AUS10a Steel?

[Deino]

Turn out, Chinese companies with rather good reputation switched from VG10 to their Chinese counterpart steel and N690 for higher brands because VG-10 was a banned from exporting to China in the late 2010s. Until recently that the ban is lifted, and VG10 started to reappear and cheapen down again.

AUS10 was unaffected, so the oddly limited use of AUS10 or its analog outside of kitchen knives is even more weird. Nevertheless, Demko, even after retired from Cold Steel, still goes with this steel instead of VG10 or 154CM, it does mean something.

 

[nigol]

I have not been able to find all that much info on this steel, other than its composition seems to be very similar to that of vg10. I am looking to purchase a stainless chef knife and many of the options have aus10a rather than the vg10 i am used to.

What is your experience with this steel, and have would you say it performs in comparison to stainless steels like 154cm/vg10.? I have a few knives in AUS8 which are not bad by any means but the edge retention is rather lacking.

In my experience aus 8 has very poor edge retention. I personally didn't like it. Love vg10 though

 

[nigol]

I have not been able to find all that much info on this steel, other than its composition seems to be very similar to that of vg10. I am looking to purchase a stainless chef knife and many of the options have aus10a rather than the vg10 i am used to.

What is your experience with this steel, and have would you say it performs in comparison to stainless steels like 154cm/vg10.? I have a few knives in AUS8 which are not bad by any means but the edge retention is rather lacking.

Don't know much about aus10 but I'm thinking it has basically the same properties as aus8 with a few improvements. I might be blowing hot air on this though. Aus8 is my least favorite steel though next to 8cr13mov

 

[Hashishiin]

Turn out, Chinese companies with rather good reputation switched from VG10 to their Chinese counterpart steel and N690 for higher brands because VG-10 was a banned from exporting to China in the late 2010s. Until recently that the ban is lifted, and VG10 started to reappear and cheapen down again.

AUS10 was unaffected, so the oddly limited use of AUS10 or its analog outside of kitchen knives is even more weird. Nevertheless, Demko, even after retired from Cold Steel, still goes with this steel instead of VG10 or 154CM, it does mean something.

This is a very interesting comment - the only way they couldn't get VG10 but could get other Japanese steels means Hitachi (or Takefu? idr) themselves chose to not sell their VG10 to China,

AUS10a has been good to me, and to me is ubiquitous to CS/Demko. I'd always wondered why they are not used more in other brands.

 

[Deino]

This is a very interesting comment - the only way they couldn't get VG10 but could get other Japanese steels means Hitachi (or Takefu? idr) themselves chose to not sell their VG10 to China,

AUS10a has been good to me, and to me is ubiquitous to CS/Demko. I'd always wondered why they are not used more in other brands.

I found the info from a link in an older post on this forums. Originally wrote back in 2019, but the most recent update on it was 2022-31-08. The author seems to be trusted by the kitchen knives community. The time frame of VG10 stoppage kind of match of the transition from VG10 to N690 from Chinese manufacturer. It could be a mere coincident, who knows...

The blog article https://www.chefpanko.com/buying-a-japanese-vg10-damascus-chefs-knife-from-china/

Anyhow, AUS10 is a proven alloy for both kitchen and utility. It is an unfortunate example of the lack of hype. As I previously stated, almost never considered "Japanese premium steel", no "Cobalt steel alloy", no random Japanese work attached to it.

 

[Dr Rez]

Don't know much about aus10 but I'm thinking it has basically the same properties as aus8 with a few improvements. I might be blowing hot air on this though. Aus8 is my least favorite steel though next to 8cr13mov

Haha thanks mate but I asked that question 4 years ago.

 

[BlindMouse2of3]

Haha thanks mate but I asked that question 4 years ago.

It's like fixing something around the house. Give it time it'll get addressed.

I personally like Aus8 and N690 in a work knife. Will take a sharp edges and it's holding to resharpening ratio seems good to me. No it doesn't hold it forever but takes little effort to put it back. Even if heavy edge damage occurs. If aus10 is an incremental step up then I'm happy to run it. I tried zdp189 in an endura for a work knife, that was a horrible mistake that got me off Spyderco for a decade and a half (really bad profile, and bevels. I spent a month trying to fix it but the entire knives was cut so bad it ended up in the trash. Thinking back I should have sent it back to Spyderco but I was young and pissed off) Anyways in a work knife aus10 should be just fine. I bought a CS air lite and took it to 15 dps so we'll see how the edge holds up as a slicer (so far it's doing just fine) I bought a 4max scout and have a counterpoint xl coming so aus10 will get a run for it's money in an array tasks in my house. Don't get me wrong I'm growing very fond of my native chief in cpm-m4 and s30 shaman but not everything needs to be super.

In summary for a mechanic like myself Aus10 seems good to go so far. Yesterdays carry was an old aus8 recon 1 and it was still sharp by the time I got home.

 

[Dr Rez]

It's like fixing something around the house. Give it time it'll get addressed.

