In cutlery, mainly martensitic stainless steels are used. These steels are very hard and consist of a high proportion of chromium, carbon and other elements that have interesting properties – for example, molybdenum or vanadium. Knife blades must be easy to sharpen, have good machinability and cut well. However: these properties cannot be achieved at the same time. Therefore, a compromise must be found depending on the intended use of the knife. To obtain the hard structure known as martensite, the blade must be subjected to a suitable heat treatment, for example annealing, hardening or tempering.