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CTS-204P knife steel

CTS-204P is a powder-metallurgy (PM) stainless knife steel, typically hardened to HRC 59-62.

TypeStainless · powder metallurgy
HardnessHRC 59-62
Edge retentionvery-highhigher than 37 of 48, tied with 5
Corrosion resistancevery-highhigher than 39 of 48, tied with 6
Toughnessmediumhigher than 4 of 48, tied with 20
Ease of sharpeninghard to sharpenamong the hardest to sharpen of 49
Price tierSuper / high-end
Best forEDC / folders

CTS-204P chemical composition

CCrMoVWMnSi
1.920140.650.350.6

Nominal weight %. Source: Carpenter alloy finder. What the alloying adds: vanadium (4%) gives hard vanadium carbides, the main source of wear resistance; tungsten (0.65%) gives hard tungsten carbides that keep their hardness when hot.

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Knives in CTS-204P

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Tiers last verified 2026-06-11 · properties are documented consensus tiers; real performance depends on heat treat & geometry (methodology)

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