Full Review: Takamura Chromax 210mm

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Benuser said:
A factory edge isn't necessarily meant to be used as such. Obviously, a 9° per side won't hold, supposed the steel taking it and remaining stable. See such an edge as a service to the end-user to allow him to put his own one on it with only a few strokes. By the way, what kind of steel is that Chromax? Couldn't find information on it with Z-knives.
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The low angle edge holds up on the Chromax, after removing the weak factory edge.
 
I got to play with a Takamura recently and the front edge of the bolster, spine and choil were all pretty sharp. The taper of the bolster to the blade was also very coarsely machined as well.
 
It seems unavoidable that the grip area won't be so comfortable with these without a good bit of work. Then again for the price, I think Takamura brings focus to where it counts most.
 
That 'machined' look on the bolster seems consistent across knives. It's the same on mine, and I've also seen it being mentioned in some other reviews. So far it hasn't bothered me though. Spine and choil indeed aren't rounded, but I can't think of many knives in this price class that have this feature.
 
Yeah, dremel, files and sandpaper will take care of any sharp edges pretty quickly. Typical and common to most Japanese knives! The cladding and bolster are soft steel, so they work easily.
 
I Sold my Takamura R2, Haven’t try Chromax though, Chromax will be better than R2? I really like the R2, is been using for many year.
 
I don't think Chromax is A2? A2 is a carbon tool steel and Chromax is listed as stainless in most places?
 
That is the first time I have seen A2 considered semi stainless! D2, yes, but A2 has like half of the Chromium that D2 has. May have to get some to play around with it as well as some CPM D2 now.
 
I was rather under the impression it was the first time I’ve read of A2 being a Stainless. There’s like a third of the usually effective amount of Cr for a truly resistant stainless, and less than half to get the designation. Just saying…
 
Taz575 said:
That is the first time I have seen A2 considered semi stainless! D2, yes, but A2 has like half of the Chromium that D2 has. May have to get some to play around with it as well as some CPM D2 now.
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A2 is a great all around steel in my opinion. Low reactivity while having some. Similar sharpening experience to more simple carbon steels. Tough enough. Edge retention similar to AS.
 
I only read about Chromax recently and thought it was a stainless? Went back and saw they listed it as semi stainless, so that was my bad. But then seeing it's basically A2, which has not much Chromium in it puzzled me! Stainless usually means at least 13% Chromium (some places list stainless as 10.5% Chromium). D2 has 11% or so typically and is "semi stainless". A2 has like half the Chromium of D2 (4-5.75%), so I was surprised to see it considered semi stainless? CPM 3V has 7.5% Chromium and is considered a carbon tool steel (not semi stainless). Then you have MagnaCut; 10.5% Chromium, but considered stainless by most and more stain resistant than many of the other stainless steels out there except Vanax??? Anyone else confused yet??

I think it depends on how much of the Chromium is free versus tied up in carbides with the carbon or other alloys? Some heat treats may change how corrosion resistant the steel is, too with different high and low temp tempering protocols. Interesting and confusing to say the least!!

I used a piece of A2 to make my first 2 real knives back in the late 1990's. One went to my uncle for a hunting knife and a small paring knife went to a co worker. It is extremely fine grained and takes a really nice edge from what I remember, but does patina and react to stuff. Bark Rivers in A2 often patina easily as well.

I just found an article online that refers to A2 as a Stainless steel??? And then another articles saying that A2 is 304 SS or 18/8 stainless??? Can't make this stuff up! Types Of Stainless Steel: A2 vs A4 or 304 vs 316 | Goebel Fasteners
 
I have read up on Larrins stuff. When you look online, you find all sorts of info and not all of it is correct! To the average person, it can be incredibly confusing to see information out there that says different things! Look at the link from Goebel; people may not realize that there is a A2 and A4 that are stainless as well as the A2 tool steel we are referencing here; completely different chemical compositions! I found another article about survival knives where they refer to A2 as stainless with very poor corrosion resistance in the article as well?

