VG-10 Stainless Steel for Knife Blades
VG-10 Stainless Steel
Manufacturer: Takefu Special Steel
VG-10 is a popular knife steel used extensively by Spyderco. VG-10 is short for V Gold 10, and is manufactured exclusively by Takefu Special Steel in Japan. VG-10 is quite unique in it's composition using Molybdenum, Cobalt and Vanadium in the mixture. VG-10 is typically hardened to anywhere from RC 58-61.
According to Takefu, the Cobalt makes the substrate stronger, and the addition of Moly and Vanadium form harder carbides increasing the wear resistance and thus improving edge retention. Additionally, VG-10 has excellent corrosion resistance, making it a fantastic all-round steel comparible to CPM 154CM but cheaper to manufacture.
Aside from Spyderco, other companies using VG-10 including Fallkniven, Sog, and Kershaw Shun Kitchen knives. VG-10 in particular seems to be used a lot in laminated steels as in the case of Fallkniven and the Kershaw Shun. A.G. Russell also has a set of kitchen knives that resemble the Kershaw Shun. This may be because Takefu produces this steel in laminated forms making it readily available.
Composition
| C | Co | Cr | Mn | Mo | Si | S | Ni | V |
| 1 | 1.5 | 15 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 0.2 |