Suisin INOX Honyaki or Konosuke HD

[Melampus]

...The Konosuke takes a better edge than the suisin, but the suisin holds an edge longer and has better toughness...

I have a few of the original HD blades, and a few of the new alloy. I find Kosuke really improved upon the edge retention disparity with his second blend, and my Konosuke edge outlasts my Suisin Honyaki now... all things being equal.. as equal as anything can be.

[JBroida]

having tried both, i'm not sure i agree

[Miles]

Jon, have you ever tried the same sharpening approach with the HD? I intuitively added a microbevel to my Suisin IH some time ago and found that I really like the performance and ability to very quickly touch it up and keep going.

[JBroida]

Yes, but the technique doesn't work quite the same on the HD

[Miles]

How so?

[Zwiefel]

Fantastic comments/observations Jon...this forum is unquestionably richer for your presence and passion.

[JBroida]

The heat treatment on the Suisin lends itself towards the microlevel technique. It's geared towards toughness. The HD is geared towards a much finer edge, so it doesn't work the same way with regard to looking for toughness. The microlevel does actually increase the toughness of the HD, but not in the same way that it increases toughness and edge retention on the suisin, while still maintaining the same kind of bite and edge feeling. At the end of the day it's just a function of the heat treatment.

Also, sorry for all the short responses and messed up typing. Everything on this form has been typed on my cell phone for the last few weeks since I been so busy at work.

[Miles]

Thanks for the explanation, Jon. I am curious though, iirc, aren't both the HD and the IH hardened to similar levels?
I know there's a lot more to a heat treat than the final number. How does one go about bringing out different attributes in a steel during the heat treat process? This is something I've often wondered about. I really need to look into in order to better understand it.

[mark76]

I read here that both blades have very similar profiles. I interpret that as same thickness at the spine, thickness just above the edge and tapering towards the point. However, when I read the specs, it seems as if the Suisin is a bit thinner. Is that true?

[Miles]

Jon, how does the heat treat on the Ginga line compare with the Suisin and HD?