7Cr17MoV is a decent budget stainless steel, but calling it "high carbon" is mostly a marketing tactic. While it does contain enough carbon to be hardened, it is considered a low-end, entry-level steel in the knife world.
It is a Chinese steel heavily utilized in affordable pocket knives, survival blades (like the Gerber Bear Grylls line), and budget kitchen cutlery.
The Good: Strengths
High Corrosion Resistance: With 17% chromium, it resists rust, stains, and corrosion exceptionally well, even in wet environments.
Incredibly Affordable: It keeps knife prices very low, making it ideal for beat-up work knives or backup tools.
Easy to Sharpen: Because it is relatively soft, you can bring it back to a razor edge quickly with basic sharpening tools.
Good Toughness: The addition of vanadium increases its toughness, making the blade resistant to chipping or snapping under impact.
The Bad: Weaknesses
Poor Edge Retention: It loses its sharpness quickly. You will need to sharpen it frequently if you use it for daily cutting tasks.
Low Carbon Reality: Despite "high carbon" marketing, it only has about 0.7% carbon. True premium high-carbon steels have much more, allowing them to get much harder.
Low Wear Resistance: It wears down faster than modern mid-range tool steels when cutting abrasive materials like cardboard or rope.
How it Compares
440A / 440B: 7Cr17MoV is the Chinese equivalent to American 440A stainless steel, modified with a bit of vanadium for extra toughness.
8Cr13MoV: 8Cr13MoV (the steel you asked about previously) is generally better. It has more carbon, which means it holds an edge noticeably longer than 7Cr17MoV.
7Cr17MoV is perfectly fine for a budget kitchen knife, a tackle box knife, or an emergency tool that you do not use every day. However, if you need a reliable daily pocket knife, upgrading to 8Cr13MoV, D2, or 14C28N will give you much better performance.
