In search of the ultimate cutlery steel

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DevinT

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We are going to make sets of knives with 12 different steels. The steels will range from low alloy carbon tool steel to the newest super wear resistant steel out there. Steels will be from conventionally cast wrought, cast wrought with ESR(electro slag remelt), powder metallurgy(pm), and Dan Spray (spray form) and one from pattern welded damascus steel. This will allow testing across most common manufacturing processed steel.

All 12 knives will be uniform in size and handle so that testing will be consistent. All will be san-mai construction except for the damascus knife. They will be 225mm/9 inch gytos with wa handles and handle material will vary. Full convex grinds with a distal taper will be used because this a very good all around grind.

We will make up to 12 sets of these plus one set for me. Sets will be numbered from 1-13 and I'll take the last number not picked.

Larrin has agreed to do some testing on the steels to optimize heat treatment. More on that later.

Stay tuned for a list of steels. Price for each knife will vary some depending on how difficult the steel is to finish. Most should go for $700 to $750 with damascus being higher.

Lots more to talk about.

Hoss
 
I am hoping to find buyers that want the whole set of 12 knives. We will make up to 12 sets of 12 knives out of different steels. One set equals 12 knives.

Hoss
 
oh boy, talk about a way to instantly acquire the only collection of gyutos you would ever need... I am going to have trouble sleeping tonight.
 
We will do one steel type every month or two untill the set is complete. Payment is due on each knife after completion and before shipping. Cost will be spread out over the 12 to 24 months it takes to do these.

We will do one steel at a time so that Larrin can do his testing first before we make those knives.

Hoss
 
When would the first knife start being made and approximate finish date
 
We'll start right away with the testing of one steel, first group of knives out of the same steel will take 1-2 months after the testing is done. Shipped in around 3 months.

Hoss
 
Are all the knives in each batch going to have same handle materials or is each knife different? Making every set unique
 
12 different handle materials correlating with the 12 different steels. Each complete set will have 12 different handle materials.

The 12 sets will be the same.

Hoss
 
I will admit I find the 225 DT ITK to be a great all-around length for home use. It is a bit more nimble then the 240 DT ITK and 240 DT san mai that I have (thinner, lighter, etc.). If I am using one of the 240s there is a good chance I will put it down every now and then a grab a petty for some of the finer tasks that I can normally still use the 225 to do. For a big pile of onions, etc., the 240 is great. but for a mix of a couple onions, a carrot or two, a celery stalk or two and some garlic, the 225 rules at my house.
 
So what you are saying is the perfect set would be 240 with a matching petty 😉🤣
 
Will u include some Japanese steels like SG2, white 1, blue 2, ZDP189 etc for the comparison?

Lung
 
We will be discussing the properties of different steels and how they are selected based on the intended use, such as the type of sharpening that is performed, the style of cutting, the material that is cut, etc. With steel selection we have to consider a variety of factors such as corrosion resistance, wear resistance, toughness, ease of sharpening, etc. And these all have to be balanced for the product, customer, intended use, etc. I will now leave an extra etc. just in case we discuss other things, etc. And now just one more: etc.
 
Here is the list of steels:
Cruforge-V
Nilox
A2
19c27 & cpm154 damascus
N690
40cp
Spectrum wear
Spray form D2
M2
XHP
Elmax
Vanadis8
 
Will u include some Japanese steels like SG2, white 1, blue 2, ZDP189 etc for the comparison?

Lung

We did consider lots of steels. It was difficult to narrow the list to just 12. There are so many knives available in white and blue steels that we felt it unnecessary to include them in this group. We grouped sg2 with other similar steels like S30V, m390, 204p, elmax, s35vn, vanax, and narrowed this group down to elmax. We feel elmax has the best balance in this group.

We think that zdp189 has too high carbide volume to be a practical cutlery steel and I'm not sure we could even get any.

Hoss
 
Sure, all knives will be marked with the alloy.

Hoss
 
Hoss, Like the post. I'm having a Suiji made from RWL 35. I heard its supposed to be close to CPM-154 but its obviously not the same steel. Any chance of getting that into the mix?
Assuming you mean RWL-34 it is essentially the same as CPM-154. RWL-34 has a small vanadium addition.
 
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