Properties Of Knife Steel

Knife steel is a material like no other. It has many properties that can be revealed as the knife is used, with each knife having strengths and weaknesses. Four of these properties are hardness, toughness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. What are these, and how does the Trayvax Trek knife rank in them? Find out here.

Hardness

A knife’s hardness is measured by how resistant it is to warping and deforming. Knife hardness is measured by a test known as the Rockwell C test. The number from this test is called a knife’s HRC (Hardness Rockwell C). Most knife steel is around 58-60 HRC, but it can go as hard as 62.

A Trayvax Trek has a hardness of 60-61 HRC, which is a good score. It won’t bend or warp, even if it’s treated roughly. It can even cut through wood and retain its shape. This knife is one you’ll buy once and own for life. Its sheath isn’t too shabby, either. It’s made with the same leather as our tactical wallets, so you know it’ll last as long as the knife itself. Whatever you’re doing, your Trek will stand strong.

Toughness

Where hardness is for deformation resistance, toughness is resistance to cracking or chipping. It’s the opposite of brittleness. A knife with high toughness won’t crack or shatter if dropped or treated harshly. Conversely, a knife with low toughness is brittle and will easily chip or break at the slightest jolt. This is a knife you want to avoid.

Toughness failures can be unpredictable, catastrophic, and dangerous. If a knife breaks, sharp shards can fly off and injure those around it. That’s why knives with higher toughness levels are preferred. The Trayvax Trek knife is one of them. It can cut through many things, survive a drop, and even resist cold temperatures without any chipping or breakage. This knife will be there for you no matter what life throws at it.

Wear Resistance

This is how resistant a knife is to erosion from the materials it’s cutting, or from other influences such as dust. It’s also known as “edge retention.” A wear-resistant knife will stay sharp even after cutting through things like bone or corrugated cardboard. Trayvax’s Trek knife tends to rank high on this property. Many online reviews show them cutting through multiple items, even across an entire month once, and it’s always stayed sharp.

Wear failures tend to be gradual, as a knife loses its sharpness throughout its lifetime. This can be helped with occasional sharpening, but that’s not a perfect solution. The best thing, then, is to start with wear-resistant steel and compound it with said sharpening.

Corrosion Resistance

This property refers to how resistant the knife in question is to corrosion from water, damp environments, or salt. If you’re a fisherman who wants to fillet your catch on the boat, choose a knife with high corrosion resistance. Such knives will keep their form even in the salty sea spray. It can also be important to a knife’s survival as an emergency knife. If you’re in the snowy Northeast, with salt and sand on the roads, a corrosion-resistant knife will be a lifesaver. A knife that dissolves from a bit of salt or water is of no use to anyone.

 If you want a knife with high corrosion resistance, a Trek is good for this too. It can be used in any environment and is a knife for all seasons. Put it on your black Cinch belt and carry it to the lake for a day of fishing or a rainy camping trip. Or if you’re driving down a snowy road, the Trek can stand up to that too, and as a glass breaker, it can get you out of a car accident. No amount of sand, salt, or humidity will stand in this knife’s way.

In Conclusion

The four properties of knife steel are hardness, toughness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. All four of these properties can be seen in the Trayvax Trek. For hardness, it won’t bend or warp easily, with a hardness of 60 HRC. Toughness-wise, a Trek is resistant to cracking, chipping, and breakage.  For wear resistance, they can cut through many things, over the course of a long time, and stay sharp. And for corrosion resistance, they’re made of a steel that can withstand salt and humidity. For a knife that has the best of all worlds, the Trayvax Trek is the right one for you.