New knife time
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Ok now the red mist has cleared...
Would someone kindly educate me about the benefits of a mono steel? I have pretty much exclusively and explicitly been searching for a laminated knife under the impression a HRC61 steel is far to brittle to be used for the whole knife.
What am I missing? Is the ashi monosteel going to be significantly better than one of the vg10 laminated knives I can get locally for £65 like yaxell, which is what I was leaning toward?
Would someone kindly educate me about the benefits of a mono steel? I have pretty much exclusively and explicitly been searching for a laminated knife under the impression a HRC61 steel is far to brittle to be used for the whole knife.
What am I missing? Is the ashi monosteel going to be significantly better than one of the vg10 laminated knives I can get locally for £65 like yaxell, which is what I was leaning toward?
61hrc actually seems to be a pretty common target with high end monosteel knives in fine-grained steels. My understanding is that a fine grain structure mediates brittleness because (and this is in serious layman's terms) the steel simply has smaller pieces subject to chipping out or otherwise falling out of alignment. For a MUCH better articulated explanation of steel properties, I suggest reading this thread here:
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/4772-what-steels-and-why
VG10 got a bad rep because of its use in shun knives that seemed especially chip prone. I'm not sure if this was a problem with shun's manufacturing or maybe just because it was really the first influx of such knives to a widespread western consumer base - meaning that you suddenly had a very high number of inexperienced users. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with VG10. But many people will tell you that there are better steels out there.
Another benefit of monosteel construction is a thin grind. Although there are some super thin san mai knives, for example the konosuke GS series.
knyfeknerd
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I think you're starting to overthink this. It is just a petty afterall....
.....you seem to be primarily concerned with HRC and the durability. I don't think you're going to find a huge difference between a San Mai and a monosteel knife durability wise at such a short length.
I understand your concerns with durability as you stated that this knife will not only be used by you. Are you concerned with the knife breaking in half or losing the tip if it's monosteel? The San Mai construction will have little if anything to do with the edge retention.....
the cutting edge and the geometry/grind of the knife should be more important than the monosteel/SanMai debate.
If you want to try something different, go with a monosteel. You have a knife in R2 already? The VG10 isn't going to be too different from it IMO, probably a small step down.
Just to throw more fuel on- The Yaxells that I've used have been decent knives at a good price point.
Good Luck
.....you seem to be primarily concerned with HRC and the durability. I don't think you're going to find a huge difference between a San Mai and a monosteel knife durability wise at such a short length.
I understand your concerns with durability as you stated that this knife will not only be used by you. Are you concerned with the knife breaking in half or losing the tip if it's monosteel? The San Mai construction will have little if anything to do with the edge retention.....
the cutting edge and the geometry/grind of the knife should be more important than the monosteel/SanMai debate.
If you want to try something different, go with a monosteel. You have a knife in R2 already? The VG10 isn't going to be too different from it IMO, probably a small step down.
Just to throw more fuel on- The Yaxells that I've used have been decent knives at a good price point.
Good Luck
I'm not sure what you mean by "laminated". The Shun's, which I am more familiar with, are VG-10 (some SG2(?)) with a faux Damascus finish. The Damascus appears to be part of the finish (laminated?) but not an integral part of the knife blade. Shun's are a little difficult to sharpen and soon the faux finish will be scuffed up. Shun can be decent knives but usually are not because the target customer (housewife knife) will not maintain the knife. The Yaxell appears to be similar.
The Ginga, to the extent that it is similar to the Gesshin Ginga, will be much easier to sharpen and will maintain an edge. Tadasuna INOX is gensinko (sp?) is another fine mono stainless and should be comparably priced.
Mono stainless can be great knives. Stainless clad I like a lot but they start to get pricey quick. Don't know where "laminated" fits in the spectrum unless it's mono with a cool looking faux finish.
And please, under no circumstance, get the pull thru sharpener offered by Yaxell. That they would even offer such a product tells me all I need to know about their knives.
Good luck in your search.
The Ginga, to the extent that it is similar to the Gesshin Ginga, will be much easier to sharpen and will maintain an edge. Tadasuna INOX is gensinko (sp?) is another fine mono stainless and should be comparably priced.
Mono stainless can be great knives. Stainless clad I like a lot but they start to get pricey quick. Don't know where "laminated" fits in the spectrum unless it's mono with a cool looking faux finish.
And please, under no circumstance, get the pull thru sharpener offered by Yaxell. That they would even offer such a product tells me all I need to know about their knives.
Good luck in your search.
Timthebeaver
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By laminated I mean San mai, tri-ply, clad etc with softer steel.
My concern would be the potential drop or bash it gets outside of my care, but as you say it is "only" a petty so its size and weight might save it a little.
Thanks for all your help. I think I will be getting something from JCK or the Ashi. I am tempted by the white handled hattori FH in the specials section (slightly over budget), and the ryusen 105mm also appeals as I preferred a shorter option to bridge a gap.
Will be sure to post what I finally go with!
My concern would be the potential drop or bash it gets outside of my care, but as you say it is "only" a petty so its size and weight might save it a little.
Thanks for all your help. I think I will be getting something from JCK or the Ashi. I am tempted by the white handled hattori FH in the specials section (slightly over budget), and the ryusen 105mm also appeals as I preferred a shorter option to bridge a gap.
Will be sure to post what I finally go with!
I use a 240 ginga gyuto and friggin love it.
