Of the steels we stock, CPM-20CV and CPM MagnaCut hold an edge longest, both running 60 to 64 HRC with high carbide volume. Below them sit S35VN and S30V, then VG-10 and D2, then 440C and 9Cr18MoV, then the budget stainless grades. Edge retention is only one axis, and the steels that lead it are the hardest to sharpen.
Wear resistance tracks carbide volume and hardness. CPM-20CV at roughly 1.9% carbon and 4% vanadium is the wear-resistance leader in our range. MagnaCut is close behind while being far tougher and more corrosion resistant.
Then S35VN and S30V, then VG-10 and D2, then 440C and 9Cr18MoV, then the value grades.
Geometry beats alloy in most real cutting. A thin, well-ground blade in D2 will out-cut a thick one in 20CV, and it will feel sharper for longer because it is doing less work per cut.
Heat treat also varies more between makers than the alloy list suggests. A carefully treated mid-tier steel can beat a carelessly treated premium one.
Every steel at the top of this ranking is slow and demanding to sharpen, and most trade away toughness to get there. If you sharpen willingly, a mid-tier steel gives you a sharper knife more of the time.
Buy for how you maintain knives, not for the chart.
Every steel we stock, with its published composition, hardness range and the trade it makes, is documented in the Steel Lab.