GB Cr4W2MoV Knife Steel
Composition Analysis Graph, Equivalents And Overview

Cr4W2MoV(GB) - Cold work tool and die steel. Occasionally gets listed as a spring steel, which it really isn't. High working hardness and wear resistance. Small amounts of Niobium, which is a very strong carbide former. Niobium carbides are harder than Vanadium(V), Tungsten(W) and Molybdenum(Mo) carbides actually. No direct analogs in western standards. Apparently developed as an upgrade or replacement for the Chinese GB standard Cr12 and Cr12MoV steels, respectively AISI D2 steel and AISI D3 steels. Specs claim greater overall performance and tool lifetime improvement over D2 and D3 steel. Same would be true for knives I suppose. Considering that both alloys are very good performers in knives, Cr4W2MoV has to be a very good choice for knives. I've seen several discussions and inquiries regarding Cr4W2MoV, but so far have not seen an actual knife, which would be very interesting. Official specs mention working hardness in 60-62HRC range, however neither D2 steel nor D3 steel have any issues at 64HRC for light use, high efficiency cutters, so I suppose Cr4W2MoV can do that as well. It's not unusual for an alloy to have recommended hardness listed lower than what it can do in knives, since the recommendations are for the industrial tools, not for the knives.

Manufacturing Technology - Ingot

Country - China(CN)