# SLD steel



## mark76 (Nov 23, 2014)

Hi guys,

I'm considering a knife in SLD steel. It's by Konosuke, so I assume they got their heat treat well. But I don't know this steel. Who can tell me a little more:

- Is it fully stainless?
- How is the wear resistance?
- How sharp can you get it? (Important to me - I bring many of my knives to 10K Choseras). I read it is similar to SKD steel, which seems similar to D2 steel - and this has pretty large carbides. But I'm really not sure.
- Anything else I need to know?

Thanks!


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## James (Nov 23, 2014)

I've never used/owned a knife in SLD, but as far as I know, it's semistainless and generally has large carbides (this is very HT dependent though).


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## masibu (Nov 24, 2014)

It's practically stainless in that you wont have issues with reactivity generally speaking. It's the sort of steel that generally benefits from a toothier edge really. Its pretty wear resistant, a little difficult to sharpen and can be pretty chippy. I wouldn't imagine taking it to a 10k finish would be beneficial at all (not that I take my knives that high a finish generally anyway). Id be more inclined to finish around 3-5kish in grit


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## mkriggen (Nov 24, 2014)

I have two Yoshikane SLD knives. They take a very sharp, stable edge (not as sharp as white label, but as sharp as any stainless I've used). I even had Jon at JKI put a Hamaguri edge on them once just to see how they would handle it. The hamaguri edge proved too fragile for my knife skills, but provided a great secondary bevel for a slightly less acute primary bevel. I sharpen these knifes to an 8k finish regularly with no problem. Stay around 10* a side and you won't have any problem. They do seem to benefit from a microbevel. It is considered a semi-stainless, and will develop some patina, but I actually like the results.

Be well,
Mikey


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## Matus (Nov 24, 2014)

My experience is similar - Yoshikane SLD takes a great edge and holds it surprisingly long. Micro bevel is a good idea (as it is with SKD steel). Also - the SLD knives from Yoshikane have very little flex what is something I like. The patina develops slowly.


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## krx927 (Nov 24, 2014)

Matus said:


> My experience is similar - Yoshikane SLD takes a great edge and holds it surprisingly long. Micro bevel is a good idea (as it is with SKD steel). Also - the SLD knives from Yoshikane have very little flex what is something I like. The patina develops slowly.



I have Yoshikane in SKD and indeed it is not completely stainless and is developing patina...


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## jklip13 (Nov 24, 2014)

SKD is a Japanese equivalent for the American D2 tool steel. It is widely used in the tactical knife community (where it is considered a carbon steel) realistically there is a fair amount of chromium in it and it is very stain resistant. Depending on how it's made, sometimes the carbide size can get a little large, making it more suitable for toothier (coarser) edges
I have used Yoshikane and Konosuke SKD, I find both to be really similar. You can get a surprising amount of "bite" from the edges, even at 10k, it just wont hold the aggression nearly as long as some of the better carbon steels in my experience. I like to stick with a hard 5k stone for mine, I can get about a week of good toothyness cutting on wood boards.


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## Mr.Wizard (Nov 24, 2014)

jklip13 said:


> You can get a surprising amount of "bite" from the edges, even at 10k, it just wont hold the aggression nearly as long as some of the better carbon steels in my experience. I like to stick with a hard 5k stone for mine, I can get about a week of good toothyness cutting on wood boards.



I just ordered a knife is SKD. Does it have as much initial bite as the good carbon or just "surprising" for a non-carbon blade? Is a "hard" finishing stone important, and why? How is it to debur? Any other tips for optimum performance?


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## JBroida (Nov 24, 2014)

for what its worth, the feeling of SKD among the blades being talked about in this thread will vary greatly (i.e. konosuke, yoshikane, gesshin uraku, etc.)


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## Mr.Wizard (Nov 24, 2014)

JBroida said:


> for what its worth, the feeling of SKD among the blades being talked about in this thread will vary greatly (i.e. konosuke, yoshikane, gesshin uraku, etc.)



Not too surprising but a needed reminder nonetheless. (For me.) For the Uraku then, any specific tips for getting the most out of it?


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## JBroida (Nov 24, 2014)

i've found that the edge performs best at 3-6k, not so much lower or higher... 10 degrees per side would be the absolute min. i would sharpen at. If you go really thin, a microbevel helps. Even at 10degrees per side, a microbevel might help with edge holding and stability. That being said, it happens to be a very tough and durable version, so there's not much to worry about with it.


