Metal Guide: High Carbon vs. Stainless Steel

Everyone knows high carbon steel rusts and stainless steel doesn’t, right?

That is not exactly the whole story.

The reality is, there’s a lot of diversity among tool steels, even within the categories of high carbon steel and stainless steel. Additionally, new material developments in the steel industry are challenging what we think we know.

So let’s explore high carbon steel vs stainless steel, taking a look at their differences to provide a better understanding of what makes the best tool steel for your specific needs.

What are high carbon steels?

High carbon steel is really just iron with carbon and other elements added to it. To be labeled as carbon steel, the material composition has to meet a few criteria:

Minimum copper content can’t exceed 0.4%

Maximum copper content can’t exceed 0.6%

Maximum silicon content can’t exceed 0.6%

Maximum manganese content can’t exceed 1.65%

Other elements, like chromium, cobalt, and nickel, have no criteria to meet.

As the name suggests, high carbon steel has a higher content of carbon. Carbon is what makes steel harden. The higher carbon content differentiates carbon steel from a mild steel, like 1045, which doesn’t have enough carbon to harden and retain an edge for knives.

One of our favorite carbon steels to use is W2. W2 can take and retain a great edge and from an aesthetic aspect, this steel can develop a beautiful hamon. Other high carbon steels we like to use include 80CrV2, 52100, and 1095. 

Some reasons we love high carbon steel

High carbon steels are wear-resistant, shock-resistant, and highly resilient. They’re a particularly great choice for hunting, working, and tools on tough jobs for some of the following reasons:

Toughness. High carbon steel has a high level of toughness you want in working tools. Technically, the carbon alone isn’t what makes these steels tough; it’s what makes them harden. The heat treatment, which changes the materials at a molecular level, and the mix of the other elements in the steel are what make a steel tough.

Cost. High carbon steels are a much less expensive option when compared to stainless steel, which helps keep the overhead costs lower. 

Easy to forge. High carbon steels are very easy to forge. Although we don’t utilize forging in our process, many other makers love carbon steel because it moves much easier than stainless steel during the forging process. Anyone who has a backyard forge and an anvil can heat it up and heat treat it without too many tools.  It’s also easy to use for making pattern welded steel (see our article on pattern welded steel coming out next year).

Easy to sharpen. High carbon steels are easier to  maintain an edge and sharpen at home as compared to stainless steels.

Some limitations of high carbon steel

Corrosion. The biggest drawback with high carbon steel is what everyone already knows; an increased potential for rust and corrosion (see our guide on how to prevent this Metals Guide: Patina vs. Rust).

Aesthetic. High carbon steels don’t take on a shiny, reflective polish. Some folks love a brilliant mirror finish on their blades and stainless steel can be a better option for that.

So what is stainless steel?

The big difference is chromium. To be considered stainless, the material must have a minimum chromium level of at least 10.5%. Like with high carbon steels, the makeup includes many other elements, but chromium is the ingredient with set criteria.

Our favorite is Nitro-V, which has high toughness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. Other popular stainless steels include AEB-L and MagnaCut.

Some reasons we love stainless steel

Corrosion resistance. The greatest advantage of stainless steel is its inherent resistance to rust and corrosion. This makes it very low maintenance. It tends to last longer for the same reason. 

Aesthetic. Stainless steel can take a beautiful finish. You can achieve a highly polished mirror finish, or other interesting textures.

We chose to make our Foundation Series tools (coming out in 2026) out of stainless steel for some of these reasons!

Some limitations of stainless steel

Cost. Stainless steel is very expensive, from the material itself to the heat treatment and additional mandatory cryogenic treatment. It all adds up to a more expensive tool.

Lower toughness. Stainless steel tends to get really hard, which makes it wear-resistant, but which also makes it less tough. There are some exceptions to this rule, but it follows his principle in general.

Difficult to sharpen. Stainless steel can be more challenging to sharpen at home.

So which should you choose?

Ultimately, you have to determine what kind of a knife you’re buying and what you’ll be using it for. The high carbon steel tools are a great option for a camp knife that you might use a lot for making kindling and want to easily sharpen at home. For a tool you’ll be using around water and other corrosive materials, you want a rust and corrosion resistant stainless steel option. 

By comparing the limitations and advantages to each tool material, you can pick which material is right for you.