# Knife steel discussion, AUS6, AUS8? Big Difference?



## EJ Kaga (Mar 24, 2018)

Hi,
Im looking for different steels and see many are AUS8.

Does anyone here have experience with the two of them? Is there much of a difference?
Also do you care if it is AUS6 forged vs AUS8 stamped steel?

So many knives are now stamped but curious to know if forged = higher quality?

Thanks
!


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

They're both going to have been stamped. Pounding on Aus 6 isn't enough to help it overcome its limitations. It's very soft. AUS 8 is somewhat harder but still soft. What's your budget. You can probably find a better choice in that price point. And stamping doesn't mean a knife is bad. There are good steels that can be stamped such as some of Sandvik like 12c27 and 13c27.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

AUS-8 is not the greatest but I'd take it over most any VG-10 except by Tanaka. JKI's "stainless" line uses it to good advantage, their demanded supplier quality is excellent though, a Fujiwara in AUS-8 is not the same thing. AUS-10 is up there with the better of conventional stainless steels. I had a Chinese made knife I believe was the Chinese version of AUS-10 and the edge taking and retention were very good. JKI uses this in there Uraku and AUS-10 Gonbie lines, these are very utilitarian designs in terms of grind.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

While not an exact comparison, AUS6 is usually compared to 440A, AUS 8 to 440B and AUS 10 TO 440c. The aus10 I've seen tended to have a higher hardness than most 440c but I think that's because of a trend to higher hardness in knife steels generally lately. And 440c was the premier knife steel going on 30 years ago. Still a good steel but less commonly used now.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

To further answer the forging question, most knives claiming to be forged are not actually at all, like the typical German stainless with full and partial bolsters, as only the bolsters go through anything even close to a forging process. Some high-tech steels don't tolerate forging, like SRS-15. Forging does nothing to improve many PM steels, as they come from the rolling mills about as refined as they are going to get for knife making.

For most conventional steels though forging does improve grain structure to some greater or lesser extent. By this I mean starting with a stocky billet of some sort and pounding out to rough shape from there, and then cold forging a bit more from there. This costs, of course, in skilled labor time. Simple drop/die-forging has only modest effect.

Rolled stock in high end steels like 52100 and 13c26 are going to produce very good knives with just ordinary blanking and stock removal.

So I guess what's being said here is don't go looking for aus-6 or 8, and don't hold out for forged, especially if price is an issue.


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