Marko Tsourkan
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I am officially adding A2 to the list of steels that I am offering.
I have been revisiting A2 for a couple of years now, experimenting with heat treatment. I think I have finally arrived at a formula that results in characteristics I was trying to get all along - a good balance of sharpness, ease of sharpening, edge stability and edge retention.
The main benefits of the A2 are additional stain and wear resistance. In my opinion, A2 would makes a great line knife (as well as a bread knife and a scimitar) that doesn't need a lot of care, holds an edge considerably longer than most steels, and gets comparably sharp to 52100.
Another steel I am going to offer is powder stainless #2. This steel is great and I have had some great results heat treating it, but on the downside, it is quite expensive, so I haven't used a lot of it. I will offer it as custom orders, but will have to factor in the steel's cost into the overall price. The main difference between PM#2 and AEB-L is added wear resistance. Sharpness is comparable.
(Just in case if you wonder, PM#1 is related to PM#2 but is almost impossible to get. I have some of it, but I am saving it for san mai at some later time).
I have been revisiting A2 for a couple of years now, experimenting with heat treatment. I think I have finally arrived at a formula that results in characteristics I was trying to get all along - a good balance of sharpness, ease of sharpening, edge stability and edge retention.
The main benefits of the A2 are additional stain and wear resistance. In my opinion, A2 would makes a great line knife (as well as a bread knife and a scimitar) that doesn't need a lot of care, holds an edge considerably longer than most steels, and gets comparably sharp to 52100.
Another steel I am going to offer is powder stainless #2. This steel is great and I have had some great results heat treating it, but on the downside, it is quite expensive, so I haven't used a lot of it. I will offer it as custom orders, but will have to factor in the steel's cost into the overall price. The main difference between PM#2 and AEB-L is added wear resistance. Sharpness is comparable.
(Just in case if you wonder, PM#1 is related to PM#2 but is almost impossible to get. I have some of it, but I am saving it for san mai at some later time).