Carbon steel suck for kitchen knife?

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shqxk

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Mar 26, 2012
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There are a group of knife makers here in my country who believe that any ethical knife maker shouldn't ever made a kitchen knife from carbon steel because it suck, doesn't hold an edge as good as stainless, leave a bad taste, smell and discoloration on food prep etc.

They even said that some of the world famous maker like Kramer or Rader are only using carbon steel just to show off the forging skill which can be something exciting for customer thus can be sold for more $$ but mainly just to showoff and nothing practical on steel performance wise.


I'm totally against all of this BS but would like to hear you guys opinion on these subject.
 
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I just love carbon steels for kitchen knives. They get really sharp and the patina makes them in my opinion look better and better over time. This also means they look used, which I think is important. I want my knives to get used. And if they look too good, chances are they never get used. :D
 
Traditionally, the best kitchen knives used by chefs were carbon steel. W2, Hitachi white and blue, 1095. It was the advent of stainless steel mass production that brought the sales hype about stainless steel being superior. With the exception of AEB-L, carbon steel greatly outshines stainless in all things but corrosion resistance. This is especially true of edge thinness and sharpness.

The acme of stainless knife hype was the Ginsu knife ads.
 
Someone trying to shine as a sheepdog? Your mind is telling you BS for a reason. Also didn't Larren just have a great thread about Stainless VS Carbon and the myth/hype? Something good for you to checkout!
 
shqxk said:
There are a group of knife makers here who believe that any ethical knife maker shouldn't ever made a kitchen knife from carbon steel because it suck, doesn't hold an edge as good as stainless, leave a bad taste, smell and discoloration on food prep etc.

They even said that some of the world famous maker like Kramer or Rader are only using carbon steel just to show off the forging skill which can be something exciting for customer thus can be sold for more $$ but mainly just to showoff and nothing practical on steel performance wise.
I'm totally against all of this BS but would like to hear you guys opinion on these subject.
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Considering this is the knifemaker area and I have never heard any of these claims, where did you hear them on Blade Forums?
 
None of the top kitchen knife makers are making those claims that I have seen. Sounds like the knifemakers you are hanging with have a little to learn.
 
blasphemous... :)
I only use carbon steel in the kitchen
high carbon steel takes a sharper edge and is easier to sharpen quickly
I believe carbon steel knives are used in the finest restaurant kitchens in the world and have been for a very long time, much longer than stainless knives.
 
I've been a metallurgist through out the whole range of carbon and stainless blades with lots of actual use in the food prep world . A good high carbon steel , properly HT'd like 1085 or 1095 is fine for the kitchen. Keep it clean and dry and the only thing is the patina which is no big deal. The stainless doesn't get the patina but especially in the early days stainless steel was poor .Today we have a large selection of fine stainless blades . My own stainless blades in my kitchen today are VG-10 or the equivalent N690 .
S35VN I use for a hunting knife as the conditions are a bit different .
Keep your knives clean and dry and sharp when not actually using them.
 
Larrin said:
None of the top kitchen knife makers are making those claims that I have seen. Sounds like the knifemakers you are hanging with have a little to learn.
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All of my knife maker friends are all bladesmith so I wouldn't ever care on these claims till they recently start spreading this BS to a group of customers.
 
shqxk said:
All of my knife maker friends are all bladesmith so I wouldn't ever care on these claims till they recently start spreading this BS to a group of customers.
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Let me guess,

They only make stainless steel knives? lol
 
Unfortunately there are those that spread false information for personal gain. It's part of the reason I don't go on Facebook anymore.
 
My propensity for Stainless steel is pretty well known, however, I have an old (like 80 years old) carbon steel kitchen knife that I have used for many years. Does it perform better than modern stainless...no. Does it require some more attention...yes, but so does a cast iron pan.
 
In Thailand they consider Carbon steel isn't good for kitchen knife? Interesting, in this country it's usually the other way around. Just other day I heard a guy talking about SS didn't make good blades because SS wouldn't hold an edge and was harder to sharpen. He'd only consider carbon steel blade. I have both, make both, and like both.
 
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