Stainless clad - yes/no reasons

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big D

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Other than additional cost and lack of coloring, is there any other reason to not wanting stainless clad?
Is there problems with food release, stickshun (if that is a word?) Gee I just abhor the thought of owning stainless?
thanks
D.
 
I can't think of any lol. I think it's harder to forge weld high carbon steel to stainless steel for the san mai, but if the blacksmith can do that stainless is much more practical.
 
My personal preference is all-carbon for most of my kitchen knives, and all-stainless for just a few where it makes sense -- like a beater paring knife, citrus knife, cheap Chinese cleavers. I don't see much point in stainless-clad carbon.

The only knife I have like that is a recently purchased Kohetsu honesuki in stainless-clad Aogami Super. I bought it because I didn't want to spend a lot of money, and I like the harder Blue steels like AS. It was just a way to get a honesuki in AS without spending a lot for a fancier carbon/carbon-clad one. I wasn't sure I would end up liking this kind of knife (turns out, I do!).

I can be a little more sloppy about drying the knife after using it, but it's just not a major advantage in having the stainless cladding. And it probably won't be much fun if I get to the point where I need to thin the knife after enough sharpening. I'll probably replace it with a fancier carbon/carbon-clad honesuki eventually.
 
Yea, practically I thought the point was that soft iron is easier to abrade than most stainless steels used for cladding, so it’s easier when you have to thin, and perhaps relatedly easier to get a nice kasumi with beautiful contrast. (Correct me if I’m wrong.. I can’t cite any primary sources here. Maybe there’s a difference in the level of structural support it provides to the core, too? I don’t know.)

I like reactive cladding because I like the look of patina, but that’s me...
 
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The only real drawback I've noticed/seen is that its harder to get a nice finish after thinning since the cladding is softer. That being said, all my knives are currently monosteel
 
I'd say either carbon or stainless...if worried about the cladding just try a monosteel carbon.

Only real reason for iron clad in my mind is thinning.
 
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Just FYI .. stainless clad can still rust and discolour at the core steel do you can’t just keep in in wet conditions
 
One thing I cane up with is that you cannot make clad knives into single bevel. I avoid clad knives for sujihikis for this reason. It's not an issue of stainless though.
 
ian said:
A good solution: buy a yanagiba instead?
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It seems that happens in the reversed way in most places even in sushi restaurant these days.

I heard from some sharpeners that making sujihikis close to single bevel (around 9:1) is pretty common.
 
Stainless clad is worlds better than iron clad. Kurouchi can help, but finding a long lasting kurouchi finish is a gamble. I absolutely dispise orange. Now, monosteel will negate that, but at a higher price point, usually.
 
slickmamba said:
The only real drawback I've noticed/seen is that its harder to get a nice finish after thinning since the cladding is softer. That being said, all my knives are currently monosteel
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i find it actually easier to refinish softer cladding, but even with softer stainless cladding, soft carbon cladding is slightly easier to refinish... both are easier to finish than monosteel though
 
big D said:
Other than additional cost and lack of coloring, is there any other reason to not wanting stainless clad?
Is there problems with food release, stickshun (if that is a word?) Gee I just abhor the thought of owning stainless?
thanks
D.
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I already went through phases where I thought stainless clad was ideal, then mono, then full stainless then San mai soft iron.
At this point my simple work kit contains mono stainless, mono carbon, honyaki, stainless clad and soft iron but the diversity wasn’t intentional. I found that in pursuit of performance cladding isn’t much of a consideration.
 
JBroida said:
i find it actually easier to refinish softer cladding, but even with softer stainless cladding, soft carbon cladding is slightly easier to refinish... both are easier to finish than monosteel though
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Haha should've added that I can't do it well with my stone setup. Need some softer stones, chosera/glass are leaving streaky/uneven finishes, maybe im not going soft enough
 
I too agree with @labor of love

I stopped allowing such considerations to limit purchasing decisions. As a result I have found great new performers as well as replacements in knives I previously would not have considered. In my case, I used to avoid stainless cladding for reasons I cannot rationally explain. I guess I used to think that something was wrong with using pre-stainless-clad stock. No logic behind it; it’s an illustration of past ignorance. I changed my mind because I absolutely love some of my newer users that fall into this category.

