Carter dropping Blue Steel?

[EdipisReks]

basically. reminded me of the vintage Sabatier chef's i have. i let the buyer know.

 

[ajhuff]

I can't agree more

Swedish iron ore is relatively pure, and resulting steels have long had reputation of quality and have been used for chisels (and other cutting tools) and razors for a long time.

Sweden's steel production has not been disrupted (similarly to Japan, Germany, etc) by WW II and combined with the reputation, that would seem like a logical choice to use them in Japan while they were rebuilding after the war. Some makers never switched to Japanese steels - in Sanjo some knife and razors makers use Swedish steel to this day.

M

There's a kernel of truth to that but the reality is that as a whole, Swedish ores are all over the map in grade quality. I'm sure there was and is excellent steel production in Sweden, after all, the ship building industry consumes a large amount of steel. I would be willing to bet the claim of superior steel from Sweden started out as a sales gimmick and it has just been repeated over and over until it has become an understood truth. It may even be cultural as a lot of Japanese steel originated in Korea and there were negative feelings toward Korea. Sweden may have been more palatable for the Japanese post WWII.

Prior to WWII I would hazard that the best steel in the world came from Krupp Stahl in Germany, of course Herr Krupp was probably buying Swedish ore.

Now if the argument was that Sandvisk produced a better product than Hitachi, I would buy into that, but it doesn't have the mystique the phrase "Swedish Steel" has, not as sexy or exotic. But suppose "Swedish Steel" does indeed come from Sandvisk, does it actually come from Sweden?

Carter's newsletter sounds like a great story.

-AJ