How a Knife’s Steel Type Affects Sharpening

28.02.2026 08:16

Grindtv.com

Even amateur home cooks know that there can be a significant difference in performance from one knife to another. This can be due to the knife shape, the sharpness, age, or even the type of steel it's made from. The steel composition can also impact the way you sharpen the blade, determining the difficulty, time required, grit choice, and how effectively the knife blade retains an edge.

To get the most of your knives, take some time to learn more about how the steel type can affect how you sharpen them. This guide will go through the basic differences between steel types and discuss how to adapt your sharpening techniques based on the steel of your blades.

What Makes One Steel Different From Another?

The strongest defining factor between different types of steel is the carbon content. Low carbon (greater than 0.3 percent) is highly ductile, malleable, and weldable, medium carbon (0.31-0.6 percent) balances strength and ductility, high carbon (0.61-1.0 percent or more) is extremely hard and strong, but more brittle.

Alloying elements are metal pieces that are added to the steel to improve specific properties. Common alloying elements include chromium, nickel, manganese, vanadium, molybdenum, and tungsten. When carbon combines with these elements, extremely hard microscopic compounds called carbides are formed.

The wear resistance, toughness, and corrosion resistance changes depending on the carbides and the elements used in the steel. Harder carbides are resistant to abrasion, but they also make the steel more brittle.

Steel hardness is measured on the HRC Rockwell Scale:

High Hardness (60-65+ HRC): Often found in Japanese knives. These hold an incredibly sharp edge for a long time but can be brittle.
Lower Hardness (55-58 HRC): Common in Western knives. These are softer, tougher, more flexible, and easier to sharpen, but require more frequent honing.

Hunting knives are typically made from stainless steel or high-carbon steel.

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The Big Trade-Off: Easy to Sharpen vs Holds an Edge Longer

No matter which type of steel you choose for a knife, there is going to be some aspect that doesn’t measure up to a different type of steel. This is because each type of steel has both benefits and drawbacks, so there isn’t any one perfect steel that will promise edge retention, flexibility, durability, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance. Instead, there are different types of steel that each fill in a specific need.

“Harder steels like high carbon steels (over 60 HRC) retain the edge longer and don’t have to be sharpened as often—but they are also more brittle and prone to chipping so the sharpening method should remove material gently. Softer steels (55–58 HRC) are more durable but not as hard so they dull faster and need to be sharpened more frequently. But because they are less prone to chipping, they can be sharpened with more robust methods,” explains Timo Horl, founder of HORL Knife Sharpeners.

How Different Steel Categories Behave on the Stone

Simple/Low-Alloy Carbon Steels

Low-alloy carbon steels (such as 1095 or 1084) are widely regarded as the most user-friendly steels to sharpen on whetstones, offering a fast, responsive, and keen edge with minimal effort. Because they lack large amounts of chromium and other wear-resistant alloying elements, they do not grind away at the stone's abrasive particles, allowing for quick steel removal and rapid formation of a burr.

Stainless Steels

Stainless steels vary in hardness, so the way they behave on a whetstone depends on the specific type. Softer stainless steels, like 440c, sharpen quickly but require frequent maintenance, while high-alloy steels are much harder and contain more chromium and other elements for edge retention. They require more time and effort to sharpen and may benefit from harder ceramic whetstones or diamond plates.

Horl adds that “stainless steel is more wear resistant due to its alloying elements—particularly the chromium carbides formed during the process—which also makes it more resistant when sharpening, requiring a longer sharpening time and sometimes more patience to remove the burr.”

Powder Metallurgy/“Super Steels”

Powder metallurgical steels have exceptionally high wear resistance, high carbide volume, and high hardness (often 61-65+ HRC). While they hold an edge significantly longer, they require more effort, specific, hard-abrasive stones, and careful technique to sharpen effectively.

“Super steels aim to combine the best of both worlds by balancing hardness and toughness. They are as hard as traditional high performance steels but more chip resistant due to their particularly stable microstructure. Because of this hardness, industrial diamonds are generally recommended for the initial sharpening, followed by finer grit whetstones to gradually build up the edge,” Horl notes.

Choosing the Right Sharpening Medium for Your Steel

Water Stones

Water stones are excellent for achieving fast, extremely sharp edges on steel knives. “In general, I recommend a gentle yet effective method for material removal from any steel, focusing on carefully honing the areas that need it most. Japanese whetstones are particularly well-suited for this approach, as they allow for work with varying grits to remove material delicately and achieve a high level of sharpness,” says Horl.

Though, using a water stone or whetstone requires skill, patience, and a willingness to learn if you don’t already know how to use a whetstone. Additionally, they require soaking prior to use and regular flattening to prevent the stone from developing a hollow groove that can affect sharpening performance.

Diamond Plates

Diamond plates are fast-cutting sharpening mediums for steel knives, especially for maintaining, repairing, or sharpening hard "super steels." They stay perfectly flat, require no soaking, and are easy to use, though they can be aggressive on softer steels, wear out over time, and leave a coarser scratch pattern. Ideally, you should use diamond plates for sharpening harder steels and possibly during the beginning stages when sharpening softer steels, before switching to a more conservative sharpening medium, like a whetstone.

Ceramic

Ceramic is a durable choice for sharpening and finishing steel knives. It’s ideal for fine-tuning edges due to its high hardness, which prevents the "dishing" (uneven wearing) common in softer stones. However, while ceramic stones provide superior stability and long-term value, they are less effective for fixing severely chipped knives compared to diamond alternatives. Rather than using these stones for sharpening, you will find that they are better for daily honing and fine-edge refinement, allowing you to put a razor-sharp finish on the blade.