I have 12' of MagnaCut either at the heat treaters or waiting to be cut out to play with. Very interesting steel to say the least and I can't wait to play with it! But some manufactures call MagnaCut a Tool Steel with excellent corrosion resistance (or stainless properties) and then say it isn't a Stainless steel due to the definition of Stainless steel. I've seen pictures of MagnaCut knives showing patina after limited useage as well, where other testing shows it is very corrosion resistant, so it may depend on what is on the knife. Salt Spray corrosion resistance will be different than how it reacts to foods. That is what is confusing! Heat treat plays a huge role in how the steel behaves, too.
 
I heard A2 is similar to SKD12, has around 5% Cr. the SLD/D2 is the ones that’s closer to full stainless 12% Cr. Lots Ppl got confused with A2/D2, SKD11/SKD12.
Chromax IME is very easy to maintain, it will still patina if you leave it wet, but if you wipe your knife often it can be stainless too, reason I prefer A2/SKD12 over R2 is very easy to sharpen, just couple swipes on the stone and is razor sharp again.
 
Taz575 said:
I have read up on Larrins stuff. When you look online, you find all sorts of info and not all of it is correct! To the average person, it can be incredibly confusing to see information out there that says different things! Look at the link from Goebel; people may not realize that there is a A2 and A4 that are stainless as well as the A2 tool steel we are referencing here; completely different chemical compositions! I found another article about survival knives where they refer to A2 as stainless with very poor corrosion resistance in the article as well?

I have 12' of MagnaCut either at the heat treaters or waiting to be cut out to play with. Very interesting steel to say the least and I can't wait to play with it! But some manufactures call MagnaCut a Tool Steel with excellent corrosion resistance (or stainless properties) and then say it isn't a Stainless steel due to the definition of Stainless steel. I've seen pictures of MagnaCut knives showing patina after limited useage as well, where other testing shows it is very corrosion resistant, so it may depend on what is on the knife. Salt Spray corrosion resistance will be different than how it reacts to foods. That is what is confusing! Heat treat plays a huge role in how the steel behaves, too.
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It's about how much chromium there is in solution, besides the quantity.

ZDP-189 for example. 20% chromium content. But most of it is in carbides, instead of in the steel solution. Semi-stainless.

MagnaCut is so stainless with it's amount of chromium, because it's carbides are not chromium enriched, it gets left in solution.
 
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Lest we forget that level of polish is also a factor therefore two knives of a very same semi SS steel will not necessarily show patina as fast so not readily comparable unless thoses parameters are controlled too.
 
Can I assume the Chromax will have similar edge retention with R2?
 
ModRQC said:
Already been pointed out above: it won’t. It will be keener, easier to sharpen steel.
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When you mean keener , is that mean can be sharpen at lower angle? I sharpen the R2 at around 9/10 degree. I might be get one soon to try out. Thanks
 
Think Carbon core/mono with a more manageable maintenance requirements and no food discoloration - although I guess that repeated acidics cutting could end there. Pro kitchens stuff. AS is a good pointer. Silver 3 could represent the counterpoint AS lacks in describing its essential attributes.
 
M1k3 said:
No. More like AS edge retention wise. Sharpens similar to blue steel/AS. Can take a higher grit edge easier than R2.
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Hello! So what is your routine of sharpening AS/Chromax?
 
I sharpened my chromax once per week at work(800 grit chosera only), once or twice quick strops per week in between sharpening. I used it for almost every thing except breaking down fish. I wish they have 240mm version tho, sadly it’s only available up to 210mm.
 
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If thin enough:

Carbons: SG500 - whatever.

Semi SS, rather fine SS, or AS/52100 I've known: SG320 - SG500 - whatever.

Crap steels: coarsest at hand suited for the task at the time - it wouldn't be my prefered stones but those I keep remnants of just for this use. But then SG500 would come after.

SG2/HAP-40 (euphemism for high carbides): Cerax 320, Cerax 1K, Cerax 3K/Ouka and experiment from there.

🤷‍♂️
 
gentiscid said:
Hello! So what is your routine of sharpening AS/Chromax?
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Depends how dull it was. If just hesitant on tomato skins, Shapton Glass 4k. When that doesn't work efficiently, Shapton Glass 500 -> Shapton Glass 4k. I'd say that an edge finished in 1-2k range lasts longer with it. But I like the Glass 4k edge much better in use.
 
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