Some knives say  “German Steel“, usually with the steel identification, such as “X50CrMoV15“. But many don’t say “Made in Germany”. So where are they made?

Probably China. In fact, such knives almost always never say “Made in China”. All this could lead buyers to think it is made in Germany. So is “German Steel” misleading advertising?

Canada has CSA (Canadian Standards Association), which develops standards in 57 areas. Germany’s equivalent is DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung, or in English, German Institute for Standardisation Registered Association). DIN has standardised over 300 steel formulas. Some are good for knives. Since the patents have long expired, anyone, including the Chinese, can make such a steel following the same formulation of iron, Chromium (” Cr”), Molydenium ( “Mo”), and Vanadium (” V”). 

I read somewhere that there are over 1,500 Chinese manufacturers making “German Steel” knives. So is this misleading advertising? Well, China’s low manufacturing cost means you can buy a knife made with decent steel for not much money!