There are a lot of good steels available to make knives from. I personally prefer to make knives that won’t rust easily, stand up to hard use and will hold an edge very well. Materials such as ATS34, BG-42, 154CM, CPM440V, Haynes Stellite 6K, D2 and some of the various kinds of Damascus fit into that category. ATS34, BG-42 and 154CM are fairly close to each other in alloy composition, having a high percentage of chromium to make them rust resistant and a high percentage of carbon to make these steels hold an edge very well.

D-2 is a very tough steel suitable for hard use, but it is however not rated as a stainless steel even though it has 12 percent chromium. Also, D-2 will not take a high polish like the first three stainless steels.

CPM 440V (now called S 60V) is a powder metallurgy steel with extremely high carbon content, but costs 6 times as much as other steels.

Haynes Stellite 6K was invented by a distant relative of mine and is not a steel at all, but an alloy of cobalt with grains of carbide embedded into it. While it is more fragile than traditional blade steels, it holds an edge incredibly well and makes a great skinning knife.

The following is a listing of some of the steels with their alloy composition:

• BG-42 Stainless Steel
     C 1.15 Mn .50 Si .30 Cr 14.50 Mo 4.00 V 1.20
• ATS-34 Stainless Steel
     C 1.02 Mn .40 P.025 S.002 Si .24 Cr 13.66 Mo 3.52
• 154 CM Stainless Steel
     C 1.05 Mn .50 Si .30 Cr 14.00 Mo 4.00
• D-2 Tool Steel
     C 1.50 Mn .40 Si .40 Cr 12.00 Va .95 Mo .90
• CPM 440V (S60V)
     C 2.15 M .40 Si .40 Cr 17.00 Va 5.50 Mo .40
• Haynes Stellite 6K
     Cr 30.00 Mo 1.00 Fe 3.00 W 4.00 C 1.50
     Si .70 Mn 1.4 Co 55.00
• Damascus Steel is forged from various kinds of steel and contains up to several hundred layers created by folding and twisting the steel and forge-welding it together. Etching the finished blade in a solution of ferric acid brings out the contrast between the layers.