Thread: What is the Difference in Steels?

Rodney,
Damascus will be also be a LOT more expensive. Manganese was added to steel to harden it, before stainless was invented. Stainless has chrome added, which hardens it and protects it from rust. Silver steel had a small amount of silver added which greatly increased the shine of the steel & hardened it.

If you want a Boker I just got one this week in a lot of razors. I have no attachment to it, and would clean it up, sharpen it, and send it to you for cheap.

PM me for details.

Fred

Here's a somewhat technical description of the difference between carbon steel and stainless steel. By hobby, I am a knifemaker and have used both for knives. I also do my own heat treating and must understand the 'whys' to the difference 'recipes' for different steels. There are many elements that can go into making different types of steels. For this discussion, we will only be concerned with 3; carbon, iron and chromium. Steel is made by adding a small percentage of carbon to iron ore. Pure iron is a soft, ductile material, but the addition of carbon changes it to a hard, strong metal. Low and medium carbon steels have a carbon content of 0.08 to 0.60%. High carbon steels, having carbon contents from 0.60 to 2.40%, are considered high alloy steels and tool steels. When the percentage of carbon approaches or exceeds the 3% range the metal undergoes a change and becomes cast iron instead of steel. High carbon steels can be heat treated to increase their hardness. High carbon steels are prone to stain and/or rust unless extreme care is taken to prevent this from happening. Exposure to acidic or salty material, like tomatoes, citrus fruits, blood and salt water can cause staining. To help prevent staining, chromium is added to the high carbon steel. When the percentage of chromium exceeds 12.0% the steel is considered to be stainless. A very common steel used for knives that greatly resembles the high carbon steels of yesteryear is 1095 tool steel. It contains 1.05% carbon and no chromium. The spring steel most commonly uses in car springs makes a great knife and is 5160 spring steel; 0.60 carbon and 1% chromium. A tool steel favored by many of today's knifemakers is D2 tool steel; 1.55% carbon and 12.0% chromium (almost a stainless steel). One of the most popular steels used for fine (not cheap) kitchen knives is 440C; 1.05% carbon and 17.0% chromium.
An interesting comment made about stainless steel razors is that they are generally harder to sharpen than carbon steel razors. In the knife world, just the opposite is true. Some steels, both high carbon and stainless, achieve a Rockwell hardness exceeding 60 when hardened. However, after hardening, steels are quite brittle and are then tempered to make them tough. The tempering process removes the brittleness, but, reduces the hardness. Stainless steels will usually become softer than high carbon making stainless steel knives easier to sharpen. But, they won't hold an edge as long as the harder high carbon knife. I need to do some research on heat treating for steels used in razors. The trick to make stainless harder than high carbon must be in the tempering process.
I hope this helps and wasn't too long.
The short answer on modern Damascus - it's very pretty and very expensive because it is very time consuming to make. I know because I've made a few billets. It can be a good blade, but, is mainly for looks. If anyone wants the long story about how it's made, please let me know.