Thread: About Knife Steel

Hardness and toughness are direct and opposite trade off of each other (only so within the same steel - when received different heat treatment). There are many low end steels that are neither hard nor tough, on the other hand some high end steel are very hard, but also have reasonable tough. See Rockstead knives made with YKR7, super sharp, yet tough enough to chop bamboos thick as an arm.

I found this article below. similar sort of approach as me. Guide to the Best Knife Steel | BestPocketKnifeToday.com

However there are several things I do not agree with this writer. For one, He rates ZDP a "1" for sharpening, while S35VN a "5". This is the opposite of my experience.