We investigate vicinal surfaces of fee (111) transition metals with cl
ose-packed step edges in the tight-binding model. There are two types
of such vicinals, A and B, since there exist two types of steps with c
lose-packed edges obtainable on fee (111) surfaces. We calculate energ
ies and energy differences of these vicinal surfaces, their steps, and
the interaction between steps for a number of terrace widths. It is s
een that steps of type A are preferred for metals with high d band fil
lings (e.g., Pt) while for lower d band fillings (e.g., Ir), steps of
type B are more stable. Finally, the interaction energy between steps
is shown to be a (decaying) oscillatory function with both terrace wid
th and band filling. Its magnitude is found to be comparable to the el
astic interaction energy between steps at short distances and low temp
eratures.