# INOX steel?



## abcd4653 (Jun 24, 2017)

I'm looking for a new chef knife.

So in the process of getting a new chef knife,

I find a two chef knife..
One is a suishin INOX wa-gyuto and the other is sakai takayuki INOX wa-gyuto.

Those two chef knives' material is same, inox steel.. But suishin is twice as expensive as sakai takayuki.. 

Same steel material, but different prices 

What is the difference between two products?

Could you explain to me about INOX blade steel?

THANKS


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## daveb (Jun 24, 2017)

Welcome to the forum.

I'll try with the explanation - I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Probably even if I'm not.

As frequently used in the knife world, inox is an abbreviation for inoxydable. Wikipedia says it better than I can: "In metallurgy, *stainless steel*, also known as *inox* steel or *inox* from French inoxydable (inoxidizable), is a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5% chromium content ..." 

The english language is (well was - back before cell phones, keypad text, and the death of punctuation) big on punctuation having meaning. inox (lower case) is the abbreviation, Inox or INOX is a proper noun, meaning a particular maker's formulation of inox. Suisin calls one of their formulations Suisin Inox Honyaki. Another is called Suisin Western Inox. They also use the inox Ginsanko. These are different steels. Suisin IH is a "mystery" steel. Suisin Western Inox is said to be AUS-8, an average stainless. Ginsanko is of course a steel type. Tadasuna INOX is Ginsanko. Perhaps the same as Sakai Takayuki INOX but maybe not. Another makers Inox could be VG-10. In short Inox (proper noun) is not a steel, it is a manufacturer's formulation of the stainless they use.

So. The Suisin Inox Honyaki you're looking at may be, but probably not, the same steel as the Sakai INOX. Suisin IH is something of a premium and will likely be higher priced than other makers stainless. Is it worth it? That's up to you.


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## K813zra (Jun 24, 2017)

daveb said:


> Welcome to the forum.
> 
> I'll try with the explanation - I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Probably even if I'm not.
> 
> ...



I recall reading some older threads where it was stated that the SIH was 19c27. No idea if that is just an assumption or not. For whatever that may be worth.


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## panda (Jun 24, 2017)

get the cheaper one


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## daveb (Jun 25, 2017)

Panda killed punctuation. Single handedly. With a thumb.


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## ynot1985 (Jun 25, 2017)

I have a Suisin Inox honyaki 240 wa gyuto.

I guess the extra cost is the fit and finish. For a production line style line, it's fit and finish is up there and probably better than a lot of other markers except Shigefusa


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## TimoNieminen (Jun 27, 2017)

abcd4653 said:


> Same steel material, but different prices



The cost of the steel itself is only a tiny fraction of the final price, so knives with the same steel and different prices should be no surprise. Just look at the variation in prices for X50CrMoV15 knives.

I don't have anything to add to what others have said about "inox" = generic term for stainless, or being used for specific steels, other than to say that even if it's the same steel, heat treatment matters, and one might be "better" than the other.


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## DanHumphrey (Jun 27, 2017)

daveb said:


> Panda killed punctuation. Single handedly. With a thumb.



Panda what? I thought it was AIM...


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## WOK-a-holic (Jun 30, 2017)

daveb did a good job of explaining it .
INOX is more or less a generic term for "stainless "
but beware not all stainless is created equal. 

www.zknives.com is a good place to look to find out metal composition of knives.
also has info on heat treating processes for certain metals.


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## daveb (Jun 30, 2017)

Perhaps not good enough. 

"inox" is a generic term for stainless.

"INOX" or "Inox" is a particular formulation of stainless by a maker. Suisin IH, Suisin Western Inox, Suisin Ginsanko and Tad INOX are 4 different formulations of inox.

Any Tad INOX will be the same steel as would any Suisin IH. Etc.


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## tienowen (Jun 30, 2017)

I haven't had Takayuki Inox steel knife but Suisin I had both western and Inox Honyaki.
First Suisin Western Gyuto make by steel AUS-8 HRC 58 with 70/30 bevel.
Second Suisin Inox Honyaki make by steel SANDVIK19C27, I think Sweedish Stainless steel, HRC 60 90/10 bevel.
For performance the Inox vs Wester: Inox easy sharpenging, fit & finish better plus stay sharp longer. Just the wa handle from Suisin need take a good care also hand wash. 
Another knife will be good beside Suisin is Konosuke Ginsanko line, I bought brand new 240mm the fit&finish was better then Suisn and sharpening easy as well. Konosuke came with 50/50 bevel.


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