R2 and SG-2 steel

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cclin

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I read a lot of posts on KKF regarding R2 steel and lots of people like R2 but don't really know what R2 steel is made of. many members believe R2 is the best steel they've used and think R2 steel is better than SG-2 steel. I want to share my R2 knife shopping experience.
As I started shopping/research for a R2 knife few months ago, During my research, I found Takamura gyuto was listed as R2 steel in the Japan/European market, but listed as a SG2 steel in the US market.So, I e-mail some Japan knife vender regarding my R2/SG2 question, the replies were not definite and they thinks R2 and SG2 are very similar steel. moreover, A friend of my asked Mr. Itou the same question for me at Knife Show in Seki City. Mr. Itou confirm R2/SG2 steels are the same, but his R2 knife is better than Shun's sg2 knives because his hand hammer forging & heat treated process!
I also e-mailed Koki about the same issue and he in turn asked some knife maker and steel manufacturers for me. this is reply e-mail below for further reference.

[I]"Dear Charles

Thank you very much for your new inquiry and interest.

You are currently interested in R-2 and SG-2 steel kitchen knives.

R-2 Powdered High Speed Tool Steel Material is made by one of most famous and big steel company "Kobelco". "Kobelco steel company" makes this steel and supply this steel to market.

We also heard "Kobelco Steel Company" also supply R-2 Steel to the another steel company "Takefu Steel Company". And "Takefu Steel company" supply that steel under different name "SG-2 (Super Gold #2)" to the knife makers.

It seem both steels are same, but has different name because of above.

If you will have any questions, please let us know and help.

Thank you very much again for your new inquiry and interest.

Best Regards

Koki Iwahara
JapaneseChefsKnife.Com"
[/I]


in conclusion, I think R2 and SG-2 are same steel! I hope this will help:)
 
That explains a lot, I was looking at the differences between two blazen knives - ryusen and takamura, using sg2 and r2 respectively, I'm not 100% sure but I think that they were just badged differently for different markets.
 
In Gators' steel analyzer graph over at zknives, the two steels look quite different, most notably with R2 being 17% - 19% tungsten, and SG-2 being tungsten free.
 
Not buying it.

We do know that SG2 is powdered VG10. R2 was a supposedly a proprietary blend developed by Mr Itou with Kobe Steel with a composition more in line with Cowry X or ZDP189. In my research I found a post that claims R2 has a good amount of Tungsten, while we know that SG2 has none. I know that Tanaka replaced r2 with SG2 in his high end knives. If there isn't a difference in steel, why claim a change at all?

I'd like to hear from someone who has used both a Tanaka R2 and a SG2 knife.
 
the R2 steels certainly seem to be in the same hardness range as SG-2, assuming the available information is correct.
 
I'm always amazed at how people throw out chemical compositions with no references yet it's taken as fact. I take all the above with a grain of salt, kosher, big grains.

-AJ
 
this is a article I find-
"Each Uzushio knife comes in a wooden presentation gift box worthy of a knife of this quality. The Uzushio handles are solid snakewood. We special order our Uzushio knives with the handles a bit thicker than standard. We have found that many Western buyers find the standard handles on Japanese knives to be a bit too thin. The handles on our Uzushio knives should offer greater comfort for people with larger hands, while still feeling fine for people with small hands. The Hagane (core) of the Uzushio knives is SG-2 ( also called R2) powder metal, clad by 32 layers of nickel stainless steel with a Suminagashi pattern. These are heirloom quality knives that will one day be treasured family heirlooms."
 
I'm always amazed at how people throw out chemical compositions with no references yet it's taken as fact. I take all the above with a grain of salt, kosher, big grains.

-AJ

i trust gator.
 
still, a think a composition chart of the two steels would help.
 
To me it is looking like one of the manufactures is saying that they are the same. Creating a misrepresentation between the two steels.
 
I read a lot of posts on KKF regarding R2 steel and lots of people like R2 but don't really know what R2 steel is made of. many members believe R2 is the best steel they've used and think R2 steel is better than SG-2 steel. I want to share my R2 knife shopping experience.
As I started shopping/research for a R2 knife few months ago, During my research, I found Takamura gyuto was listed as R2 steel in the Japan/European market, but listed as a SG2 steel in the US market.So, I e-mail some Japan knife vender regarding my R2/SG2 question, the replies were not definite and they thinks R2 and SG2 are very similar steel. moreover, A friend of my asked Mr. Itou the same question for me at Knife Show in Seki City. Mr. Itou confirm R2/SG2 steels are the same, but his R2 knife is better than Shun's sg2 knives because his hand hammer forging & heat treated process!
I also e-mailed Koki about the same issue and he in turn asked some knife maker and steel manufacturers for me. this is reply e-mail below for further reference.

[I]"Dear Charles

Thank you very much for your new inquiry and interest.

You are currently interested in R-2 and SG-2 steel kitchen knives.

R-2 Powdered High Speed Tool Steel Material is made by one of most famous and big steel company "Kobelco". "Kobelco steel company" makes this steel and supply this steel to market.

We also heard "Kobelco Steel Company" also supply R-2 Steel to the another steel company "Takefu Steel Company". And "Takefu Steel company" supply that steel under different name "SG-2 (Super Gold #2)" to the knife makers.

It seem both steels are same, but has different name because of above.

If you will have any questions, please let us know and help.

Thank you very much again for your new inquiry and interest.

Best Regards

Koki Iwahara
JapaneseChefsKnife.Com"
[/I]


in conclusion, I think R2 and SG-2 are same steel! I hope this will help:)

It does seem very plausible given Kobe Steel is a steel producer and Takefu Steel is a steel consumer.

-AJ
 
I've asked Tanaka San regarding the difference between the two. If he responds I will relay the message.
 
still, a think a composition chart of the two steels would help.

Here's the chart from zknives...

i8j2x.png
 
Ya, those look really ---similar?
 
Shigeki responded to my question, here is his response.

Hi there
"Super Gold 2", "R2" is the official name of the nickname among knife enthusiasts.
Although different finish, both exactly the same thing.


So there's his take on it.
 
I've asked Tanaka San regarding the difference between the two. If he responds I will relay the message.

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a reply from Tanaka San.....may he rest in peace and his memory live on in the outstanding product he produced.
 
I know a good heat treatment makes a HUGE diff, but the R2 I have, I love and isnt chippy. The SG2, has been pretty chippy when I have used it. Love me some Itou HT.
 
Shigeki is the son of Kazayuki and launched his own Shigeki brand of knives back in 2005. I have 5 Tanaka knives, 3 of which are r2, 1 made by Kazayuki and two by Shigeki . If you read above, I have posted his response. He actually replied quite quickly. :thumbsup:
 
The Kobe R2 data isn't represented (see all the zeroes and lack of grey bars?) and the Acero R2 isn't the same steel.

Seems like a key is to nail down who makes R2. It appears to be a Kobe product. It is not a GSB-Acero product from what I can tell as that company either folded or was sold in 2006. It's possible it is made by Gerdau who I think bought Acero, but they don't list PM steel as a capability.

-AJ
 
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