I personally like Aus8 and N690 in a work knife. Will take a sharp edges and it's holding to resharpening ratio seems good to me. No it doesn't hold it forever but takes little effort to put it back. Even if heavy edge damage occurs. If aus10 is an incremental step up then I'm happy to run it. I tried zdp189 in an endura for a work knife, that was a horrible mistake that got me off Spyderco for a decade and a half (really bad profile, and bevels. I spent a month trying to fix it but the entire knives was cut so bad it ended up in the trash. Thinking back I should have sent it back to Spyderco but I was young and pissed off) Anyways in a work knife aus10 should be just fine. I bought a CS air lite and took it to 15 dps so we'll see how the edge holds up as a slicer (so far it's doing just fine) I bought a 4max scout and have a counterpoint xl coming so aus10 will get a run for it's money in an array tasks in my house. Don't get me wrong I'm growing very fond of my native chief in cpm-m4 and s30 shaman but not everything needs to be super.

In summary for a mechanic like myself Aus10 seems good to go so far. Yesterdays carry was an old aus8 recon 1 and it was still sharp by the time I got home.

Agreed.

In practical use I find no difference in 440c AUS10 VG10 or N690.

 

[Chronovore]

It's like fixing something around the house. Give it time it'll get addressed.

I personally like Aus8 and N690 in a work knife. Will take a sharp edges and it's holding to resharpening ratio seems good to me. No it doesn't hold it forever but takes little effort to put it back. Even if heavy edge damage occurs. If aus10 is an incremental step up then I'm happy to run it. I tried zdp189 in an endura for a work knife, that was a horrible mistake that got me off Spyderco for a decade and a half (really bad profile, and bevels. I spent a month trying to fix it but the entire knives was cut so bad it ended up in the trash. Thinking back I should have sent it back to Spyderco but I was young and pissed off) Anyways in a work knife aus10 should be just fine. I bought a CS air lite and took it to 15 dps so we'll see how the edge holds up as a slicer (so far it's doing just fine) I bought a 4max scout and have a counterpoint xl coming so aus10 will get a run for it's money in an array tasks in my house. Don't get me wrong I'm growing very fond of my native chief in cpm-m4 and s30 shaman but not everything needs to be super.

In summary for a mechanic like myself Aus10 seems good to go so far. Yesterdays carry was an old aus8 recon 1 and it was still sharp by the time I got home.

AUS-10 is what happens when AUS-8 trades away toughness and corrosion resistance in search of higher edge retention. It's okay but whether or not the goal is realized will be dependent on heat treatment. (Note that AUS-8 occasionally gets a decent heat treatment in budget knives, making it a much better choice than 8Cr13Mov and surprisingly competent on the low end in those cases.)

Heat treatment obviously matters but I prefer N690 to either AUS-8 or AUS-10. It feels like a better overall balance of properties than AUS-10. It's also a slam dunk if you need a higher hedge against corrosion. Reasons to choose AUS-8 include severe budgetary limitations, wanting a little more toughness, or easier/quicker sharpening on ceramic.

 

[BlindMouse2of3]

I can't argue I do prefer N690 but my recon 1 in Aus8 has definitely been a good one. Haven't made up my mind on Aus10 yet.

 

[Haggler]

It always puzzles me that here on BF where folks are so knowledgeable (and sometimes even apparently obsessed over..lol) various steel types that the erroneous terms Aus6A, Aus8A, Aus10A are still used.
The correct term is Aus6 or 6A, Aus8 or 8A, or Aus10 or 10A.
According to the maker of these steels, Aichi Steel Corp, they are all annealed. In Japan they are called A6, A8, A10 respectively.
Decades ago Cold Steel started the "Aus8A" misnomer, either unknowingly by error, or deliberately as it sounded "cooler".
Of course making up all sorts of names for steels is far from uncommon.

Yup, that's all correct.
Did you only just find out about this because your enthusiasm at expressing very old news suggests you only just found all this out?!
Informative, but all very well known for at least a decade by informed Cold Steel collectors.

 

[jux t]

Yup, that's all correct.
Did you only just find out about this because your enthusiasm at expressing very old news suggests you only just found all this out?!
Informative, but all very well known for at least a decade by informed Cold Steel collectors.

Your 3rd post on BF, and you call out a highly respected member (who adds a LOT of valuable info) for trying to clear up a common misconception? I see collectors of Cold Steel still referring to those steel designations by those names, by the way.

 

[KenHash]

Yup, that's all correct.
Did you only just find out about this because your enthusiasm at expressing very old news suggests you only just found all this out?!
Informative, but all very well known for at least a decade by informed Cold Steel collectors.

ROTFLMAO!!!
Some posts are worth a response. Some are not.

 

[Dr Rez]

Your 3rd post on BF, and you call out a highly respected member (who adds a LOT of valuable info) for trying to clear up a common misconception? I see collectors of Cold Steel still referring to those steel designations by those names, by the way.

Someones "status" on bladeforums as a respected member or not shouldn't make any difference. That is just an appeal to authority.

 

[jux t]

Someones "status" on bladeforums as a respected member or not shouldn't make any difference. That is just an appeal to authority.

I think he’s added a ton of useful info over the years and thought it was odd for someone to attempt to belittle him for doing it. Especially someone who’s contributed none at all.

 

[Dr Rez]

I think he’s added a ton of useful info over the years and thought it was odd for someone to attempt to belittle him for doing it. Especially someone who’s contributed none at all.

I agree, however my argument is that it shouldn't be done to anyone regardless of their "status" here on Bladeforums. Everyone deserves respect, no more or no less due to being here longer.

 

[greater]

It's good stuff. 154CM is also good stuff.

 

[YaArArYa]

my edge was sharp on my AD 15 lite . Cut a zip tie and the edge rolled but its deeece....