sg2 core, damascus san mai

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Bill Burke

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2011
Messages
543
Reaction score
6
wondering what the opinions here are of suminagashi steel with sg2 core. my reason for asking is that I have access to a limited supply of this steel. Over the week end I forged a 225mm gyoto out of it then hardend and tempered it to specs I found online. after finishing the knife I proceeded with my normal cutting test including cutting hemp rope. the rope I use is the hard dark brown stuff not the soft yellow kind. So with the edge thin enough that it would flex over my thumbnail and left with a somewhat course edge that would shave hair I started cutting.

The method uses only about two inches of the edge near the heal and a pull cut. if the edge starts to slide instead of cut or it I have to use more than about twenty pounds of force I consider the edge done and evaluate number of cuts and edge damage.

this knife easily made 200 slicing cuts with relative ease and no rolling or damge observible with naked eye. I continued to 325 cut where the edge seemed to be losing it's aggressive cutting ability. careful feeling of the edge with finger tips showed a slight rolling of the edge but no visible damage. three passes on a ceramic honing rod brought the edge back to hair popping sharp.

the stone I used for this test is a rather course norton fine india stone. I used this edge because I have many hours of experience rope cutting with it and felt it would let me better evaluate the steel than a finer edge where I don't have as much experience. the rope was cut on a piece of red fir 2x8 lumber that not particularly clean bu neither embeded with dirt a grit from laying around the shop.

I'll post pictures of the knife as soon as I get a handle on it.
 
This sounds like a great great knife! I have an Asai and a Tanaka both withan SG2 core and the are surprisingly great edge holders. People bash the SG2 Shuns as being really brittle so the steel has a stigma but with the right heat treat this stuff is in a class by itself. I'd really like to hear more about you experiences with it, Bill.
 
This sounds like a great great knife! I have an Asai and a Tanaka both withan SG2 core and the are surprisingly great edge holders. People bash the SG2 Shuns as being really brittle so the steel has a stigma but with the right heat treat this stuff is in a class by itself. I'd really like to hear more about you experiences with it, Bill.

Shun's vg10 is brittle, too, when compared to other vg10 (Hattori, Hiromoto). At least in my experience. They (Shun) could definitely do with some heat treating lessons, it seems.
As for a Bill Burke SG2 core, damascus san mai gyuto? Sounds sexy as hell to me. Can't wait for the forthcoming knife porn... :wink:
 
Bill,

How many cuts can your other steels do with your heat treatment? Like your 52100, how does that hold up in the same text?

-Chuck
 
Bill,

How many cuts can your other steels do with your heat treatment? Like your 52100, how does that hold up in the same text?

-Chuck

52100 is the best cutting steel on this very tough and abrasive rope that i have tested by a good margine
 
I have some damascus clad SG2 knives (Ryusen & Tanaka) and I love them. Hold great edges for a long time and nice on the stones. I've seen a little microchipping on the Ryusen, but hubby uses them a lot and no telling what he's doing with them...I find if they get a pass over the ceramic rod on occasion there's very little chipping.

I like it enough that I've been eyeballing the ZK SG2 just for fun.
 
Bill, Ive got the 6" Chef's Kramer Shun Meiji series that was discontinued from Williams and Sonoma. I have takeda's, Moritakas and Dojo knives made out of Aogomi Super steel, Konosuke HD knives and the Kramer in SG2 is harder, stays sharper longer and has never chipped. The tip is still as pointy as the first day I got the knife. Your correct that just a brush up and down a good ceramic rod brings the edge back.
 
I think if you have made a knife from it that is worthy of your efforts then we would be silly not to be interested
 
Since this one is 225 and everyone else around here seems to prefer 240+ knives, I'd be happy to check it out for the next 10-12 years and let you know what I think. :D
 
Yeah.....

What are we talking about? :joec:

I am still coping with this idea.... But it might just work Bill!
 
Forged a 270mm gyoto from the same steel today. let yoy guys know if this one cuts like the first. these will be Wa handled knives. the 270 from today is 57mm at the heal and is a little thicker at the spine but with it being as tall as it is it should still be able to be relatively thin behind the edge.
 
here are some photos guys. musk ox horn with silver ferral spacer and buffalo horn ferral. mortise and tenon construction on the handle.

medium800.jpg


medium800.jpg


medium800.jpg


medium800.jpg
 
Very stunning work! whoa, I can certainly see that beauty cutting out a nice spot in my kit!
 
Bill Burke with wa-handle......that is my kind of knife!! Beautiful gyuto, I want one:tongue4:
 
You see? I told you it was a good idea.....

Nice work Bill! :doublethumbsup:
 
I literally just pooped my pants, that was not what I was expecting, absolutely stunning work Mr. Burke!
 
Ouffff! A new addiction already very bad for my wallet is born. Now I don't need a reason anymore to justify why I NEED new knives without risks to be killed by my wife... She saw... she understood . Sir, your créations are really marvelous.
 
He doesn't post here often but when Mr. Burke decides to show off a knife, they are always phenomenal.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top