You ever was looking for low budget knives, and you bumped into 7cr17MoV knives because that’s how I did found out about it, I needed a 20/30 Usd survival knife, and I found many low-end steels used in this category of knives, on of theme was the 7cr17MoV Steel knife, and since I had no idea about it, I decided to do some researches about it, and I end up doing a 7cr17MoV Steel Review.
So if you wish to know more about this steel, keep reading this blog post, I answered some common questions about it (like What is it? What is its chemical composition? What is its hardness? How hard is it? Is it good or no ? and other questions) So let’s dive in.
7cr17MoV is Chinese stainless steel, made for budget knives and fixed blades, it’s very high in Chromium which makes it great for corrosion resistance.
7cr17mov steel composition
- 0,75% of Carbon: It improves hardness and wear/corrosion resistance, but a high amount of it decreases strength.
- 18% of Chromium: For tensile strength and Edge retention, and enhances corrosion resistance and wear resistance.
- 0,75 of Molybdenum: Increase Machinability and strength.
- 0,6% Nitrogen: Improves strength and edge retention.
- 1% of Manganese: Increases hardness and brittleness.
- 1% Silicon: Improves Strength.
- 0,04% of Phosphorus: Increases strength.
- 0,04% of Sulfur: Increases machinability.
As you can see, the chemical composition of the 7cr17MoV is a mixture of high Chromium and mid carbon, for great corrosion resistance and hardness.
7cr17mov steel hardness (Rockwell Hardness)
The maximum Rockwell hardness of the 7Cr17MoV is 60-63 HRC.
If you need to understand the terms “Rockwell hardness” or “HRC” read the following blog post for more Info.
7cr17mov steel properties
According to the chemical composition and the HRC of the steel, the 7cr17mov Steel has the following features:
7cr17mov Edge Retention: 7Cr17mov offers good edge retention, not the best but a decent one, compared to low-end steels, you can find better.
7cr17mov Corrosion Resistance: 7cr17Mov offers good corrosion resistance due to the high chromium used in it.
7cr17mov Wear Resistance: it’s good for wear resistance, with more than 0.5% of carbon, it has a great wear resistance for low-end steel.
7cr17mov Sharpness: The steel is not very hard, so sharpening it would be an easy task.
7cr17mov Toughness: not a great toughness, being low-end steel with good hardness and high corrosion resistance, results in a low toughness, but it’s a decent one.
7cr17mov steel equivalent
7cr17mov is basically a copy of the 440A Steel so that the first equivalent would be the 440A, they have a close chemical composition, both low-end stainless steel, both great in corrosion resistance, with a decent toughness and ease of sharpness, and they fall in the same price range.
Is 7cr17mov steel good for Knives?
Yes, it would be great steel for your knife, especially if you’re limited in budget, but of course, it’s not the best compared to other low-end stainless steel, and let me remind you It depends on your usage, so if you intending to use it, it has a good corrosion resistance and hardness, so it could be a great choice for kitchen knife, but if you wish to use as a survival knife or hunting knife, make sure to grab sharpening rock on you, it’s not so great in edge retention, and you might end up with a dull knife if you don’t take good care of it.
Best 7cr17mov Knives
CIMA Fixed Blade Knife
So if you’re looking for something cheap yet strong for your outdoor activities, like hunting, or camping o even batoning, here is a great choice the CIMA offers a 3.34” drop point plain edge blade, comes with a micarta handle for better grab and to avoid slipperily, and it has an index finger choil with a thumb rump, which makes the knife very ergonomic, it comes with an ABS Sheat for better carry, this knife was recommended to me by a friend, telling me it’s cheap and strong, and he was right, check it out.
Conclusion
I can’t stress enough about one thing: low-end steel doesn’t mean bad steel, don’t get the wrong idea once you hear “low-end” steel, many users own a Chinese 7cr17mov low-end steel and they’re happy with it, so if you’re looking for a budget knife that can do the “normal” usage, don’t be afraid of a Chinese steel like the 7cr17mov, it offers good properties for it price (a grate trade honestly!), but it needs some work (oiling and cleaning after usage) to keep it in shape, and I have good news for you, its very easy to sharpen.
If you have another opinion about this steel, feel free to share it in the comments below, I’ll gladly discuss knives and steels with you.
