Choose your steel for your Corsican knife

The choice of the steel is essential to determine the performance and durability of a knife. Here is a small overview of the most commonly used nuances:

XC75
Features: carbon steel simple (0,75 % carbon), easy to soak, easy to sharpen.
Ideal use: Bushcraft or workshop knives. Good sharpness, easy maintenance, but sensitive to rust → requires a bit of oil and care.

15N20
Characteristics: steel Alloyed with nickel, often used in Damascus for its clear contrast. Good resilience, less brittle than the steels Too hard.
Ideal use: blades fine, kitchen knives or in combination with other steels in the Damascus. Nice balance between strength and flexibility.

90MCV8 (O 2 )
Features: carbon steel enriched with vanadium → very fine grain, excellent cutting hold, good wetness.
Ideal use: utility and hunting knives, where the length of the edge takes precedence. Asks for a little more maintenance than the stainless steel.

XC100
Features: carbon steel very rich (1 % C), very hard after soaking, razor edge but more brittle.
Ideal use: Precision knives, straight shavers, fine blades. To avoid for large knives subjected to shocks.

14C28 (Sandvik)
Features: steel stainless steel modern, developed for kitchen and outdoor knives. Good balance between hardness, corrosion and ease of sharpening.
Ideal use: Kitchen knives or EDC (Every Day Carry) → excellent compromise if you want little maintenance and good resistance to rust.