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Matus said:
Skd actually stains which I like , SLD not really. SKD feels more like a carbon steel on stones, while SLD like a stainless steel. SKD seems (feels) to have a bit finer grain than SLD (though HT plays a huge role here, SLD has quite some carbides in austenite which tend to form large ‘clumps’)

Both have excellent edge retention, SKD is on average a little more tough (Yoshi version chips rather easily as they run it really hard)
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Without a doubt I prefer skd. Yy
Matus said:
Skd actually stains which I like , SLD not really. SKD feels more like a carbon steel on stones, while SLD like a stainless steel. SKD seems (feels) to have a bit finer grain than SLD (though HT plays a huge role here, SLD has quite some carbides in austenite which tend to form large ‘clumps’)

Both have excellent edge retention, SKD is on average a little more tough (Yoshi version chips rather easily as they run it really hard)
Click to expand...
Without a doubt I prefer skd. If Masashi offered skd I’d be all over it. Sld acts more like stainless and skd acts more like carbon. But considering I hate pretty much 99% of stainless I’ve used, for me to find Masashi and Kaeru sld to be tolerable should mean something. Also worth noting that I’m not going to pay $300+ for a steel that I don’t like so I’m pretty fortunate these steels/knives exist at this price point.
Side note: anybody tried JKI’s EN knives(ginsanko) yet?
 
I’ve only tried A2 in Marko’s interpretation and skd12 aka A2 in itinomonn SS and possibly gengetsu SS. All of these are certainly more stain resistant than white2, O1, 52100. Ofcourse they will rust, but not as fast as simple carbon, at least in my experience.

SLD is D2, and it is not new and not new for knife making, been used for a very long time, and has proven to be very good. Pretty exciting to me, kaeru is very good.
 
Yeah, wow, Masashi does seem to get quite a high praise. Like I said I've been interested in it for quite a while so maybe I really need to revisit the idea of getting one. Does sound much better then I initially thought.

BUT ! Panda and labor are you guys getting soft in your old days or what's going on? You liking a thin, (dare I say laser?), (almost) stainless knife with a stubby tip??? Did you know it has a SS cladding too? :D
 
Well, for what it’s worth my comments concerning masashi are based off impressions of the petty that I own. And I’m partial to thin pettys over thicker ones.
I do like thin gyutos, and I agree that usually whenever I’m using a thin gyuto I normally prefer it not to be oversized. Gengetsu is pretty much perfect for me.
 
yeah i still don't believe it, haha. it's laserish only behind the edge. was willing to overlook the stainless part because of its performance. sometimes things just catch you off guard and become a pleasant surprise.
 
I've handled the yoshi in the old skd-11/sld/d2 (whatever equivalent) and the newer skd12/a2 equivalents and they behaved very differently (however the d2 was also much thicker and beefier). Both magnificent knives I sold for way less than they were worth (regretful sale as they are probably the best workhorses I've come across so far). The skd was more reactive (you can see the core steel darken very quickly, almost like carbon) and also had more carbon like properties on the stones. Less burr formation and very quick to get to high levels of sharpness.

The older skd behaved MUCH more like a standard stainless steel. Less reactive than the skd and slightly more difficult to get to max keenness. Was also a bit chippier (but less so than other common stainless knives) but held an aggressive edge for quite a long time. I have a kaeru which behaves similiarly although I tend to think it would be lower hardness than the yoshikane (I haven't compared the two side by side though). It's reasonable for stainless and the profiles for all of these knives are excellent.

If i wanted a pure stainless blade I would go with sld although ginsanko and whatever is in the suisin inox honyaki are also very good (leaning more towards ginsanko if I was picking between 2 equal knives). For something carbonesque where slightly higher edge stability and ease of rehoning are wanted I would go the skd (or to be honest maybe a straight carbon blade).
 
I own a Yoshikane SKD, and used the masashi SLD.
They are both bomb knives.

here is a PDF with some information.
https://www.hitachi-metals.co.jp/e/products/auto/ml/pdf/hsts_b.pdf

I've become proficient with sharpening and getting to know my YXR-7 sukenari. On that PDF above, the YXR should out-perform the SLD in all regards.
I would say that based on my used, it does out-perform my SKD. (edge holding, edge taking, feeling on stone) So i really am not helpfull at all.

My experience is that both SKD and SLD are very different steels than your typical hitachi blends.
 
I'm confused by the discussion in this thread. SKD11 is not stainless and SKD12 is not "semi-stainless", although both have greater corrosion resistance than Shirogami.

DC53/SLD10/Sleipner should be better-suited for knives than either, but for some reason almost nobody uses it. It's promoted as being more resistant to chipping and more grindable than SKD11 at ~62 HRC while maintaining similar wear resistance. Notice in the chart in the linked article that A2 and D2 have Pitting Resistance Equivalence Numbers (a proxy for corrosion resistance) of 6.8 and 8.0, respectively, while DC53 has a PREN of 14.8.

None of them are stainless.
 
Also, in the same chart, M4 has higher PREN (14) than AEB-L or 440C. I don't think anyone will argue that M4 is more corrosion resistant than these. PREN is affected by Mo and N a lot, PREN = Cr + 3.3Mo + 16N

SLD can have as "little" as 1.4C with 1.2Mo and 13Cr. It would be interesting to know how much chromium would be left in solution in such a formulation.

As far as semi stainless is concerned, there is no definition to what that is, so it is used for anything that is not stainless, but more corrosion resistant than simple steels.
 
Whilst SLD is not classified as stainless its closer to stainless than it is reactive carbon steel. My skd yoshikane took on a darker patina much easier than the sld. You'd have to be pretty neglectful of sld to have it rust. For my own use I would consider it "almost" stainless which is stainless enough for me.
 
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