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Hitachi Steel Heat Treatment

To me, the allure is trying some hamon work with shirogami steel. It should be great for that.
I have heard that trace elements such as manganese remain to a greater or lesser extent in most batches of steel, due to the re-melted content. I think that it would incur some extra expense to specify manganese below 2%, due to the necessity of using more new ore? Paper steels tend to be very low in other impurities and trace elements as well.
 
I ordered a few bars to see if I could tell a difference in performance to 52100, W2 or AEB-L. I doubt at my skill level I will be able to tell. The White is renouned for its ability to pull a great hamon, and my initial observation on the blade I have partially finished is that it is the nicest hamon I have done yet, and it is clayless on a 1/8" blade. :thumbup:. I will be posting some pics as I get farther along. The price is about four times what a bar of W2 cost me though. Is it that much better? I doubt it.
 
>>>>>The price is about four times what a bar of W2 cost me though. Is it that much better? I doubt it. >>>>>>>>

Lets look at that for a moment:
You paid $60 for a Hitachi white paper bar instead of $15....,OK, 4 times the steel cost. Lets say you make three blades from the bar.....that is $15 more per blade. Will the 52100 blade be inferior in performance to the Hitachi blade - Not by much if any.

Now, if you finish the Hitachi knife with a killer hamon and sell it for $450 instead of $250.......that's an extra profit of $200......so the extra $15 yielded an extra $185 in the pocket. I would say that is much better!

The value of "Sujihiki made in Hitachi white #1 with a killer hamon" caries a lot more weight than "Slicer in 52100", in both pricing as well as what people think of your knife making level.

Is it a newbie steel - NO
Is it a superior steel to W2, 52100, 1095 - Not really
Is it a steel that can give a superior hamon - Definitely
Is it a steel that the public respects and demands - Yes
 
Excellent points Stacy! As I am getting my geometry more refined, I can see myself ordering more of this steel as it does have marketability. :cool: :thumbup: If W2 wasn't in such short supply a few months ago, I probably would have waited 6 months or a year before getting the Hitachi steel, but it was calling to me ;).
 
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