Pull-Through Systems

Pull-through sharpeners offer extreme convenience, portability, and ease of use for quick edge maintenance at a fixed angle. However, they often produce sub-par sharpness, wear down unevenly over time, and aggressively remove metal. They struggle with hard steel, like Japanese knives, because their abrasive material often lacks the hardness required to cut the steel, instead causing chipping, brittle edge failure, or overheating.

Adjusting Your Technique by Steel Type

The technique used to sharpen your knives stays mostly the same despite steel type, but there are subtle differences to the process. For instance, you would usually use light to medium pressure when sharpening a knife, but for harder steels, you actually use less pressure to avoid damaging the brittle blade. For softer steels, you can apply more pressure to remove the softer metal.

Softer steels often produce a larger burr, so you need to increase the number of alternating strokes with light pressure to ensure the edge is clean. Take your time with the process and aim for functionality over surgical sharpness, employing a bit of extra patience when working with harder alloys to get the result you desire.

Soft high-carbon steels generally produce a subtle, clean, and consistent burr that is easy to feel with a thumb. A leather strop with polishing compound is highly effective for removing the thin, crisp burr.
Stainless steels have a flexible or ‘gummy’ burr that feels large, but it can be difficult to tell if you have reached a clean, fine edge or if the metal is just rolling over. Increasing the angle slightly on the last few passes can burnish the edge, removing the flexible burr.
Hard high-alloy steels often create stubborn burrs that can be very small and hard to feel, often masked by the wear resistance of the steel. Do not force the burr. Use high-grit diamond plates or strops for long, light strokes to remove the burr without excessive metal removal.

Grit Progressions That Work Best

There are general guidelines for grit progressions that will serve you effectively no matter the steel type. “Whetstones are available in different grit levels, and for a dull edge a grit around 400 is a good starting point. From there you can gradually move step by step to finer stones like 3,000 and 6,000. For many types of steel—even for very hard ones—industrial diamonds are particularly well suited for the initial sharpening stage. In general, you should always progress from coarse to fine,” explains Horl.

However, if you want to make specific changes to the way you handle your carbon, stainless, and super steels, then the following grit progressions are effective:

Carbon Steel: Start with 1,000 grit (medium) and proceed to 3,000 to 5,000 grit (fine).
Stainless Steel: Start with 400/800 grit (coarse/medium), move to 1,000 to 2,000 grit (medium-fine), then finish with 3,000 to 5,000 grit (fine).
Super Steels: Start with 400 grit diamond, move to 600 grit diamond, then finish with 1,000 to 1,500 grit diamond. Optionally, you can continue with a 3,000+ diamond or specialized fine ceramic for a polished finish.

Why Expensive Steel Doesn’t Always Mean Sharper

The process of heating and cooling determines the steel's final hardness, toughness, and brittleness. If an expensive steel is improperly heat-treated, it may result in poor edge retention or it may become too brittle and chip during sharpening, nullifying its potential.

Additionally, the geometry, or thickness behind the edge, matters more than the steel grade. A thicker, expensive blade will cut worse than a thinner, cheaper blade. It should also not be understated that the skill of the sharpener can make a significant difference. The technique used to sharpen is more crucial than the metal's cost. Improper technique, such as excessive pressure on a grinder, can create heat, ruining the temper of the steel and making it too soft, which destroys its ability to hold a sharp edge.

Common Frustrations (and Fixes)

“I can’t raise a burr.”

The inability to raise a burr often stems from inconsistent angles, using too fine a grit, or insufficient pressure. To fix this, use a 300 to 500 grit stone, lock your wrist to maintain a strict, consistent angle (usually 15–20 degrees), and check for the burr after every 5 to 10 passes. If it feels smooth, increase the angle slightly.

“It takes forever.”

Sharpening taking too long is usually caused by using too fine a grit, inconsistent angles, or failing to raise a burr. Start with a coarse grit, like 320 to 1,000 grit, for rapid material removal. Focus on maintaining a steady angle throughout the entire stroke. Lock your wrist and elbow, using your shoulder to move the blade. Continue on the coarse stone until a burr (a small metal lip) forms along the entire edge, then switch sides.

“The edge chips.”

Frequent knife edge chipping is usually caused by excessive pressure during sharpening, using too fine a grit on a dull blade, or using the knife on hard surfaces. When the edge of the blade is too thin, or there is a brittle wire edge left behind, this causes the blade to chip. While sharpening, increase the bevel angle slightly for more durability and make sure to properly remove the burr.

Lighten up. Let the abrasive stone do the work as you guide the knife. Use equal, measured strokes on both sides of the blade to ensure even material removal. After sharpening, don’t use the knife on glass, ceramic, or metal cutting boards, and avoid twisting the knife while cutting, which can cause micro-chipping.

“It won’t get razor sharp.”

A blade failing to get razor-sharp, usually stems from inconsistent angles, improper burr management, or skipping coarse grits. Horls notes that “to fix this, use a refining material such as ceramic. Always make sure to clean your knife in a final step, ideally with a leather strop, to remove even the tiniest residues or microscopic burrs because the cleaner the edge, the higher the sharpness.”

Additionally, you should maintain a consistent, fixed angle throughout the stroke. Using a guided sharpener can help maintain this consistency so that you are not accidentally rocking the blade. In rare cases, the blade may be warped or uneven. Check for a warped blade or a recurve in the heel, and ensure you are applying even pressure along the entire length, especially on the curve of the belly.