New Steels in the House

[kalaeb]

I am a little biased, but "mystery" carbon is probably one of my favorite steels. It takes a patina similar to W2, but darker and much faster. Even with as quickly as it forms a patina, there was never a off smell or taste transference.

[DeepCSweede]

Sure.

I am also debating whether I should make some stock honesuki in this steel. A2, 52100 and mystery carbon are all good choices, but mystery carbon will be a more of a looker (because of patina) that the other two, as well as extra wear resistance and comparable sharpness to 52100 puts it ahead of the three, though A2 will probably beat both of them on wear resistance, but not on sharpness.

I would definitely take a honesuki in mystery carbon if you offer it.

[Marko Tsourkan]

I will heat treat a gyuto in it today, maybe add a couple of honesukis. Similarly to 52100, this This steel has very low level of impurities (like sulfur) so there will be no smell.

Here is patina on Rick's:

[Marko Tsourkan]

Heat treated 2 knives in this steel for most wear resistance. I call it supercharging. Now, I just have to hope I can still polish it by hand. Might have to go only up to 320 grit. Wear resistant steels = resistant to any abrasion, be it sharpening or polishing.

M

[kalaeb]

Here are some Mystery patina picks as well:





I can only imagine how sweet a mono steel would look.

[Marko Tsourkan]

The practice knives sale was to pay for this and other steels (A2 among others) that I am to order shortly.

I have done some experimental heat treating and testing this steel in a pro kitchen and this is a very promising steel. For one thing it is less reactive than other carbon steels due to higher chromium content. It also has vanadium, so it already guaranteed to have more wear resistance than most carbon steels. In terms of sharpness, it gets a notch less sharp than 52100 due to a larger carbide size, but in the 2-5K sharpness range it holds edge better. It is not a substitute or challenger to 52100, but a good steel in its own right for people who want a long lasting edge and are not too preoccupied with highest level of sharpness.

M

[Marko Tsourkan]

DT Mystery Carbon
Heat-treated 275mm gyuto in mystery carbon steel. Will grind today and make handle, hopefully a completed knife by tomorrow. Can't wait to put an edge on it and take it to the cutting board. In my heat treatment I went for the keenest edge as well as most wear resistance.

M

[Marko Tsourkan]

Just got a confirmation that two steels on order are being shipped today or tomorrow. They were to be shipped a while back, but it turned out, one was backordered and I had to wait.

So the list of choices will be the following:

52100
52100 damascus by John Thomas - ladder, raindrop, chevron patterns
A-2
DT Mystery Carbon (have 1 bar on hand, can order more from Devin)
Mystery PM stainless (this one will stay unnamed.
Another PM stainless steel is coming as well. This one will be turned into an pro kitchen test knife and until properly tested, no decision will be made as to offer it or not.
AEB-L available upon request (will need to order from Devin)
AEB-L damascus steels (san mai and solid) on hold, as Devin is still unable to work.

With Devin's help, I worked out a very good heat treatment for each of these steels. Each make a very good knife, and we will continue tweaking HT for more performance as the more feedback comes in.

Thanks,
M

[Line cooked]

Sounds exciting. Can't wait to here about and see the results

[Marko Tsourkan]

PM steels (not CPM 154), A2 and some more 52100 have arrived today. I am currently looking for a water-jet or a laser-jet cutting service, to cut them into blanks. Chevron pattern 52100 JT damascus should be arriving any day now.