SKD significantly harder to sharpen than CCK?

[phasedweasel]

Hey all. My two main knives are a CCK-1303 and a Yoshikane gyuto, SKD blade material, from EE. I've found that I have a much easier time sharpening the carbon cleaver than the gyuto. Do you think this makes sense for these blade's materials, or is it that it's easier to hold a consistent angle with a wide cleaver?

 

[Miles]

That doesn't seem terribly surprising. The steel used in the Yoshis is quite hard and tough. Cleavers are generally easy to sharpen just because they have a very straight blade, as well.

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

SKD is D2 equivalent, if I am not mistaken, it will be harder to sharpen because of the alloys in the steel.

M

 

[mkriggen]

SKD is D2 equivalent, if I am not mistaken, it will be harder to sharpen because of the alloys in the steel.

M

SKD11 is equivalent to D2 (SLD is very similar, but some differences) but SKD12 is very different. As always, Gator has the specs http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/12529-SKD-11-12-and-SLD

 

[NO ChoP!]

CCK may be one of the easiest knives to sharpen.

Yosh hammered skd from EE is skd11, and is tough as nails, but probably middle of the pack for sharpening.

 

[franzb69]

cck is has a soft carbon steel.

 

[Justin0505]

I think CCK is THE easiest knife I've ever sharpened. First time I sharpened it, I felt like someone was playing a trick on me. It's still the only knife I've ever taken from barely push-cutting paper to hair-popping sharp with just a few passes on a borosilicate rod.

The steel on the CCK is tempered to a comparatively low hardness (feels sub-60hrc) plus, it's low alloy so it abrades easily and is cut quickly by the stones. In addition to that, it's a tall, thin blade with a very wide 2ndary bevel, so it's already thing behind the edge and takes very little to maintain or increase that thinness. However, it's not a clad knife, so while the steel does cut quickly, major thinning / smoothing out all those nasty grind marks is slower than it would be on a knife with soft cladding.
Still, the CCK will throw off your expectations for ease of sharpening for pretty much every other knife.

 

[phasedweasel]

I think CCK is THE easiest knife I've ever sharpened. ... major thinning / smoothing out all those nasty grind marks is slower than it would be on a knife with soft cladding.
Still, the CCK will throw off your expectations for ease of sharpening for pretty much every other knife.

Thanks for all the replies! I do love that CCK, it's great for about everything and comes back quick. I even like those grind marks, with the KU finish and round handle it's a distinctive knife. Ah well, I guess I must have more patience for the Yoshi.

 

[Mrmnms]

Your patience will be well rewarded

 

[tk59]

I think CCK is THE easiest knife I've ever sharpened. ... the CCK will throw off your expectations for ease of sharpening for pretty much every other knife.

+1. All simple carbon steel knives are easy to sharpen, in my experience. Some more than others. Yoshikane SKD is on the more difficult side of the spectrum but not terrible. It's not ultra wear resistant and deburrs rather easily.