VG10 Steel, Opinions

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I've put in a lot of time practicing on my Shun VG10's, and I've managed to improve the edges, but with a lot more work and not as good results than my Carter (which is white steel, can't remember which one). I haven't had any chipping problems though, however I had significant chipping issues whith my Bob Kramer Shun, which was SG2 I believe. Granted, I really wasn't the best at caring for it. This is prior to me entering the industry and knowing nothing about knives. I had steeled it several times, probably incorrectly, as well as sent it through some chicken bones. The chipping was significant though. Thankfully, SLT just took it back.

What are the thoughts on SG2? Is chipping common for that steel or was the Kramer just ground really thin, along with a combination of my poor habits?
 
I stand corrected... Koki has on his site that its... ACUTO 440 (HRC 59)

Any other name for this or is it one of those mystery steels?
 
I beleive that Acuto is a steel from Aichi Steel Corporation and the 440 variety has a known composition. Recently CRKT started using Acuto steel (Acuto 440 and Acuto +) in some of its offerings - may be limited to the Ken Onion designed models.
 
Well, I ain't no expert by any means, but I like VG-10 knives. In fact, I just got another one today.
 
Echizen makes a decent VG10 blade. But they are mass produced, I have not used any other VG10 blades to compare it to, and I have not used their pure VG10 line.
 
Well, I have several knives with VG10 core - a Hiro Shiki 'limited edition' and 2 Ryusen Damascus knives.
Easy to sharpen - yes. Edge retention, very satisfactory for me. I refresh the edge (very gently) with a ceramic rod after each use.
Overall, not quite as easy or sharp as AS carbon steel, but still very satisfactory.
My 2 cents worth
 
I don't have problems sharpening VG 10. I wouldn't blanket statement the whole thing and say "VG 10 is chippy". Any hardened steel can be brittle or chippy. I just feel like for the amount of work I put into the edge I should be able to get more pro use out of it. My wife's Miyabi Gyuto is vg10 and that puppy stays pretty sharp around the home. But in a pro scene, edge retention surely seems lacking. There's no denying that.
 
I have/had (on permanent loan to a family member now) miyabi gyuto and agree with the sentiment that the edge stays really sharp for a short period of time and about 80% for a very long time. The Shun that I have had seemed harder to sharpen. For a move from german knives the steel is superior in my opinion, but when you start getting into comparing with other Japanese stainless i'm at a loss for experience. All in all though I did like this knife quite a bit, and was very impressed with it, although the blade was torqued every so slightly towards the tip. Since I kind of went off the deep end with ODC I really don't want to go back to stainless, the carbon is so much easier to sharpen.
 
My only experience with VG10 is with 6" SHUN knife which does not have the reputation as the best VG10 out there. But it is rather easy to sharpen (well, with diamond plates) and the edge holds in the state of 'good enough' for rather long. It is however rather brittle - micro chipping may occur if one is not careful.
 
and the kagayaki is afaik all vg10 steel and not cladded in softer stainless.which explains a bit about the higher cost of the knife. =D
 
In the right hands, I think VG-10 is a great stainless. Takeshi Saji and whoever does the HT on the Hattori FH line have got it down, personally I'd take either of those offerings over the CPM steels I've used. Granted, I may just not be good enough at sharpening to get the most out of these tougher stainless steels.
 
wow, was it Saji San that does it? awesome stuff, so he does ryusen by blazen as well?
 
Sorry, just meant Saji's HT of his own blades is top notch. I'm not sure who HTs the Forum series.

I don't know much about Ryusen/Echizan as a company. I believe they out source to other companies, kinda like Kaneshige (parent company of Konosuke) and that Takamura make some of the Blazen series knives so who knows, guess it's possible. I think Takeshi Saji is somewhat involved with the Echizan group. But this is just my opinion formed on hearsay from various forums.
 
VG-10 is a very good steel, it's not as good as SG-2 or SRS-15 but it get really sharp, just doesn't hold the edge that the other two do.
 
My Falkniven F1 and S1 are my favorite outdoor knives.
A Tanaka petty in VG10 that I recently bought from b/s/t is a super little cutter and another petty that I paid more than twice of its price is nowhere close to the Tanaka's performance.

I do not see any reason to be very picky about steel.
What I would pay close attention to is blade's profile, grind, and thickness relation.
 
James said:
I have a hattori hd and the stuff is pretty decent. Sharpens up pretty darn easily and edge keenness and retention are much better than expected given reviews of other vg10 knives. I think it's on par with my TKC wrt edge retention. Hattori/ryusen must do a good job HTing the stuff.
Click to expand...

+1. Exactly my same situation and impressions. The knife works and sharpens beautifully.
 
I have a couple knives which are VG10. I've had no major issues with them. THey take a good edge and hold it for a reasonable length of time. Are there other steels I'd gravitate towards? Yes. But are the VG10 blades problematic? Hell no. They get the job done. No issues there.
 
I think it's more of knowing what to do with the knife, getting to know the knife itself, and knowing how to sharpen comes first.....
 
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