8Cr13MoV is a very prevalent Chinese stainless steel. A.G. Russell Knives, CRKT, Kershaw, and many other makers use it extensively. The steel composition is comparable with Japanese AUS-8. With our heat treat, our customers have told us that it holds an edge really well and it is easy to restore the edge when it finally dulls. Some folks look down upon 8Cr13MoV due to it's prevalence in affordable knives - but the fact of the matter is that for the price, it performs well and above what might be expected. The reason it is so prevalent is that it does a good job. Certainly you can find cheaper steels, but for performance per dollar 8Cr13MoV is one of the best options. As the name implies it has 0.80% Carbon, 0.40% Manganese, 13% Chromium, 0.20 Nickel, 0.10% Vanadium, 0.15% Molybdenum, and has a typical Rockwell of 58-59.
