Spoken like a man of the 60’s, Mr. Martinez. Seriously though, I didn’t think there was a modern day blade aficionado who was unaware of the vast improvements in stainless steels, but ya learn something new every day.

Here’s an easy enough test for your carbon or stainless blades; hold up one sheet of toilet tissue then slice down and cleaving it in two without leaving a ragged edge or even a particle of lint. Some modern stainless steels are actually designed for knives, unlike the jackhammer and spring steels forced into service because there simply wasn’t the science to do anything better.

Today there are. While heat treat remains the single most important factor in durability, keenness, and sharpening, methods such as particulate metallurgy make today’s stainless steels not your granddaddy’s knives. Rendering them at least as good and in some instances far better than carbon steel.