How Acidic Food affects Sharpness

[Larrin]

I did a small study on the effect of acidic food on sharpness. This has been a commonly debated topic among kitchen knife enthusiasts. Is a carbon steel knife going to do okay with lemon juice?

https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/01/21/does-acidic-food-affect-edge-retention/

I was also interviewed on the Knife Junkie podcast: https://theknifejunkie.com/larrin-t...nerds-on-the-knife-junkie-podcast-episode-13/

 

[Willie71]

Does hardness affect corrosion rates? I suspect not, but it entered my mind reading this.

In terms of more steels, I prepped did 100lbs of tomatoes this fall for canning. It took about three hours. I used a scrap knife made from cru-wear, and it discoloured a bit, but any carbon steel knife I used for the job previously turned black after a few minutes. Still shaving sharp.

63EBE0F2-A6BB-45A7-AF22-8C4781CEDB5C by Wjkrywko, on Flickr

 

[Larrin]

Hardness shouldn't affect corrosion, austenitic stainless steels are highly corrosion resistant and not high in hardness. There might be other interacting effects in knives like in corrosion, wear, and deformation combining together.

 

[Willie71]

Great podcast. I really enjoyed listening to it.

 

[weo]

Good article. Would I be correct in assuming that a damascus blade made with 1095/15N20 (what I do) be similar to the 1055?

 

[Larrin]

Good article. Would I be correct in assuming that a damascus blade made with 1095/15N20 (what I do) be similar to the 1055?

In terms of corrosion resistance, probably.

 

[cotdt]

Hey, this would be a good real world test for corrosion resistance. I wonder how the various stainless steels would rank using this test, as opposed to calculated values of corrosion resistance. One could also compare heat treating, ie. high temper vs low temper.

 

[Larrin]

Hey, this would be a good real world test for corrosion resistance. I wonder how the various stainless steels would rank using this test, as opposed to calculated values of corrosion resistance. One could also compare heat treating, ie. high temper vs low temper.

Good idea.

 

[weo]

In terms of corrosion resistance, probably.

but not necessarily edge retention?

I realize this would be hard to test scientifically due to the uncontrollable variables that go into a billet of damascus (quality of steels, skills of the smith to name 2), so perhaps the answer to my question would be pure speculation.

 

[Larrin]

but not necessarily edge retention?

I realize this would be hard to test scientifically due to the uncontrollable variables that go into a billet of damascus (quality of steels, skills of the smith to name 2), so perhaps the answer to my question would be pure speculation.

Sure the higher carbon should help with hardness and edge retention.

 

[weo]

Thanks Larrin.

 

[cotdt]

Hey, this would be a good real world test for corrosion resistance. I wonder how the various stainless steels would rank using this test, as opposed to calculated values of corrosion resistance. One could also compare heat treating, ie. high temper vs low temper.

I just became a patron and donate money to support more data collection! The theory stuff is cool but raw test data is needed the most!

 

[Aidenag]

Good info, and something chef knife makers should take into account. Would love to see how a 1080/15n20 damascus blade, along with 52100, W2, white & blue and AEBL hold up in this test. Especailly curios how the damascus blade would perform due to the alternating steel. Maybe it gets toothier?