Blue #2 or white paper

There is a supplier on ebay a lot of folks have been using that gets his from dictum. He sells the white and blue #2 san mai. Ive bought off him, in fact I bought some of the first he ever sold on ebay.Good service..I would not call it "cheap" but the mark up isn't out of hand either..
 
I didn't realize it was readily available for s reasonable price. I figured if you couldn't find it by itself then you couldn't find it in San Mai. Also I figure I can make it for the cost of the materials whereas I would be paying materials plus labor. Any links where I can find it already in a billet?

Matt, just in case you are pulling our leg:
https://www.dictum.com/en/materials/steel/steel
http://www.workshopheaven.com/tools/steel_billets.html
http://www.ebay.com/itm/San-Mai-bar...002206?hash=item1a0bda3f9e:g:dn0AAOSw0fhXlRg1
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1430352-Japanese-Shiro-2-Suminagashi-Steel
 
you can get V toku 2 san mai steel in both 3mm and 5mm thick at www.takefusteel.com and if there is enough interest we could import the takefu shiro I and II as well as vtoku I and II in bar stock it is funny that you are all claiming this is not available when I have posted about it here several times.
 
maybe an alternative would be to ask Aldo or Chuck at AKS to talk with Bestar in Atlanta or SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH USA Inc in Mahwah, NJ and get some equivalent steels. Bestar imports 1.2419(O7), 1.2519(O7), 1.2842(O2) and 1.2235(80CrV2). SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH has cryodur 2002(white#1), 2008(blue super), 2067(52100), 2235(80CrV2), 2516(blue#2), and 2842(O2). if Hitachi does not want to sell, buy from someone else.
scott
 
I don't think anyone said Takefu wasn't available. We all said hitachi #1 and super blue wasn't available.Takefu and Hitachi are both great steels but there is a difference if only in manufacturer and very slight chem's.
 
The O2 would be attractive for those who make damascus becuase of its high manganese content. Do the actually import all of those steels to the US or merely manufacture them in Germany because the conventional wisdom is that O2 is unavailable in the US?
maybe an alternative would be to ask Aldo or Chuck at AKS to talk with Bestar in Atlanta or SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH USA Inc in Mahwah, NJ and get some equivalent steels. Bestar imports 1.2419(O7), 1.2519(O7), 1.2842(O2) and 1.2235(80CrV2). SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH has cryodur 2002(white#1), 2008(blue super), 2067(52100), 2235(80CrV2), 2516(blue#2), and 2842(O2). if Hitachi does not want to sell, buy from someone else.
scott
 
The O2 would be attractive for those who make damascus becuase of its high manganese content. Do the actually import all of those steels to the US or merely manufacture them in Germany because the conventional wisdom is that O2 is unavailable in the US?

got a quote last year from Bestar for 1.2842(C:0.9; Si:0.25; Mn:1.95, Cr:0.35, V:0.15) a sheet 800mm(31") x 1600mm(65") 3mm thick for $500, 2mm thick for $435 fob Atlanta, Ga. 1.2419( C:1.05; Si:0.25; Mn:0.9; Cr:1.0; W:1.25) a sheet 2.50 x 210 x 1820 mm for $335 fob Atlanta. John at Bestar said they ship once a week and that it takes 4-5 weeks to go from Germany to Atlanta.
scott
 
Cool. Is there a minimum amount that you have to buy of that 1.2842? Their website lists thickness up to 7mm in "stock" and some of the sheets that they have listed are even bigger, like up to 1 x 2 meter AND it is listed as being cross rolled AND decarb free!. If that is the condition of the stuff that they quoted you, then that is a MONSTER deal!!!! The O7 seems to be more in line with what you might expect to pay for O1 over here, maybe a tad less. I may have to call them and see if they can also sell the ticker 75Ni8. On their website, they are adverting the strip bandsaw steel, but I have seen flat bar in Europe. A lot of the guys in Belgium, the Netherlands and France use the O2 and 75Ni8 for damascus.
got a quote last year from Bestar for 1.2842(C:0.9; Si:0.25; Mn:1.95, Cr:0.35, V:0.15) a sheet 800mm(31") x 1600mm(65") 3mm thick for $500, 2mm thick for $435 fob Atlanta, Ga. 1.2419( C:1.05; Si:0.25; Mn:0.9; Cr:1.0; W:1.25) a sheet 2.50 x 210 x 1820 mm for $335 fob Atlanta. John at Bestar said they ship once a week and that it takes 4-5 weeks to go from Germany to Atlanta.
scott
 
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I found a bunch of O2 bars from Starrett from a guy who bought a machinists estate. I'm a really big fan of the stuff, it came finely spheroid annealed and etched JET black

Plus I got a super good deal so...
 
