# Favorite steel



## Slk707 (Feb 23, 2018)

I wanna know everyone's favorite steel type and form and why it's your favorite?


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## LucasFur (Feb 23, 2018)

has been asked before will be asked again. 
Just popping by on this thread. 
My forever knife would be in R2. 
Though by the time it needs a sharpening in my home environment I basically forgot how to sharpen and have to dust off the stones. 

But when Im in sharpening mood, and less busy at work, I like white 1 for nice quick touch ups and maintenance. Just feels nice to touch up and marginally polish a knife towards my preferences I.E. better for me every sharpening session.


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## bkultra (Feb 23, 2018)

Steel is only half the story, heat treat plays an equally important role. I usually pick the steel the smith prefers to work with. My personal favorite is white steel


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## chinacats (Feb 23, 2018)

1.2442 (~65hrc) from Tilman followed closely by Watanabe blue 2 (64 or 65 hrc). Both are very good steels heat treated very well. Hold edges forever (home user) don't chip and feel great on the stones.


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## panda (Feb 24, 2018)




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## Slk707 (Feb 24, 2018)

I definitely understand the heat treatment aspect but I'm looking for the more hypothetical perfect world where your steel is always perfectly heat treated what would you choose and why what makes you choose the steel you choose


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## panda (Feb 24, 2018)

white steel because it gets sharp a lot easier than other steels and actually feels good while getting it there. all knives need to get sharpened, i rather do it more often while having it be less annoying rather than have to do it less often but be really annoying. plus this steel was created specifically for knives, not for ball bearings or cutting other metal, but to cut food!


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## Keith Sinclair (Feb 24, 2018)

I'm old enough to remember when one of the better stainless knives was a Forschner. That's why I love carbon steels. Now Stainless is much better with user friendly powder steels like SRS15 & R2. G3 semi stainless. Bottom line SS much better than it used to be.

Carbon most of my knives present & past are white steel. Not too picky like Blue#2, V2, AS. Always will have a soft spot for mono steel carbons.


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## XooMG (Feb 24, 2018)

420J2.


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## Timthebeaver (Feb 24, 2018)

Black steel


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## Matus (Feb 24, 2018)

High carbon with good quality heat treatment. The rest is details


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## slengteng (Feb 24, 2018)

W#2 & R2 
I just can´t decide.


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## Marcelo Amaral (Feb 24, 2018)

Catcheside's sc125, Raquin's sc145, white and blue steels because it is so smooth while cutting and at the same time super easy to sharpen.
W2 from Mario Ingoglia and blue super from Takeda and Fujiwara Teruyasu - easy to sharpen with great retention
Aeb-l the easiest stainless to sharpen.


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## Eloh (Feb 24, 2018)

Eventhough my experience is somewhat limited:

1.2442
1.2562
Aogami Super

all very similar, and to me the best compromise of sharpenability and edge retention at the moment.


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## inzite (Feb 24, 2018)

TF AS steel!!! TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTF


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## Jville (Feb 24, 2018)

Timthebeaver said:


> Black steel


Oooh, this is one of the few i havent tried, and easily the one im most interested in. Ive heard its all that!


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## LucasFur (Feb 24, 2018)

Jville said:


> Oooh, this is one of the few i havent tried, and easily the one im most interested in. Ive heard its all that!



Everything rare is automatically off the chain amazing in the knife world.


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## labor of love (Feb 24, 2018)

So many good ones, its hard to decide. W2 has been a recent discovery and a pleasant surprise.


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## DevinT (Feb 24, 2018)

labor of love said:


> So many good ones, its hard to decide. W2 has been a recent discovery and a pleasant surprise.



White #2 or W2?

Hoss


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## labor of love (Feb 24, 2018)

W2, bossman. Whats your favorite steel? Haha


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## Anton (Feb 24, 2018)

Eloh said:


> Eventhough my experience is somewhat limited:
> 
> 1.2442
> 1.2562
> ...