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## MrOli (Nov 24, 2014)

Very interested in feedback on this, I have literally just pulled the trigger on a Yoshikane Hakata SKD...


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## jklip13 (Nov 24, 2014)

Mr.Wizard said:


> I just ordered a knife is SKD. Does it have as much initial bite as the good carbon or just "surprising" for a non-carbon blade? Is a "hard" finishing stone important, and why? How is it to debur? Any other tips for optimum performance?



The amount of initial bite is probably most dependent on the factory sharpening, most "out of the box" edges don't, but there are definitely some exceptions


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## jklip13 (Nov 24, 2014)

I don't personally notice too much difference between the various steels, so I'm probably the wrong person to evaluate that.
I find harder stones a little easier to produce toothier edges on, that's my preference
Soft stones are usually easier for me to deburr on but tend to have less bite
I think its all quite subjective though, toothy to some may be slippery to others - and technique is by far the biggest decider in results


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## toddnmd (Nov 24, 2014)

This thread started about sld, but then changed to skd. How similar are they?


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## Geo87 (Nov 24, 2014)

A guy at work just bought the Masahi kobo (SLD) 270 gyuto from Mert.
I would say it's stainless... Not semi stainless. he's cut just about everything with it, no patina whatsoever and no reactivity either. The knife isn't the toughest but Probobly not the steel and more the crazy thin geometry behind the edge. 
Took a great edge with plenty of bite finished at 3k then stropped.


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## James (Nov 24, 2014)

toddnmd said:


> This thread started about sld, but then changed to skd. How similar are they?



SKD12 = SLD = D2 I think?


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## mkriggen (Nov 24, 2014)

James said:


> SKD12 = SLD = D2 I think?



Real close, IIRC SKD-12=D2 almost=SLD. The minor differences between SLD and the other two is probably not noticeable with the same heat treat.


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## masibu (Nov 24, 2014)

Skd12 is a2.. skd11 is d2 or aka sld steel. A2/skd12 isn't quite as chippy as d2 at the cost of being less wear resistant. I wouldn't keep an edge at 10 degrees on sld steel, more like 15 and as has been stated a microbevel is handy to prevent chipping and is a handy deburring method as well. For me, I like something tougher in that chipping isnt such an issue. I sharpen regularly so wear resistance is really not that important to me, so long as the knife lasts a shift at work I can easily touch up at the end. I would prefer a steel that sharpens easier and better for this reason


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## masibu (Nov 24, 2014)

Mr.Wizard said:


> I just ordered a knife is SKD. Does it have as much initial bite as the good carbon or just "surprising" for a non-carbon blade? Is a "hard" finishing stone important, and why? How is it to debur? Any other tips for optimum performance?



I have a yoshikane skd knife which I enjoy using a lot. It is a little difficult to sharpen though there are many other countless knives that are more difficult. Sharpness is pretty good although I tried to lower the angle too much. It should last okay if you sit at around 10 degrees. I prefer harder stones in general as it is and find that the sigma power 6k or naniwa snow white leave a pretty good finish with enough bite.


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## Mr.Wizard (Nov 26, 2014)

toddnmd said:


> This thread started about sld, but then changed to skd. How similar are they?



I piggybacked on this thread because I recently ordered a knife in SKD 11 which apparently has the same composition as SLD:







There is more than one kind of SKD steel so I should have specified. Also as Jon reminds it depends on the knife of course.


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## cclin (Nov 26, 2014)

funny...I just update the data, my app has very different result. SLD is the only steel contain Tungsten, Cobalt & Nitrogen.


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## mkriggen (Nov 26, 2014)

That's the chart I remember seeing.


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## Mr.Wizard (Nov 26, 2014)

cclin said:


> funny...I just update the data, my app has very different result.



I don't know what to say. Doesn't the author of that site/app post here? I think he'll have to be the one to explain the difference.


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## JBroida (Nov 26, 2014)

yeah... there's something fishy going on there... they should be practically the same... skd11 should be like D2 and skd12 should be like a2


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## masibu (Nov 26, 2014)

If the chart update is legit I wonder how those little variances would affect the final edge?


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