If you’re open to taking advantage of the BST community, it’s so much easier (and more fun) to open your mind and take some risks... if you don’t like a new knife, just flip it! Or similarly: buy different configurations used. In doing so you might even help out a fellow user/enthusiast.
 
I agree with Craig. Went through thinking mono carbons best. Now have a mix. There some San Mai with great grinds and finish. It seems that in the last 10+ yrs. More San Mai are being made in Japan.

For the average person stainless cladding over carbon core is a good way to experience carbon steel with only the edge needing extra care.

Even as a home cook now three of favorite knives,hammered, KU, and nashiji finish. All stainless clad carbon core. When working in hotels used mono carbons 8 hours a day. Let my gyuto patina, cleaned my yanagibas. Still have several mono carbons at home, but they require more care not being used all day like at work .

Ojisan is right I have met several Japanese Nationals that like to turn assem. Bevels more so.
 
I dislike soft iron, the patina is never as stable as hard steel. It’s gotta be honyaki, mono or stainless clad for me.
 
labor of love said:
Accurate statement. But semichrome helped me feel better about the soft iron cladding situation.
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Yeah I get you with the semichrome/autosol stuff but it’s a pain to wash off. I once after using it and washing my knife throughly cut a hot piece of steak. No patina formed. Now I only use that stuff on my drawer queens. It’s ultrafine sandpaper or stones for my cooking knives now.
 
'No' to stainless - because it does not stain
'No' to carbon - because it does stain

pick your poison :)
 
Matus said:
'No' to stainless - because it does not stain
'No' to carbon - because it does stain

pick your poison :)
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I would rather say:
'Yes' to stainless - because it does not stain

And
'Yes' to carbon - because it does stain

Pick both

[emoji1] [emoji106]
 
The soft stainless clad scratches very easily, but because of its softness, that's easy to solve. A few grades of sandpaper is all you need.
Thinning with stainless clad is no fun. That soft stuff is quite abrasion resistant, and tends to clog the stone. Use a lot of water.
 
lemeneid said:
I dislike soft iron, the patina is never as stable as hard steel. It’s gotta be honyaki, mono or stainless clad for me.
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Hmmm... I never thought about that, but I guess it's because all my carbon-clad carbon knives are some version of pattern-weld "Damascus" cladding, like the sumanigashi series Ikeda knives I mostly use. I'm not seeing just the irregular patina coloring because it's mixed in with the pattern in the cladding. I'm not especially a fan of patterned/"Damascus" knives, it just turned out that way with the knives I ended up with.
 
lemeneid said:
Yeah I get you with the semichrome/autosol stuff but it’s a pain to wash off. I once after using it and washing my knife throughly cut a hot piece of steak. No patina formed. Now I only use that stuff on my drawer queens. It’s ultrafine sandpaper or stones for my cooking knives now.
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I didn’t quite understand the point you’re making here. Are you saying reactivity is reduced after semichrome?
 
I think he is saying that because reactivity is reduced this indicates that some semichrome is left on the metal even after washing. In that case there is a potential of food contamination by semichrome.

This is just my understanding of what was said not my opinion or knowledge.
 
I believe that Simichrome leaves a very light coating of whatever petroleum product on the surface. This acts to aid in protecting the freshly polished metal; and also impedes that patina.

IME you can easily remove said coating with hot soapy water and a soft towel or sponge.
 
Barmoley said:
I think he is saying that because reactivity is reduced this indicates that some semichrome is left on the metal even after washing. In that case there is a potential of food contamination by semichrome.

This is just my understanding of what was said not my opinion or knowledge.
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Yeah basically I don’t want that autosol stuff touching my food. It is ridiculously difficult to remove. It still persists even after 3 washes.
 
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