Sliver No.3 Stainless Steel
Sliver No.3 (Hitachi Metals Ltd.) is a very fine-grained Stainless Steel that can attain edge sharpness and edge retention comparable to some High Carbon Steels. It has even been used to create corrosion-resistant versions of Japanese traditional single bevel knives. It is very popular with both professionals and home cooks and is generally believed to be slightly easier to sharpen than VG10.

Damascus is a laminated steel knife made of several layers of different steel materials. The center of the blade is made of hard steel for sharpness, and both sides are covered with multiple soft steel materials. The multiple steels are metallurgically joined, not by plating or glue. The more the blade is forged, the more complex the ripples become, and the more beautiful the unique grain pattern becomes.