The steel that Council uses for the Velvicut line, 5160, is quite revered in the knife community for having outstanding toughness along with good edge retention. Kudos to them for selecting a steel with these kinds of qualities. The axe is advertised as having a Rockwell hardness of 50-54 at the bit (the axe's edge). This particular axe tested in at RC 53. By comparison, the Swedish manufacturers Gransfors Bruks and Wetterlings harden their high carbon steel axe bits in the range of RC 56-58.