Aogami super vs aogami 2 vs r2/sg2 edge retention?

Shop Knives and stones on ebay
Advertise with us
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
JaVa said:
@ Barmoley I was talking about the A2 tool steel, not Aogami2.
Click to expand...

I know you were, gleamed it from the context. Wasn't specifically addressing this to you. OP started it and you can see from some of the responses that it is not clear which steel posters are talking about. The question was specifically about blue 2 vs blue super vs r2/Sg2 and even though no question has ever prevented us from drifting and discussing anything else except what was asked about, using A2 for aogami 2 (blue 2) makes this discussion even more confusing. B2 is a pretty standard abbreviation for aogami 2 around here and is as easy to type.
 
Based on the professional kitchen user experience. I used AS/A2/R2. For me R2 last the edge longest, sharpen also hardest, Aogami steel hold the toothy edge better then R2. there's not significant difference for me. but I like the Aogami more than R2 when handling raw meet, because I feel more toothier than R2?
 
Larrin's work at least manages reasonable consistency in controlling the variables. I'm not dismissive of subjective impressions but we have to acknowledge their considerable limitations. FWIW among those steels B2 has to be resharpened the most frequently of those steels but still has what I consider reasonable edge holding. I also find it the most pleasant to sharpen among those steels. SG2/R2 edges IME last the longest of those steels by a fair margin. For me it is less pleasant to sharpen than either B2 or AS but still not really difficult. My sample size for all three steels is small (B2 the largest) and for SG2/R2 confined to lazer-ish knives.

I have bonded more with specific B2 (and B1, 1.2519, and A2) knives than I have with AS or SG2/R2 but that is my sense of the gestalt of the knife rather than just edge retention. I will keep at least one SG2/R2 knife around for its specific virtues but I don't entirely love it.
 
Last edited:
Same feeling - sold mine. Not difficult to sharpen, but I now rather classify not based on difficulty, but on pleasure, and it sure isn’t much pleasurable to work with on stones. Still it’s a good steel in use - for some I guess it will stand about perfect. Widely available too which I guess is nice when you love it and have such an wide array of makers to choose from.

Blue #2 on the other hand is one of those most pleasurable to sharpen and in use. A2 is very pleasant too. Possibly would consider 52100 as best I’ve used so far.
 
Btw how long would Misono Swedish carbon hold it's edge compared to the others?
 
personally i prefer a2. some say a2 is better than a2 but i think a2 is better.
but sometimes i actually enjoy a2 more for the stain resistance. i guess either a2 or a2 would do.
i find a2 takes a better edge easier than a2. but in the end i think i will have to go with a2 on this one.

then we have w2. many people like w2. i think its just glorified 1095. but is it better than w2? who knows.
w2 has been around for a long long time. many people swear by w2 and say it creates the best hamon lines.
i've never tried w2 but i have tried w2. also i've read that getting hold of good w2 is not so easy.
since i've never tried w2 i think i will have to go with w2 on this one since i actually own knives in w2.

however the most ultimate steel ever would have to be damascus d2 and r2, then you get r2d2 steel.

anyone else feel the same?
 
Can’t go wrong with either AS or R2..... My two favorites. I slightly prefer the R2 for its stain resistance and ease of sharpening. I feel I need another Takamura R2 in my block now! 240 Hana R2, here I come!
 
DavidPF said:
Probably your best bet would be U2, since clearly you still haven't found what you're looking for.
Click to expand...

Eh, U2 has this bad habit of just leaving stuff places you don't want it, and being really, really persistent about it, making it almost impossible to remove cleanly. You thought VG10 was crappy to deburr.
 
my experience with r2 vs an aus8 cryoed mac (backtoback, cardboard, cut up 2 big boxes into slivers) is that it takes about 5-10x as long to resharpen again on a 4k. but it only stays sharp for like twice as long. however the dulling mechanism was by microchipping, hundreds of them. and it was still sharp between the chips.

then i made another cardboard test with another r2 blade, and that one didn't chip out once or stopped cutting paper cleanly after 2 hours of almost constant cutting. basically i could not dull it enough with cardboard so it would stop cutting paper cleanly.

so imo this steel can be VERY long lasting. i actually had to abort the test because the handle broke in 2 :)

-----------

blue 2 on the other hand is the only real supersteel imo. it gets super sharp super easy. and holds it for an acceptable amount of time. and its tough enough.

