white steel, for those who love it ,please tell us

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DevinT

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the reasons why.

On paper it's not all that impressive. I don't have much experiance with it, a couple of Carter's, but it does get very sharp and is very easy to sharpen.

Hoss
 
I would estimate that is why it is loved so much. Gets amazingly screaming sharp, and does so rather easily, and has decent enough retention.
 
I have no experience with it, but on paper it is not too much different than 1095/W1....At least from what i saw, maybe i am a bit off on this.
 
I guess the low amount of S and P sure helps to set the Hitachi paper steels apart from some other "plain" carbons.
 
Well, as it is already been stated, white steel gets very sharp, very fast. Granted it won't hold its edge as long as blue or AS steel, (especially on poly, I can feel my kono getting dull after so much use, but I do put a high natural finish on so won't say that, that doesn't help) But it's kind of a fun steel to have and use. My .02$
 
I have a Carter in white #1 and i love it. It's my first knife in white #1, and it gets ridiculously sharp and is so easy to sharpen. I have found that it holds an edge longer than a few other carbon steels i have as well. I will be looking for more knives with this steel in the future.

Mike
 
Excellent question Hoss, my guess, mythology.

-AJ
 
As a guess, white steel is more popular among home cooks than pro cooks, for two reasons:

1. Home cooks can sharpen whenever they feel like it. Pro cooks might have to go for several hours between sessions on the stones.
2. White steel seems to be be more reactive than blue. Again, home cooks can wipe it off after every carrot if they want to. In a pro kitchen it might sit around wet a little longer.
 
I think if you put a poll, most people would prefer blue steel to be honest. Perhaps one of the reasons for its popularity is that it isn't super-expensive generally? A lot of makers charge a premium for blue, whereas white is at a nice price point
 
I am curios how long does a knife in white steel from a reputable maker hold an edge in a pro kitchen? I don't think I have seen a reference on this.

M
 
Unless I know a particular maker specializes in blue, I'm not keen on paying there extra money for blue over white. I'm a home cook, so edge retention is not add critical a concern as for a pro user. It's not that I love white over other steels, it's just a good steel in skilled hands at a better price point.
 
I like blue for the knives that are "extra duty" knives, ie: the Mizuno. I like white in general because of the ease of and level of sharpness. I can usually get two good shifts out of a white edge. However, I touch up after one shift, so to get more is a needless trade off. I can pretty much say the same for most of the knives I own. (Of various steels.) It's why I'm not a steel junky.
 
IMHO, white #2 is super easy to get super sharp. Edge retention is decent, not as good as the SGT and AS knives I own, but it's easier to strop/steel on a ceramic rod/touch-up on a high-grit stone to get it sharp again. I think I'd prolly prefer white #1 just for a little extra hardness and better edge retention. I don't have experience w/ AEBL or 52100, but really wanna try them. I'm slipping more into Salty's camp where steel isn't the main priority (as long as it's a good steel, carbon or SS, i.e. white, blue, AS, HD, AEBL, 52100, 61+ etc). If the design and geometry of the knife are not good I don't care what the steel is I won't use it.
 
honestly, i like the paper steels because those are the ones the makers i work with are good at heat treating... kind of how people look to Devin for his AEB-l

Some people are better at the HT for white steel, and some better at blue
 
Excellent question Hoss, my guess, mythology.

-AJ

As a guess, white steel is more popular among home cooks than pro cooks, for two reasons:

1. Home cooks can sharpen whenever they feel like it. Pro cooks might have to go for several hours between sessions on the stones.
2. White steel seems to be be more reactive than blue. Again, home cooks can wipe it off after every carrot if they want to. In a pro kitchen it might sit around wet a little longer.

+1 to these. For double bevel knives, I haven't used White #1 that much, but have a knife in White #2 and I don't really care for it. Sure it gets pretty sharp quickly, but it loses it just as fast. And how much time does a White steel knife save you in sharpening compared to a more complex carbon or stainless steel? I don't really see "gets sharp quick" as a major advantage. I would much rather put in 5 extra minutes on the stones and end up with a knife that gets me through 5 shifts instead of 2. I do like Blue steel and Blue Super more than White, and if a knife is offered in both I will pay extra for Blue. I have no plans to purchase any more double bevel White steel knives.
 
honestly, i like the paper steels because those are the ones the makers i work with are good at heat treating... kind of how people look to Devin for his AEB-l.

I know some work on the mid-techs is outsourced. Does Devin do his heat treating in-house on these?
 
...Gets ... sharp, and does so rather easily, and has decent enough retention.
Pretty much this along with high purity and ability to achieve high hardness. (Can you put a hamon on white 1?).
 
There isn't a knife made that will get me through 5 shifts.
 
that's what Devin's known for.

Interestingly, I just found this on his site. Sounds like the heat treatment is outsourced.

Mid-Tech knives, also sometimes called semi-custom knives, are knives made by a knife maker where some parts of the process are done by someone other than the knife maker. The goal of these knives is to offer a knife that is custom quality with a near-production price. Our mid-tech knives are made almost completely in-house. Using waterjet cutting for the profile, outside heat treating, and limiting the number of options keeps the price down. All grinding is done in-house but other employees in the shop help produce them. They are finish ground by hand.
 
I love white#2 because it isn't cladded, feels so refined on the stones, plus takes a killer edge.

If they made a monosteel blue#2 (not honyaki) knife with the profile and geometry I like, then of course I would try it...they just don't.
 
There isn't a knife made that will get me through 5 shifts.

I believe you. Everyone's amount of prep is different, menu items are different, how they use the knife, even acceptable level of sharpness are different. For me at my current job, I can get a full week out of my edges. At other places where I did a ton of knife work prep every day, 1-3 depending.
 
Interestingly, I just found this on his site. Sounds like the heat treatment is outsourced.

Mid-Tech knives, also sometimes called semi-custom knives, are knives made by a knife maker where some parts of the process are done by someone other than the knife maker. The goal of these knives is to offer a knife that is custom quality with a near-production price. Our mid-tech knives are made almost completely in-house. Using waterjet cutting for the profile, outside heat treating, and limiting the number of options keeps the price down. All grinding is done in-house but other employees in the shop help produce them. They are finish ground by hand.
Fixed.
 
Also, Devin developed and set the specifications for the heat treat on the AEB-L. Just because he isn't the one monitoring the oven, doesn't mean they aren't following his instructions.
 
When we first talked about doing the mid techs, it sounded like a good idea to have the heat treatment out sourced but I didn't find anyone to do it exactly like I wanted.

We have never sent anything out for heat treating.

Hoss
 
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