What have you tried with 1.2562?


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## Anton (Feb 24, 2018)

In my very novice experience not sure if calling a steel as best on it's own would make sense, as an example:

One of the best edges I've ever used is Bill Burke's 52100, but I've also used other 52100 that were not that good. 
Devin's Mistery, Spicy white and phenomenal are Carpenter close second 
Watanable Blue and whatever Toyama uses

But probably the best is the white steel used by JKI's Gesshin honyaki's, again steel is slightly irrelevant IMO, slightly 

Let us also consider that without prime sharpening skill you could have the best steel and cut like a Shun or a master sharpener could make a "mediocre" steel truly sing, edge, angle, etc - this to me is more critical in most hands and may sway decision for best steel?


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## panda (Feb 24, 2018)

i'd love to try devins spicy white steel. i wish he would offer blanks of it.


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## Eloh (Feb 24, 2018)

Anton said:


> What have you tried with 1.2562?


Schanz & Xerxes - both about 65hrc i believe


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## DevinT (Feb 24, 2018)

labor of love said:


> W2, bossman. Whats your favorite steel? Haha



AEB-L, 52100, working with A2 and M2 right now also. 

Hoss


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## fatboylim (Feb 24, 2018)

1. JKI Ittetsu Ikeda/Ino honyaki white steel - glass hardness and sharpness with that honyaki feedback and still has good edge stability. It needs to be sharpened more than the TF but chips less. 

2. Teruyasu Fujiwara AS if you get a good one! It gets super sharp and has very good edge retention... It will micro chip due to the hardness. 

3. Tanaka blue 2 - such good value for such a good steel. This is my go to recommendation for budget kitchen knives.


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## RDalman (Feb 24, 2018)

1.2562 really made a impression when I made my test blades recently. Super impressive retention (borderline perfect ht elmax level), decent stone sharpening.


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## chinacats (Feb 24, 2018)

One steel that I should also mention is V2. Takes a wonderful edge, is easy to sharpen and feels really nice on the stones.


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## Marcelo Amaral (Feb 24, 2018)

chinacats said:


> One steel that I should also mention is V2. Takes a wonderful edge, is easy to sharpen and feels really nice on the stones.



+1. Also, forgot to mention Shigefusa and Heiji steel. So easy to sharpen!


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## Twister (Feb 24, 2018)

Overall number one: Watanabe blue 2.
I have three knives from this line. Easy and pleasant to sharpen, takes really wicked edge, good edge retention. And patina looks quite OK as a cherry on the cake.

Second runner: (Teruyasu Fujiwara) White 1.
As Wata blue 2, but even better feeling to sharpen. But clear no 2 due to less edge retention. I do like to sharpen, but not too often.

Third: Aogami Super.
I keep this as my (gentle) chopping knife. Due to outstanding edge retention, this just keeps on going for ages if I don't chip it. Other than that, not so fun to sharpen, and for some reason (that I can't even point out), I just don't like it as much as the others.

No 4: AEBL
This also does everything very very well. Easily something that I recommend to normal people (non-knife nuts) as the steel for the one knife they would ever need.
But the thing here is, stainless steel has no soul :joec:


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## Chef Doom (Feb 24, 2018)

VC Steel by Suin is otstanding. 

Whatever the Semi-Stainless steel that Heji uses is unmatched.

I have found White Steel to be good allows for a wider margin of error by craftsmen.

Blue Steel by Hide should be one of the 3 gold standards for what a blue steel blade should be.


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## Tatletz (Feb 24, 2018)

Aogami Super Blue, SG2/R2, VG-10, ZDP-189 and Kramer carbon steel knife


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## Grunt173 (Feb 25, 2018)

Out of the steels I have in kitchen knives,White#2,Blue #2 and AS,I'd say White #2 is my favorite.It gives me the best sharpening experience when I am in the need to sharpen. In my pocket knives which are mostly Benchmades and Spydercos and made up with sum form of high grade PM steels,I'd say I like the old CPM 154 the best,again,does what I want and is easy and more pleasant to sharpen.


