The unit of measurement for steel hardness
HRC denotes the Rockwell hardness and is the unit of measurement used to define the hardness of knife steel.
A soft blade shows signs of wear more quickly than a hard one, the wafer-thin cutting edge stays sharp for longer and has outstanding durability thanks to higher hardness. For this reason the quality of a knife is significantly dependent on the hardness of the knife steel.
Good kitchen knives – Made in Germany – are generally in the 55 to 57 HRC range. Outstanding chef’s knives, including ours, can even reach 59 HRC – this hardness is achieved by knives made from Sandvik 12C27 steel.