Knowledge Graph / Materials & Engineering
Engineering: steels and handle materials
Every blade steel Shirogorov uses or has used, with composition and hardness as the workshop states them, plus the handle materials and decorative metals by model.
On this page
The workshop publishes its own materials sheet, in Russian. The tables below follow it, with the translation cleaned up. The hardness figures are the factory’s own: what it heat-treats to, blade by blade, through several thermal cycles. The model pages carry per-model materials.
Steels in current use
These are the steels the factory lists for the current range and the Custom Division. Hardness is the factory’s stated band.
| Steel | Maker | Composition as stated by the factory | HRC | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M390 | Bohler (Austria), powder | C 1.90, Mn 0.30, Si 0.60, Cr 20.00, Mo 1.00, W 0.60, V 4.00 | 61–62 | The serial standard across F95, F3, Hati, NeOn, 111, Quantum |
| M398 | Bohler, powder | C 2.70, Mn 0.50, Si 0.50, Cr 20.00, Mo 1.00, W 0.70, V 7.20 | 64–65 | Hati Gen 3 option, Mini Quantum, Bio, Russian Overkill, F95 Sinkevich Touch 2021 |
| Elmax | Uddeholm (Sweden), powder | C 1.7, Si 0.8, Mn 0.3, Cr 18.0, Mo 1.0, V 3.0 | 61–62 | The early serial standard; F3 Elmax, 111 |
| Cromax PM | Lohmann | C 1.25, Cr 19.0, Mo 2.1, V 0.8, N 0.1 | 61–62 | Quantum Ursus line from December 2021 and the Quantium Ursus |
| Vanax 37 (Vanax SuperClean) | Uddeholm, nitrogen-alloyed powder | C 0.36, Si 0.35, Mn 0.34, Cr 18.0, Ni 0.18, Mo 1.05, W 0.06, Co 0.05, V 3.38, Cu 0.09, Al 0.005, N 1.53, S 0.009, P 0.187 | 59–60 | F95 option, Pero, Jeans, Dr. Death |
| CPM S90V | Crucible (USA), powder; formerly CPM 420V | C 2.3, Mn 0.40, Cr 14.0, V 9.0, Mo 1 | 62–63 | F95 and Hati option, CDX S90V, Quantum Blue CD, Nura, Seasons |
| CPM S110V | Crucible, powder | C 2.8, Cr 15.25, V 9.0, Mo 2.25, Nb 3.0, Co 2.5 | 64–65 | Kami |
| CPM MagnaCut | Crucible, powder; designed by Larrin Thomas | C 1.15, Cr 10.70, V 4.00, Mo 2.00, Nb 2.00, Mn 0.50, N 0.20, Si 0.40 | 63–64 | Molten Overkill 2023 (the first collaboration in MagnaCut); Astrum First Production and the 2025 Astrum CD run (the first of the workshop’s own models), MidiQ CD, Fat Strip, Fit Strip |
| Damasteel | Damasteel AB (Sweden), powder-metallurgy stainless Damascus | Two powder steels (RWL34 and PMC27) hot-isostatic-pressed to full density in a sealed evacuated capsule; patterns include Thor, Odin’s Eye, Heimskringla | 60–62 | Custom Division pieces, F7, 111 Ti Bronze CD and F3-B CD (both Vinland), Dr. Death Arctic, Quantum SR (thirty pieces in Björkmans Twist, Vinland and Ægir) |
| ZDI Damascus | Zladinox (Russia), layered stainless Damascus | ZDI-1016 is a laminate of two Russian stainless steels, 140Kh18 and 60Kh14 (on the MidiQ SR); ZDI-E is Zladinox’s Elmax-based laminate (on the Astrum SR). Neither contains ZDP-189 | 58–62 | Sprint Runs (MidiQ SR), select CD pieces; CannaBis Ice in ZDI-V |
| Hand-forged Damascus | Mike Norris (USA) and Russian smiths | Pattern-welded; Norris patterns and mosaic Damascus | A few Custom Division pieces; F7 Bronze TKI edition (Mike Norris Damascus) |
Steels used previously
The factory lists these as steels it has used and moved on from. Hardness is the factory’s stated band.