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## mise_en_place (Feb 25, 2018)

Stainless: Devin's AEB-L, Robin's AEB-L

Carbon: White #2 for ease of sharpening and getting really sharp. Fine for home use, but definitely wouldn't be my preference for a pro kitchen. 

SS: No idea, really. I've used Marko's A2 (thought it was sweet), whatever Gengetsu is, and a couple butcher's knives with it. I actually really like semi-stainless knives, but don't have near enough experience to pick a favorite.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Feb 25, 2018)

@XooMG I still think there are decent (not great) knives out there made from it, as long as they are not for impact-heavy uses. And preferrable, at best HT, to CrMoV anything at wonky HT.


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## pc9111 (Feb 25, 2018)

Whatever Toyama is using


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## Nemo (Feb 25, 2018)

pc9111 said:


> Whatever Toyama is using


I think he uses Aogami 2.

But it raises a good point that is worth repeating: The way in which the smith treats the steel is at least as important as the steel itself.


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## LucasFur (Feb 25, 2018)

LOL as many preferences as there are steel.


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## GorillaGrunt (Feb 26, 2018)

Blue so far.


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## aaamax (Feb 26, 2018)

I aM a bit old, but love the Old stuff as in simple high carbon steels like 1095 and tool steel 01. I have had great luck in forging with Sandvik 12C27. Not exactly the high-end steels to be sure, but are friendly to work with and damn, what an easy edge to maintain.
All things being equal, Aogami Super could be the tops, but getting billets is a real pain and I haven't worked with it enough to get the most out of it HT wise (think Takeda). 
So until then:

My hands down my FAVORITE steel is 1084! Call me nuts, but I feel like I can do no wrong when making a blade unless I am truly asleep at the wheel... lol

Stainless? Just say NO to stainless...


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## K813zra (Feb 26, 2018)

Basic carbon in general. I like my white steel and various Swedish carbon steels. I also like the SK steels and a lot of people do not seem to. I too am fond of basic 10xx steels. What they have in common is ease of sharpening and edge taking.  As a home cook and a sharpening enthusiast I don't much worry about edge retention. 

My current favorite steel and HT would be from Hiroshi Kato on his White #2. I have no idea what he does to white steel but it feels harder than others that I have used and holds that off the stone bite longer too. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of his grinds nor of the Takeufu profile but the steel itself is stellar. 

I have not tried a TF but I really should take my chances and order one. I hear that I will be happy as a white steel lover.


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## inzite (Feb 26, 2018)

K813zra said:


> Basic carbon in general. I like my white steel and various Swedish carbon steels. I also like the SK steels and a lot of people do not seem to. I too am fond of basic 10xx steels. What they have in common is ease of sharpening and edge taking.  As a home cook and a sharpening enthusiast I don't much worry about edge retention.
> 
> My current favorite steel and HT would be from Hiroshi Kato on his White #2. I have no idea what he does to white steel but it feels harder than others that I have used and holds that off the stone bite longer too. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of his grinds nor of the Takeufu profile but the steel itself is stellar.
> 
> I have not tried a TF but I really should take my chances and order one. I hear that I will be happy as a white steel lover.



go for the denka because it has that peak sharpness of white steel while having the edge life of a r2.


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## Barmoley (Feb 26, 2018)

They must use unicorn blood or fairy dust in the heat treatment process to get there...:rofl2: I know you are "slightly" exaggerating, just having some fun....


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## inzite (Feb 26, 2018)

Barmoley said:


> They must use unicorn blood or fairy dust in the heat treatment process to get there...:rofl2: I know you are "slightly" exaggerating, just having some fun....



i bet they mix unicorn blood with aged sake from 500 yrs ago!


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## K813zra (Feb 27, 2018)

inzite said:


> go for the denka because it has that peak sharpness of white steel while having the edge life of a r2.



