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Böhler Elmax knife steel

Böhler Elmax is a powder-metallurgy (PM) stainless knife steel, typically hardened to HRC 59-62.

TypeStainless · powder metallurgy
HardnessHRC 59-62
Edge retentionhighhigher than 19 of 48, tied with 17
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 tierPremium
Best forEDC / foldersKitchen

Böhler Elmax chemical composition

CCrMoVMnSi
1.718130.30.8

Nominal weight %. Source: Uddeholm product page. What the alloying adds: vanadium (3%) gives hard vanadium carbides, the main source of wear resistance.

Knives in Böhler Elmax

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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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