| Steel | Maker | Notes | HRC |
|---|---|---|---|
| AISI 440C | Various | Chrome bearing steel in blade use since the late 1960s; on early serial models | 58–59 |
| ATS-34 | Hitachi Metals (Japan) | High-carbon chrome bearing steel; close to 154CM and RWL34 | 59–60 |
| RWL34 | Damasteel/Erasteel (Sweden) | Powder-metallurgy analogue of ATS-34; on the CannaBis True | 59–60 |
| BG-42 | Timken Latrobe (USA); Lescalloy AMS 5749 | Bearing steel; early production | 59–60 |
| Cronidur 30 | FAG (Germany) | High-nitrogen bearing steel; also the screw steel on Custom Division knives | 59–60 |
| Cronidur 30EVO | FAG, with A. Balikoev’s proprietary heat treatment | Treated for edge wear resistance | 59–60 |
| CPM 3V | Crucible | Very tough, low corrosion resistance; used selectively | 60–61 |
| CPM S30V | Crucible, with Chris Reeve | Vanadium-carbide powder steel; mid-period production | 59–60 |
| CPM S35VN | Crucible | S30V with niobium; transitional period | 59–60 |
| Vanax 35 | Uddeholm | C 0.2, N 1.9, Si 0.3, Mn 0.3, Cr 20.0, Mo 2.5, V 2.8; on the Technobamboo | 59–60 |
| Vanadis 10 | Uddeholm | C 2.9, Cr 8.0, Mo 1.5, V 9.8, Si 0.5, Mn 0.30; on the F7 | 63–65 |
| ZDP-189 | Hitachi Metals, 1996 | High-carbon powder steel; Coordinal | 64–65 |
| CowryX | Daido Steel (Japan) | Close to ZDP-189 with slightly better toughness | 64–65 |
440C left the range on economics rather than metallurgy. The knives built on it sold at prices that no longer covered what they cost to make, and Sergey Shirogorov has said an expensive knife in an inexpensive steel looked wrong in any case. The same arithmetic ended the workshop’s attempt at a mass-market knife, an Elmax blade on an all-G10 handle with no titanium and no liners: it cost more to build than its price, and the hand-finishing share that sets the price of every Shirogorov, on the tier ladder, does not scale down.
Two things that get asked about constantly. The workshop uses imported steels, not domestic ones, for stability of quality. And screws are tempered stainless: AISI 420 on serial models, Cronidur 30 on Custom Division knives.
Titanium
Handles and liners are Russian-sourced VT6, the VIAM (Moscow) designation of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy: Ti 86 to 90, Al 5.3 to 6.8, V 3.5 to 5.3, Zr 0.3, Si 0.1, Fe 0.6, C 0.1. The workshop finishes it four ways: stonewashed (the standard), bead-blasted (matte, grippier, and where snail trails show first), anodized (bronze and blue most often, an oxide layer rather than a coating, which is why it burnishes with handling), and DEPT, a chemical deep-etch that puts a functional texture on the surface. Milling patterns are the other titanium signature: the geometric production patterns, the F95T’s turtle-shell hexagons, the Monkey Edge Frag pattern, and the Custom Division’s deeper 3D work.
Carbon fiber and the composites
The factory describes its carbon fiber as 600 layers of parallel threads, each layer under 30 microns, resin-filled and laid at 45 degrees to the layer below; that describes the stock sheet, since 600 layers at 30 microns is 18 mm, several times a finished scale. It appears as show-side scales on the Hati (Gen 3, 2022: a random-weave front scale and an inlay, with 3D-milled carbon on later pieces), as inlays on the NL models, and as full scales on some collaborations. Marbled and twill weaves are both used.
TechnoCarbo is the branded carbon composite from Carbo-Ti (Italy), used for inlays and scales in black, blue, purple, copper, bronze, white and the earth-toned “Rare Earth” pattern; the 111 Terrus wears the bronze. Alutex is the same company’s metallized fiberglass, a glossy aluminum-coated cloth set in epoxy, on Hati special editions and the Dr. Death Arctic. G-10 (glass cloth in epoxy) carries the accessible models: Quantum Ursus, HatiOn Lite, the standard F3. Micarta (layered cloth in phenolic) is on the F3 standard and the Soft Overkill series; it is below G-10 and carbon in tensile strength, which is why it is a scale, not a frame.
Decorative and natural materials
Zirconium for backspacers and clips on Custom Division pieces; Timascus and mokuti (pattern-welded titanium) for collars and accents on collaboration and CD models; copper inlays on special editions; gold accents on the 111 Aerum. Mother of pearl and mammoth ivory appear as inlays on a few Custom Division pieces.
Questions answered: The service and care FAQ.