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AUS-8 is a conventional stainless knife steel with modest abrasive edge retention and a useful toughness balance. It can suit everyday cutting when you are happy to maintain the edge and like the knife's design. Its familiar place in affordable knives is not a reason to dismiss it, or to expect every AUS-8 blade to perform the same way.
What Is AUS-8 Steel?
AUS-8 is a Japanese-developed stainless grade. It has a similar composition to 8Cr13MoV, but the two names should not be used interchangeably when describing a knife. The composition shown here is Spyderco's knife-maker-reported AUS-8 data, not a producer certificate for every blade.
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.
Thomas groups AUS8 and 8Cr13MoV in this ratings row. The composition below remains specific to AUS-8.
| Property | AUS-8 |
|---|---|
| Abrasive edge retention | |
| Toughness | |
| Corrosion resistance |
Heat treatment, hardness and geometry affect actual knives.
Explore AUS-8’s Tradeoffs
Choose a steel above to highlight its position and see all three exact ratings below. The full map fits your screen.
Stainless
AUS-8
- Abrasive edge retention
- 3Published pooled row
- Toughness
- 6Published pooled row
- Corrosion resistance
- 7Published pooled row
Same position; corrosion ratings may differ:
All 48 rated materials. Numbers group steels at identical coordinates; colors describe stainless classification, not corrosion scores. Neither direction means a universally better knife.
AUS-8’s ratings are shown above. Enable JavaScript to select another steel, or browse the full ratings table.
Edge Retention for Daily Cutting
AUS-8 has an abrasive edge-retention rating of 3 in Thomas's framework. That is a modest wear rating, making regular touch-ups a reasonable part of ownership when the knife sees abrasive cutting. The blade's grind and sharpness still influence how easily each cut feels.
Toughness and Edge Support
Its toughness rating is 6, giving it more emphasis on resistance to fracture than many wear-focused choices. That does not guarantee an undamaged edge in every knife. A blade needs an edge angle and heat treatment suited to its work, especially if it is ground thin for easy slicing.
Sharpening and Rust Care
Suitable conventional sharpening stones can work with AUS-8. Follow the existing bevel for maintenance, choose a coarser abrasive if damage needs removing and finish with careful burr removal. A simple, consistent routine can be more useful than waiting until the edge needs a major repair.
Its corrosion-resistance rating is 7. Clean and dry the blade after wet use or food preparation, especially around salt and acidic residue. Stainless convenience still comes with ordinary care for the blade and hardware.
When Is an AUS-8 Knife a Good Choice?
An AUS-8 knife can be a good choice when the blade shape, handle, construction and price suit your needs. For occasional cutting, those details may matter more than a higher wear rating. If you repeatedly wear an edge dull during long sessions, compare more wear-resistant alternatives. Our knife steel guide explains the wider choices.
Our 14C28N profile offers another everyday stainless option to consider.
Composition
Our steel composition guide explains what the elements do and how to read these values.
AUS-8: Spyderco knife-maker-reported composition: ranges and single reported values, not a producer batch certificate. Single figures are reproduced as listed; the source does not identify whether each is a typical value or a limit. Spyderco: steel chart.
| Element | AUS-8 |
|---|---|
| Carbon (C) | 0.7–0.75% |
| Chromium (Cr) | 13–14.5% |
| Molybdenum (Mo) | 0.1–0.3% |
| Vanadium (V) | 0.1–0.26% |
| Nickel (Ni) | 0.49% |
| Manganese (Mn) | 0.5% |
| Silicon (Si) | 1% |
| Phosphorus (P) | 0.04% |
| Sulfur (S) | 0.03% |
