pick steels (like the ones in the screenshot) and see a radar chart comparing their edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening on a simple 1-10 scale.

It's already been super handy for me, and I thought fellow knife/metallurgy enthusiasts here might find it useful too.

Would love to hear your thoughts or any steel requests!

Cheers!

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reconnecting ◴[17 May 25 18:52 UTC] No.44016216[source]▶
Impressive work. I've always wondered how it's possible to "decompile" steel types. For example, one of my everyday use knives is a Kabelmesser pocket knife (WW2). It's probably from Solingen, although there's no logo on it.

I really like it because of the high-carbon steel, but I have no idea what specific type of steel was used, as I don't see much of such steel these days.

replies(1): >>44016306 #
Onavo ◴[17 May 25 19:09 UTC] No.44016306[source]▶
It's not hard, just expensive. You need to pay a lab to do it, and the testing is very much destructive most of the time.
replies(1): >>44016335 #
dehrmann ◴[17 May 25 19:14 UTC] No.44016335[source]▶
XRF might be able to non-destructively tell you the alloy.
replies(1): >>44016504 #
1. bobmcnamara ◴[17 May 25 19:48 UTC] No.44016504[source]▶
The magic spice gun was my first thought as well, but they struggle to measure lighter elements like carbon.