Is it true that purists favor shirogami over aogami(super)?

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Cookingguy1717 said:
Guys im still here.

Firstly, here is the definition of purist "a person who insists on absolute adherence to traditional rules or structures, especially in language or style"

Secondly im not asking of opinions on purists in general, or creating a debate if being a purist have any real world value.

My question is simply what steel purists seems to favor.
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I prefer iron and carbon in my steel. Sometimes some vanadium, tungsten, chromium. Molybdenum and cobalt occasionally. Manganese is known to show up a lot. Niobium is a new one on the block.
 
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Cookingguy1717 said:
Guys im still here.

Firstly, here is the definition of purist "a person who insists on absolute adherence to traditional rules or structures, especially in language or style"

Secondly im not asking of opinions on purists in general, or creating a debate if being a purist have any real world value.

My question is simply what steel purists seems to favor.
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Real purists use iron knives, not steel. (And +1 to @McMan’s comment about industrially produced steels.)

In my experience, many people who quote the dictionary definition when people ask them to clarify don’t really understand what question they are asking...

Edit: Sorry, I feel like I’m getting too salty with age. I guess it’s true that you can fetishize the purity of simple carbon steels like Shirogami, so maybe if you like that sort of thing you will tend toward Shirogami. Probably most people here appreciate steels for their qualities in use, rather than for the romance of it all. The exception may be the people buying tamagahane, but I can’t speak for them...
 
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Ochazuke said:
There's a lot of vitriol about shirogami preference. I wouldn't say it's a purist thing, but here's my take as somebody who slices sashimi all day: no matter what, I'm sharpening every day. Which steel gets to an acceptable level of sharpness the quickest? In my experience white 1 is the way to go.

I think y'all be shocked at how little time the average Japanese chef likes to spend sharpening their knife, even when they do it daily.
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This is why I prefer shiro when working tweezer food. It's not really necessary, but the morning touch-up does help make me care more when every cut has to be precise. Super and PMs are for when I'm a kitchen plow.
 
If you haven't replaced your teeth with honyaki tamahagane dentures are you really a purist?

lol
In any case, white, blue, PM - they're all factory made steels by Hitachi company. Sure white 1 is the "purest" metallurgically speaking of those steels commonly used in knives, but what you may consider "purists" generally go for tamahagane honyaki. And generally the knives that are tamahagane honyaki are made of steel that didn't make the cut for Japanese swords, so...

:dancingcow:
 
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White and Blue are wonderful steels in the hands of a competent maker. I think most “purists” or collectors would make sure to have at least one of each in their collection.
 
White is (marginally) easier to sharpen and (maybe) takes a (slightly) sharper edge than blue. And blue (maybe) holds its edge (a little) longer.

And any of these differences get swamped quite easily by how I was feeling the day I sharpened. One day, knife A (white) is sharper than knife B (blue); another day, it is the other way around.

I have a personal preference for blue simply because it is slightly less prone to rusting.
 
Nagakin said:
This is why I prefer shiro when working tweezer food. It's not really necessary, but the morning touch-up does help make me care more when every cut has to be precise. Super and PMs are for when I'm a kitchen plow.
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Well said.

I always preferred white in pro environs because cause the edge just feels a bit more alive to me, while blue seemed a bit cold- just preference. And when I was cooking full time, a carried a leather strop box and an aizu for quick touch ups. Now I’m older, retired early from the fine dining fantasy, and idgaf as long as it’s sharp af.
 
Purists always send their knives back to the maker to be sharpened so the geometry is always exactly what the maker envisions.
 
personally i think white steels suck a$$, and i only have 1 single blade made out it for that simple reason. blue 2 on the other hand, thats a really nice steel. i'd say for me its the best carbon. its gets so sharp, and its easy to get there, and it keeps it for quite a while too. blue2 is the real "supersteel" imo.
 
inferno said:
personally i think white steels suck a$$, and i only have 1 single blade made out it for that simple reason. blue 2 on the other hand, thats a really nice steel. i'd say for me its the best carbon. its gets so sharp, and its easy to get there, and it keeps it for quite a while too. blue2 is the real "supersteel" imo.
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your total hate of White is but only awkward as your reproachless respect of cryod AUS-8 😜

Really I love your bluntness, keep it up! We sure do not need any more sheeps around here than there already is.
 
yeah i just dont see whats good with white steels. blue does everything white does but better, everything is better.

aus 8 is really good imo. at least when mac does it.

vg10 is also very good. i have a hattori and shiki in this steel. both are superb.

i guess i'm the antipurist here. i just want stuff thats good. and i know when i see it.
 
Michi said:
White is (marginally) easier to sharpen and (maybe) takes a (slightly) sharper edge than blue. And blue (maybe) holds its edge (a little) longer.

And any of these differences get swamped quite easily by how I was feeling the day I sharpened. One day, knife A (white) is sharper than knife B (blue); another day, it is the other way around.

I have a personal preference for blue simply because it is slightly less prone to rusting.
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I don’t buy this white is easier to sharpen stuff. It’s only marginally easier. To me it’s still the thinness of the edge which matters when it comes to sharpness.

Main thing is get your edge thin enough, and sharpening will be easy, regardless of steel, even HAP40 and ZDP.
 
lemeneid said:
I don’t buy this white is easier to sharpen stuff. It’s only marginally easier.
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Yes. As I said:
Michi said:
White is (marginally) easier to sharpen and (maybe) takes a (slightly) sharper edge than blue.
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lemeneid said:
Main thing is get your edge thin enough, and sharpening will be easy, regardless of steel, even HAP40 and ZDP.
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I find HAP-40 and ZDP-189 not as easy to sharpen as white or blue. It takes a bit more time, but is nowhere near as terrible as some people claim. When I sharpen those steels, I get to meditate for maybe an extra five minutes or so :)
 
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When your edge is screaming it's impossible to tell which is sharper. They all melt hair and cigarette paper and capsicum skin.
Blue and white 2 come up quite quickly on the stone for me. Blue super takes longer to sharpen but lasts all week at work without a touch up.
 
lemeneid said:
I don’t buy this white is easier to sharpen stuff. It’s only marginally easier. To me it’s still the thinness of the edge which matters when it comes to sharpness.

Main thing is get your edge thin enough, and sharpening will be easy, regardless of steel, even HAP40 and ZDP.
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If it’s marginally easier, it’s easier. 🤓
 
I think one should match the steel with the style of technique. I have a knife in hand dozens of hours a week, yet I have a very light touch, utilizing the draw. Now if you're a board clunker, white steel is probably not for you.

Also, It is said white is easier to sharpen, but in reality it is easier to screw up. When just a few steady passes are needed, one may go to town and melt away precious metal, leaving a thick bevel.
 
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