Could someone point me to a website that lists and explains the different terminologies when it comes to describing steel.
I know there are different grades of steel, but I also come across terms liked "forged steel" and "440 stainless steel" . While I know in general terms what they mean, I would like to know what the difference in terms of strength, edge keeping ability, ease of sharpening etc etc. Whats good and what not so good?
Thanks for your help

A. G. Russell has a nice FAQ.

www.ragweedforge.com Ragnar has a brief, but helpfull article on knives. His booklist has many resources, www.engnath.com/public/steel.htm sorts out what some of these steels actually do, and do not. Modern technology is rapidly making some old truths false! Powdered and custom cast steels are coming out of makers more properly called laboratories instead of mills or forges. History and Literature hold lessons still. In the Illiad, the champions were always bending and breaking swords. Those weapons were CAST bronze. Things improved when the Hittites came up with iron and later the discovery of steel. FORGING of course involves hammering, which compresses the molecular structure into tighter and stronger assemblies. Richard Couer de Lion ( in an apocryphal story) split an anvil with a forged steel broadsword to impress Saladin. Saladin took his DAMASCENE, or folded and laminated scimitar and let a silk scarve float down on the blade, cutting itself in two with no force. Finally we have Sylvester Stallone, who won Vietnam with a hollow handled survival knife and set us back 20 years <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for both the replies - the links cover all I wanted to know.
As a point of interest, links to King Richard 1st crusades which you refer too and his battles with Salidin can still be found over here, with pub names such as "The Saracens Head" and "The Turks Head" - at least until the PC brigade get on thier high horses.... <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
As for Mr Stallone AKA Rambo.....reminds me of Mel Gibson AKA Braveheart - great fun but historically challenged <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Do you mean to say that Mel really doesn't shoot lightning bolts out of his nether regions? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Vince