Curiosity about Takefu V2 steel...

I've been looking at several knives recently that are made from Takefu V2 steel... I understand what it is from a basic metallurgical perspective, in and that it is similar to Hitachi Aogami #2 but without the Tungsten, a much higher possible allowance of phosphorous & sulfur contaminates, and the possibility for just a hint of nickel and copper. It can also be looked at as Shirogami #2 + Chromium, the higher contaminates, and the Ni and Cu if you want to take the 'Glass Half Full' approach:

http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=v2

However, I have never worked with this steel, so from a practical perspective I do not know how a halfway point between Blue and White steels would perform. One thing I like about Blue steels are how they wear; they tend to get toothier when exposed to food acids due to the alloying, where White steels simply lose their bite due to the acid erosion since the carbon carbides erode at the same rate. V2 steel doesn't have Tungsten, but it does have some chromium; this isn't as hard as tungsten, but chromium can also serve as a carbide former (Although maybe not sufficiently in this low volume). When cutting acidic foods, does V2 perform more like blue steels (It gets toothier, as the carbides erode at different rates.), or does it perform more like white steels (Where it loses its bite and dulls quickly and uniformly.)?

Also, has anyone noticed an increased reactivity (Metallic smell or odor, oxide transfer to food, etc.) with V2 compared to the purer Hitachi carbons? I've never really experienced this with my Hitachi steels, but I have with European carbons that have MUCH higher phosphorous and sulfur contamination...

There have been some threads in the past on this topic, but none which answer these questions. I would appreciate any observations people have made...

- Steampunk

On practical side I can not really notice a relevant difference between my Kochi (V2) and Carter (white #1). The V2 should hold edge a little longer, but that would require tedious testing. Under normal home use it goes under.

V2 rocks...doesn't hold an edge quite as long as blue 2 but sharpens easily, feels good on the stones and wears nicely. I've only used Kochi (x2) and Singatirin (as honyaki)...I'd not hesitate to try other examples.

Thank you both...

- Steampunk

The chromium is not there to form carbides; the steel under most recipes, in my opinion, will be more like white paper steel in wear rate and edge characteristics.

Post #6 here has another take on the V2 comparison: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/5427-V2-steel

My first J-knife was the Itinommon 210 gyuto in V2; more recently I bought a Tanaka 240 gyuto in blue 2, and I can say that the blue 2 holds a sharp edge a lot longer.

The comparison is made difficult, however, by the fact that I have noticed that simply having two gyutos makes the edges last longer because each one gets less use than a solo knife did.

Nevertheless, I've been very impressed by the length of time that the Tanaka blue 2 can go between touch-ups.

Thank you both for your input; it is most appreciated...

- Steampunk