----------

i like blue super too, very good steel. probably tougher than blue 2. and r2 for that matter. it just has no soul :(. its like this perfect lab product. its too perfect. they way i think they make it is like this: you take blue 2, and then you suck out all the soul out of it. then you get blue super! fairly certain this is exactly how hitachi makes it.
 
DavidPF said:
Where do you put that? Is some hapless Hitachi employee the new James Brown and we don't know it yet?
Click to expand...

no. i think they are all in on it. they basically put blue 2 in this machine that that looks like the LHC in switzerland and then they simply run it in reverse.
i've seen it done on youtube. its basically a type of nuclear transmutation, but in reverse right. yeah thats how they do it.

and the soul that they suck out of the blue2 steel it goes into this micro-singularity right, where it goes through this patented antimatter/antiparticle total annihiliation process and basically gets sent to another parallel universe on the "strong brane". yeah thats the process right there. seen it first hand!
 
inferno said:
and then they simply run it in reverse
Click to expand...
You are obviously operating on a much higher plane than I am.

I can tell because this is how people talk when they're running out of oxygen. Please have a look at your altitude. :)
 
aikon2020 said:
How much longer does as holds its edge compared to a#2 and how does r2/sg2 compare to as? (With similar good heat treat)
Click to expand...
There is lots of good info here. But really there are several factors.
1. steel thickness behind the edge (edge angle?)
2. Bevel width.
3. type of edge degradation your experiencing.
4. initial edge grade finish/ Type
5. what you define as "Dull"/ "Sharp"
6. the trade-off of different Heat treats of the same steels. (Esp in the carbon steels)

In my experience ... AS and R2 are basically the same edge retention (Cutting veggies) ... acidic fruit AS lasts 15 mins ... maybe 10-15 Lemons before i would touch up. R2 wont notice much of a difference at all. and with Blue 2 .. 5 Lemons.
(Cutting a lemon entails cutting in half, juicing, cutting out flesh and mincing into a fine pulp)

Blue 2 has about 50-70% (HT Dependent) of the edge retention that AS/R2 have cutting generic veggies.
Sharpening / touch-ups dont bother me in the slightest ... its actually fun to make the knife better.
 
in my opinion edge retention stops being important as soon as you get actual stones and know how to use them.

even the shittiest fiskars 53hrc krupp 1.4116 will perform well if you touch it up when needed. and its easy and quick with this steel. its like butter on stones.

i used a 53hrc fiskars as my only kitchen knife for several years. touched it up on the sharpmaker every week. home enviro. it was always sharp as F. even cut my finger to the bone without even noticing it. well i noticed the red color pouring out of my finger. after while. iron in food is good for you i heard.

and this is why i think blue 2 is the king of the hill talking carbons. its always done well. impossible to F up. and its cheap. and it takes this true killer edge. and its so easy to get it.
 
inferno said:
my experience with r2 vs an aus8 cryoed mac (backtoback, cardboard, cut up 2 big boxes into slivers) is that it takes about 5-10x as long to resharpen again on a 4k. but it only stays sharp for like twice as long. however the dulling mechanism was by microchipping, hundreds of them. and it was still sharp between the chips.

then i made another cardboard test with another r2 blade, and that one didn't chip out once or stopped cutting paper cleanly after 2 hours of almost constant cutting. basically i could not dull it enough with cardboard so it would stop cutting paper cleanly.

so imo this steel can be VERY long lasting. i actually had to abort the test because the handle broke in 2 :)

-----------

blue 2 on the other hand is the only real supersteel imo. it gets super sharp super easy. and holds it for an acceptable amount of time. and its tough enough.

----------

i like blue super too, very good steel. probably tougher than blue 2. and r2 for that matter. it just has no soul :(. its like this perfect lab product. its too perfect. they way i think they make it is like this: you take blue 2, and then you suck out all the soul out of it. then you get blue super! fairly certain this is exactly how hitachi makes it.
Click to expand...

You make some really good points here and interestingly enough I have had a similar experience with R2. I have only owned one and it was pretty easy to sharpen, got screaming sharp and then wouldnt stop micro chipping. I have sold it but would love to try another from another maker as I think the potential is very high
 
Back in my early knife days, 2013-2014 ish, as a home cook I was getting around a month out of a Tanaka B2, 3 months out of Takarmura Hana R2, maybe 2ish months out of a Masashi SLD, can't remember what I got out of my Moritaka AS.
Fairly rough comparisons.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top