When purchasing a knife, many factors are considered but it all comes down to how effective the knife will be for use. Today, we focus on the CTS BD1 steel (a detailed guide of all you need to know). You never know it might be your next pick for purchase.
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Is CTS BD1 Steel Good for Knives?
The CTS BD1 steel has some good knife qualities for example good wear resistance. It makes good knife steel when compared to other low-end steels.
Without further delay, let us dive into the details.
What is CTS BD1 Steel?
The CTS BD1 steel is a low-end high carbon stainless steel made through vacuum melting and forms part of the upper mid-range steels.
Chemical Composition of the CTS BD1 Steel
The CTS BD1 steel is composed of the following chemical elements:
- Silicon
- Vanadium
- Chromium
- Carbon
- Manganese
- Molybdenum
Functions of the Chemical Constituents of CTS BD1 Steel
As seen earlier, the CTS BD1 steel contains six minor elements. We now look at their percentage composition and how they make this steel better.
Chromium
Chromium has the highest composition ranging from 15.50% to 15.75%. Not only does it improve the corrosion resistance but also the wear resistance.
Moreover, it enhances the edge retention and tensile strength of the steel. The tensile strength of a material is its ability to resist fracture or breakage when under tension.
Vanadium
Vanadium has the least composition of 0.10%. it enhances the wear resistance and hardenability of CTS BD1 steel. Hardness varies from the hardenability of a material.
Most steels are made through thermal or heat treatment. Hardenability, therefore, is how heard the steel gets during its formation making it better steel.
Carbon
The CTS BD1 steel has a high carbon content of 0.9%. Carbon enhances the corrosion and wearing resistance of the steel. Additionally, it increases its hardness too.
Molybdenum
Molybdenum adds to the machinability and strength of the CTS BD1 steel and has a composition of 0.30%.
Silicon
Silicon has a 0.37% in the CTS BD1 steel and it increases its tensile strength.
Manganese
It works towards improving the hardness and brittleness of the steel and it has a 0.60% composition.
Properties of the CTS BD1 Steel
Hardness
The CTS BD1 steel is a hard steel that can withstand different stress and pressures. Its hardness scales from 58-60HRC (Rockwell Hardness).
Machinability
The CTS BD1 steel has good machinability. Machinability allows for steel to be easily cut therefore it can make different knife variations. Moreover, it gives knives a good finish during their making.
Corrosion Resistance
Chromium is responsible for the corrosion resistance in steel. The CTS BD1 steel has a high chromium percentage thus has high corrosion. Additionally, the carbon content adds to the corrosion resistance.
Sharpness
Despite its hardness, the CTS BD1 steel is easy to sharpen. It can be sharpened with any sharpening tool for example a sharpening stone.
Edge Retention
The CTS BD1 steel does not have the best edge retention. However, it is relatively good especially, when compared to other steels in the low-end category. It can handle various tasks without getting blunt and if it does, you can easily sharpen it.
Wear resistance
The CTS BD1 steel has a high carbon percentage which is responsible for its great wear resistance.
Toughness
The CTS BD1 steel has mild toughness. It cannot handle very difficult tasks.
Advantages of the CTS BD1 Steel
Easy to sharpen
A CTS BD1 steel knife can work well for both outdoor and indoor tasks. Although it does not retain its edge for long, you can easily sharpen it back to normal.
Price
Knives made from CTS BD1 steel come at an affordable price that is in line with their qualities.
Polishing
The CTS BD1 steel refines well resulting in quality knives with a good finish.
Corrosion Resistant
As the name suggests, the CTS BD1 is a stainless type of steel. It can perform different tasks for a long time without corroding.
Final Thoughts
According to the discussion above, we can conclude that the CTS BD1 steel will make a relatively good knife for different tasks (i.e.it is affordable, corrosion and, wear-resistant). However, this all depends on the type of knife that you are looking for.