Can't do it. The nashiji calls me. I don't know why but that is the knife I am attracted too. I guess I am a cheap date. Anyway, I have learned along the way to go with my gut or I am unhappy and sell the knife off.


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## DSYM (May 13, 2019)

I have owned/used/sharpened kitchen knives in aogami super, SG2, VG10, and R2. By far the R2 requires the least effort to maintain razor sharpness because of the very long time between sharpenings. Aogami super probably wins for the longest "super sharp" state and sharpens easiest but R2 just seems to stay "very sharp" much much longer and it has hardly any corrosion problems. Also R2 seems to shrug off abuse better than any of the others, so R2 is my favorite for kitchen knives.


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## adam92 (Jan 23, 2020)

DSYM said:


> I have owned/used/sharpened kitchen knives in aogami super, SG2, VG10, and R2. By far the R2 requires the least effort to maintain razor sharpness because of the very long time between sharpenings. Aogami super probably wins for the longest "super sharp" state and sharpens easiest but R2 just seems to stay "very sharp" much much longer and it has hardly any corrosion problems. Also R2 seems to shrug off abuse better than any of the others, so R2 is my favorite for kitchen knives.


Do you think aogami Aogami super with stainless cladding will out performance R2?


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## M1k3 (Jan 23, 2020)

In edge retention? No. In ease of sharpening, yes.


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## krx927 (Jan 23, 2020)

M1k3 said:


> In edge retention? No. In ease of sharpening, yes.




I agree: R2 is real pain in the ass to sharpen


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## Marek07 (Jan 23, 2020)

DSYM said:


> I have owned/used/sharpened kitchen knives in aogami super, SG2, VG10, and R2. By far the R2 requires the least effort to maintain razor sharpness because of the very long time between sharpenings. Aogami super probably wins for the longest "super sharp" state and sharpens easiest but R2 just seems to stay "very sharp" much much longer and it has hardly any corrosion problems. Also R2 seems to shrug off abuse better than any of the others, so R2 is my favorite for kitchen knives.


Pretty sure you'll find that R2 and SG2 are the same steel.


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## toddnmd (Jan 23, 2020)

adam92 said:


> Do you think aogami Aogami super with stainless cladding will out performance R2?



I don’t think cladding material has any impact on performance or edge retention. But it might impact maintenance requirements.


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## Newbflat (Jan 23, 2020)

Any well treated basic carbon. I like to sharpen and sometimes touch up a knife just before cooking. I sooo love the feel of white #1 fresh off the stone. But really only good for one big meal or if there is a lot of acidic foods if that fresh off the stone extra pop to the edge is wanted. My Ittosai honyaki white #2 Takes the sharpest most wicked edge I have ever felt on a double bevel knife... so treatment is what’s important.


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## Beau Nidle (Jan 23, 2020)

Carbon is white #2, stainless is RWL34.


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## LucasFur (Jan 23, 2020)

krx927 said:


> I agree: R2 is real pain in the ass to sharpen


I don't think its a pain in the ass at all. I just did my wifes R2 Mr.Itou last night. got a full Burr in maybe 5/6 passes. (220 sigma pro) 
Full sharpening took less than 3 minutes (220 sigma / 1000 sigma / 4000 lobster) ... i spent more time waiting for the stones to not absorb all the water. 

Just wait until you get into thinning Honyaki bud ...


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## labor of love (Jan 23, 2020)

Yeah I’ve only used 3 R2 knives so far but I’m very impressed. Basically my fave stainless at this point along w ginsanko.


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## adam92 (Jan 23, 2020)

Hinoura white 2 will performance better than kintaro AS?


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## Keith Sinclair (Jan 23, 2020)

Yep R2, Aeb-l, G3, SRS15, Hap40 all easy to sharpen from my experience. They give stain resistant steel respect.

Not only that you can get them really sharp. Still all of my personal knives are carbon.


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