Yoshikane question

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Shagrath

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Hey there. Burrfection (yes. I’m aware of his reputation) has Yoshikane SKD knives on sale. 210mm gyuto is about $280 for example, which seems like a really good deal as far as I can tell. But then I looked closer and they’re made of SKD11, which is D2, and I think the ones everybody raves about are SKD12.

Are these not such a good deal then after all? Is there a huge difference between the two?
 
From my memory, the SKD11/SLD ones were more expensive than the SKD12 ones. SKD11 will be less reactive and have more edge retention. Some people don't like sharpening SKD11/D2. I personally have not had any problem sharpening that steel.
 
I have a Yoshikane SLD 150mm petty/slicer. Love it. It resists many hones, both synth and natural, but a Shapton HR Glass or Shapton G7 makes short work of it and all the wear-resistant, semi-stainless steels, which is what the Shapton HR series was designed to do.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but every single hatsukokoro Yoshikane I've seen is the nashiji SKD 12. So unless Burrfection got a bunch of costume order, which I doubt they would.
 
Yoshi said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but every single hatsukokoro Yoshikane I've seen is the nashiji SKD 12. So unless Burrfection got a bunch of costume order, which I doubt they would.
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Yoshi said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but every single hatsukokoro Yoshikane I've seen is the nashiji SKD 12. So unless Burrfection got a bunch of costume order, which I doubt they would.
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That’s what he says in the description. Custom order and he calls it the “Shoshin” collection, but it looks like every other nashiji SKD I’ve seen.
 
Shagrath said:
That’s what he says in the description. Custom order and he calls it the “Shoshin” collection, but it looks like every other nashiji SKD I’ve seen.
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The kanji is definitely hatsukokoro, and you are right, they look exactly the same as everyone else's
 
Shagrath said:
Other than the average Joe like me sees “Yoshikane SKD” and no SLD anywhere to be seen.
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Honestly, Ryky isn’t very knowledgeable. Very likely Hatsukokoro told him it’s SKD11 and he’s not aware that it’s the same thing as SLD, so he just listed it as SKD11. Which is 100% technically accurate.

The whole SKD11/SKD12/SLD/A2/D2 is sufficiently confusing that you can see you’re not the first person to be confused. There’s a lot of other steels out there that are functionally identical but go by different names. I posted a knife in SF100 and Troopah had to say something like “isn’t that the same as AEB-L?” which I had no idea but of course he was right.
 
I'm still quite doubtful how everyone's hatsukokoro is SKD12 and Burrfection's is SKD11. If he orders from Yoshikane directly then it makes more sense, but to get a custom through hatsukokoro from Yoshikane seems a bit indirect?
 
Delat said:
Honestly, Ryky isn’t very knowledgeable. Very likely Hatsukokoro told him it’s SKD11 and he’s not aware that it’s the same thing as SLD, so he just listed it as SKD11. Which is 100% technically accurate.

The whole SKD11/SKD12/SLD/A2/D2 is sufficiently confusing that you can see you’re not the first person to be confused. There’s a lot of other steels out there that are functionally identical but go by different names. I posted a knife in SF100 and Troopah had to say something like “isn’t that the same as AEB-L?” which I had no idea but of course he was right.
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SKD11 would be correct, if the steel isn't from Hitachi. SLD is Hitachi only. SKD11 is the Japanese standards body, any Japanese steel manufacturer can use it, but not SLD.
 
The Yoshi black Damascus have been D2/SKD11as long as I remember, so they do work with that steel.

I personally like A2/SKD12 better.

When in doubt, drop the seller a line.

The language on the site comparing the two lines makes it sound like the knife you’re interested in is A2, and maybe he goofed calling it SKD-11. But I’d ask.
 
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I bought some a couple of weeks ago. In my very inexpert opinion (these are the first Yoshikane knives I've bought), they are good knives and indistinguishable from the images of the standard versions sold at other retailers for 30+% more.

Maybe it's a labeling mistake and it's really SKD12, maybe it's old stock SLD or a custom order with SLD or even off-brand SKD11. From my research, Yoshikane has a solid track record for handling any of that family of steels so it's not terribly problematic for me. They came sharp with good fit and finish, but I haven't had them long enough to say anything about reactivity, edge retention or sharpenability.
 
That narrative on the Burrfection web site has been on there now for a couple of years, I think they got it wrong the first time and just keep running it. I saw it when I was buying my Yoshikane’s and decided to go through Knives and Stones during their annual sale and got them for the same price with better handles. If you decide to go the 240mm route some day I would recommend the “K” tip version, mine had a heel height a little over 57mm with a real nice profile.
 
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