5Cr15MoV in stock
It is a budget steel that sits a rung above 3Cr13. 5Cr15MoV runs about 0.50% carbon and 15% chromium with small molybdenum and vanadium additions, at 52 to 56 HRC. Corrosion resistance is very good thanks to the higher chromium, edge retention is fair, and toughness is good.
The extra carbon over 3Cr13 lifts hardness into the low-to-mid 50s, and the extra chromium improves corrosion resistance further. Small molybdenum and vanadium additions refine the grain a little.
It is the common step between 3Cr13 and 8Cr13MoV, and it behaves like it.
Fine for kitchen knives, light utility work, and anything that gets wet and neglected. It will not hold an edge through a day of cardboard.
Because it is soft, it takes an edge quickly on any abrasive, which suits users who touch up little and often rather than sharpening properly once a season.
If the knife is a tool you use daily, 8Cr13MoV is a small step in price and a clear step in performance. If it is an occasional-use blade, 5Cr15MoV is honest value.
Do not run it at a very acute angle. Soft steel rolls.
The grid below shows 5Cr15MoV listings from Gerber and Kershaw, chosen from the catalog when this answer was written. Each one carries 5Cr15MoV in its own specification table, and its price is read from the live catalog every time the site is built.
The full reference entry, with the published composition and hardness range and every listing we carry in it, is 5Cr15MoV in the Steel Lab.