My original post was a little misleading. I am a little uneasy about sending my payment info overseas so I was looking for some in America. I have a request into Dictum since I see they take PayPal. I'm just waiting on shipping cost. It appears that ordering from overseas isn't a big deal for most of you but I haven't ever done it and have heard some horror stories. I didn't see HSC post but will contact him. I also was looking for it not already in San Mai because I would like to try and make my own since we knife makers are hard headed like that!😉

Also, I'm pretty new to this whole "Japanese steel" thing so if it doesn't say white paper then I figured it wasn't. As I can see now there are lots of different names for equivalents.
 
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Cool. Is there a minimum amount that you have to buy of that 1.2842? Their website lists thickness up to 7mm in "stock" and some of the sheets that they have listed are even bigger, like up to 1 x 2 meter AND it is listed as being cross rolled AND decarb free!. If that is the condition of the stuff that they quoted you, then that is a MONSTER deal!!!! The O7 seems to be more in line with what you might expect to pay for O1 over here, maybe a tad less. I may have to call them and see if they can also sell the ticker 75Ni8. On their website, they are adverting the strip bandsaw steel, but I have seen flat bar in Europe. A lot of the guys in Belgium, the Netherlands and France use the O2 and 75Ni8 for damascus.

forwarded you the email i received from Bestar. they were willing to sell just one full sheet, i think their Atlanta facility is just an office and warehouse.
scott
 
My original post was a little misleading. I am a little uneasy about sending my payment info overseas so I was looking for some in America. I have a request into Dictum since I see they take PayPal. I'm just waiting on shipping cost. It appears that ordering from overseas isn't a big deal for most of you but I haven't ever done it and have heard some horror stories. I didn't see HSC post but will contact him. I also was looking for it not already in San Mai because I would like to try and make my own since we knife makers are hard headed like that!😉

Also, I'm pretty new to this whole "Japanese steel" thing so if it doesn't say white paper then I figured it wasn't. As I can see now there are lots of different names for equivalents.

just so u know workshop heaven is quite easy to work with and they communicate well and take paypal
 
Matt R, you should have no hesitation ordering from either WH or Dictum. One thing to keep in mind, when buying steel from Dictum, the online shipping calculation (at least it was this way a couple years ago....I haven't done business with them lately) is way over priced. I asked them about this, they said to email them with the order, rather than using the online system. IIRC, the online shipping calculation from Germany to Texas was over $80, but dealing directly with them thru email it was around $30.

As long as we are talking about trying to get new steels, 1.2442 or 1.2513 would be my top choices. I wish so badly the O-7 series steels were more easily available.
 
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Scott, I didn't receive that e-mail. Try it at the e-mail address on my website. Thanks.
forwarded you the email i received from Bestar. they were willing to sell just one full sheet, i think their Atlanta facility is just an office and warehouse.
scott
 
Stuart, as best as I can tell, the more expensive 1.2149 steel that Scott listed looked like 1.2513 with a bit less carbon. Am I reading the specs wrong?
Matt R, you should have no hesitation ordering from either WH or Dictum. One thing to keep in mind, when buying steel from Dictum, the online shipping calculation (at least it was this way a couple years ago....I haven't done business with them lately) is way over priced. I asked them about this, they said to email them with the order, rather than using the online system. IIRC, the online shipping calculation from Germany to Texas was over $80, but dealing directly with them thru email it was around $30.

As long as we are talking about trying to get new steels, 1.2442 or 1.2513 would be my top choices. I wish so badly the O-7 series steels were more easily available.
 


That's what I am talking about.

The first link, Dictum, sells Hitachi steel
The second link, WH, sells Takefu steel as "Japanese Shiro 2 Suminagashi Steel", as well as Hitachi steel
The third link, sells Hitachi san mai
The last link, sells Takeful material

They are all honest sellers as far as I can see. But the Shiro material is not the same as Shirogami material. IMHO calling something "Japanese Shiro" is mildly misleading to some people. But it should not be an issue at all if you spend an hour or so researching the steel you are going to buy. The Shiro vs Shirogami is more of an issue to the knife buyers if they do not want to spend time researching.

If you still think Shiro (White, only from Takefu) and Shirogami (White Paper, only from Hitachi) steels are the same thing, see my previous posts to find out why they are not. Yes they share the first Kanji character in their names, but are different in what's matters: composition and cost/price.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Blue-2-or-white-paper?p=16525356#post16525356
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Blue-2-or-white-paper?p=16526056#post16526056
 
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Jim, they look similar to me, too, using Zknives. It's not like we will ever see these steels available here anyway! But I can wish and dream.
 
According to Scott, the 1.2149 is here or can be here in a matter of weeks if'n you ask.
Jim, they look similar to me, too, using Zknives. It's not like we will ever see these steels available here anyway! But I can wish and dream.
 
According to Scott, the 1.2149 is here or can be here in a matter of weeks if'n you ask.
Yeah, if you want to buy a whole sheet of it. It would be nice to have the guys who stock knife steel have this stuff cut up in bar form for us, so we can try a bar or two before jumping in for a full sheet. I will say, tho, once you find a steel you really like, it makes better sense to get as much as you can. If CFV ever was made again, that would be my choice for stocking up!
 
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