# Ryusen Fukakuryu - is this VG10 or ATS314, or vintage dependent?



## LifeByA1000Cuts (Feb 22, 2018)

You and some other vendors list these as VG10 cored.
Ryusen website says it is ATS314.

Are there two different batches in circulation?


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## JBroida (Feb 22, 2018)

There are many that are ats314 and we have those coming, but the batch of Santoku we have in stock was vg10


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Feb 22, 2018)

Thanks 

So they are not drying up (would be good news if they didn't, they're on my "eventually..." list)?

And.... which of the two versions do you recommend for what use?


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## add (Feb 22, 2018)

I am familiar with ATS-34, what is the ATS-314 like?


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## HRC_64 (Feb 22, 2018)

add said:


> I am familiar with ATS-34, what is the ATS-314 like?



+1


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## JBroida (Feb 23, 2018)

add said:


> I am familiar with ATS-34, what is the ATS-314 like?



its another cobalt alloy like vg-10, but feels a bit less gritty when sharpening and seems to take a slightly keener edge. I cant find a composition right now, but i will get one soon. Its pretty common in hairdresser shears... good corrision reistance and durability.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Feb 23, 2018)

@JBroida you are comparing both at Ryusen HT?


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## JBroida (Feb 23, 2018)

LifeByA1000Cuts said:


> @JBroida you are comparing both at Ryusen HT?



yes... i was comparing them in the above statement


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## JBroida (Mar 20, 2018)

You guys asked about ats-314, so i found out... it will also be updated on z-knives steel chart soon too (i shared this with him as well)

Carbon&#65288;C&#65289;1.0 
Chrom&#65288;Cr&#65289;15
Molibdenum&#65288;Mo&#65289;1
Vanadium&#65288;V&#65289;0.1
Cobalt&#65288;Co&#65289;1.4

We have it in the ryusen fukakuryu series at 61hrc. It was mostly hair shears before, but after testing, they found it just slightly behind sg2 in terms of edge retention, but much better than vg-10... in some tests it was on par with sg2. Its also easier to sharpen and gets sharper than vg10, without being much more brittle (slightly though). Sadly, its an expensive steel... up there with many other powdered steels like sg2. Now I've had a bit more time with it... sharpening, in use, etc. I've come to enjoy it a lot.

They said this:
ATS-314 is a stainless cobalt alloy steel. To a carbon steel, Chrome is added to increase wear-resistance and Carbon is added for edge taking ability. This is a type of stainless steel Hitachi steel co. developed. By adding cobalt to the alloy, it can have a great hardness as well as wear-resistance. It is, however, a very expensive option and also difficult to work with to make knives. However, we believe this steel is a well-balanced steel for kitchen knives while having a structural stability, toughness, sharpness, wear resistance and stainless.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Mar 21, 2018)

Darn - you ain't helping that one off the to-get-eventually list  "sharper than vg-10", when comparing Ryusen to Ryusen, probably translates to "sharper in practice than a lot of non-handforged, average HT shirogami"?


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## JBroida (Mar 21, 2018)

I still like a lot of white steel, but if youve ever used a knife by them, you know they do a great job when it comes to edge feel, edge taking, edge retention, and enjoyable feeling in sharpening, at the cost of being a hit harder and more brittle feeling (a trade off Im totally down with)


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