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1.4116 is a stainless steel often associated with practical kitchen and everyday knives. Its appeal is straightforward stainless care and an edge you can maintain regularly, rather than long abrasive cutting life. The maker’s heat treatment and the shape of the blade deserve just as much attention as the grade name.
What Is 1.4116 Steel?
Acerinox identifies its ACX 380 product as EN 1.4116, X50CrMoV15 and 420MoV. The composition shown here is that producer’s specification, with ranges rather than a single universal recipe. A vague commercial 420MoV label is not enough to establish that an unknown blade follows this exact specification.
Performance Ratings
For the science, we turn to Dr. Larrin Thomas of Knife Steel Nerds, who has kindly allowed us to share his ratings here.
| Property | 1.4116 |
|---|---|
| Abrasive edge retention | |
| Toughness | |
| Corrosion resistance |
Heat treatment, hardness and geometry affect actual knives.
Explore 1.4116’s Tradeoffs
Choose a steel above to highlight its position and see all three exact ratings below. The full map fits your screen.
Stainless
1.4116
- Abrasive edge retention
- 2.5
- Toughness
- 2.5
- Corrosion resistance
- 8
All 48 rated materials. Numbers group steels at identical coordinates; colors describe stainless classification, not corrosion scores. Neither direction means a universally better knife.
1.4116’s ratings are shown above. Enable JavaScript to select another steel, or browse the full ratings table.
What to Expect from the Edge
Its abrasive edge-retention rating is 2.5. For frequent slicing through wear-heavy materials, expect maintenance to matter more than it would with a higher-wear steel. A thin blade can still cut efficiently: ease of cutting and resistance to abrasive wear are different qualities.
Toughness Is a Separate Consideration
The toughness rating is also 2.5. Do not assume modest wear resistance automatically means high resistance to chipping. Match the edge angle to your use and avoid side loads or hard impacts. The ratings describe the selected framework, not a guarantee about every knife sold under this designation.
Sharpening and Stainless Care
Use the existing bevel as a guide for maintenance and choose a starting grit appropriate to the edge’s condition. Touching up before the knife becomes very dull keeps the job smaller. The corrosion-resistance rating is 8, a useful strength for wet cutting tasks, but washing away residue and drying the blade remain worthwhile. Stainless steel can still stain or corrode.
When Does 1.4116 Make Sense?
Consider 1.4116 when the knife itself suits your work and you are comfortable maintaining the edge. For light household cutting, a comfortable handle and efficient blade shape may matter more than a long list of alloying elements. For sustained abrasive work or repeated edge damage, compare both wear resistance and toughness before choosing an alternative.
Composition
Our steel composition guide explains what the elements do and how to read these values.
1.4116: Acerinox ACX 380 / EN 1.4116 composition ranges and maximum limits, mass %; one producer specification, not a finished-blade assay. Acerinox: EN 1.4116 / ACX 380.
| Element | 1.4116 |
|---|---|
| Carbon (C) | 0.45–0.55% |
| Chromium (Cr) | 14–15% |
| Molybdenum (Mo) | 0.5–0.8% |
| Vanadium (V) | 0.1–0.2% |
| Silicon (Si) | ≤0.75% |
| Manganese (Mn) | ≤1% |
| Phosphorus (P) | ≤0.04% |
| Sulfur (S) | ≤0.015% |
