-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
Is VG-10 a imported only steal?
- Thread starter Steel130
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2011
- Messages
- 3,685
Pretty sure that is why Fallkniven is made in Japan. correct me if i am wrong. Cowry X is made in Japan too, one of the best steels in the world, and Fallkniven uses that too.
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2000
- Messages
- 3,794
VG-10 is made by Takefu steel company, so the steel is imported, not necessarily the knives though. There's a lot of good cutlery steels made by them btw - Takefu cutlery steels.
Or maybe Fallkniven knives are made of VG-10, because they're made in Japan?
When F1 was produced in Germany, was made of ATS-34 
Lot of Japanese made knives are made of VG
It's pretty good, but I don't understand why it can't be exported. There are no such problems with AUS-x (Aichi) and ATS-x (Hitachi).Could you give me one example of not Japanese-made knife, made of VG-10? I'm sure that Fallknivens are made there.
Last edited:
Hmm, good question, but I have no answer
Steel can be imported by anyone, so the fact that it can imported means some of the knives will not be made in Japan.
IIRC, only finished blades (or fully finished knives) are exported, not the raw steel.
Big Mike
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2010
- Messages
- 3,708
^^^This. It's why all of the Spyderco, Fallkniven, SOG, Al Mar, etc. models that use VG-10 are made in Japan.
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2000
- Messages
- 3,794
I assumed OP stated the steel could be imported, and quite a few Japanese custom makers use it. I've heard about Hitachi ZDP-189 having very specific HT requirements, but never heard of restrictions about VG-10. On the other hand, I don't know who makes VG-10 outside of Japan either.
I think the situation with VG-10 is similar to what some timber producing nations have done. They strictly limit the sale of raw timber and concentrate instead on value added exports, like furniture and instruments made from their precious national resource. This keeps more of the money made on that timber going into that country's coffers.
Japan's biggest "natural resource" is its intellectual property, so I can see the logic of not exporting bars of VG-10 or ZDP-189, and instead concentrating on the export of much more costly finished knives, made in Japan by Japanese labor. This also protects the steel's reputation, since the foundry and the knifemakers all have a vested interest in keeping quality high to retain the local industry.
Japan's biggest "natural resource" is its intellectual property, so I can see the logic of not exporting bars of VG-10 or ZDP-189, and instead concentrating on the export of much more costly finished knives, made in Japan by Japanese labor. This also protects the steel's reputation, since the foundry and the knifemakers all have a vested interest in keeping quality high to retain the local industry.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2006
- Messages
- 44,704
What they said. VG10 is only made by Takefu. For one reason or another it is not exported. All knives made of VG10 are made in Japan. Takefu also makes VG1, a very similar alloy. I am likewise unaware of any VG1 being exported.
Sal Glessar would be the one to ask. Why don't you ask a mod to move this thread to the Spyderco Forum? Report your opening post by Clicking the icon that looks like "an exclamation point inside a triangle" at the bottom of the opening post. Then ask for the post to be moved.
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2007
- Messages
- 417
Aren't william henry knives made by the Moki group in Japan ?
Well said. I totally agree.
I had conversation with distributor of cheap Chinese kitchen knives, claimed to be made of VG-10. When I said that VG-10 isn't exported from Japan, he asked producer for information about the steel, then he presented some scans of AUS-10 papers... When I said that AUS-10 is not VG-10, he got from the producer some scans of VG-10 papers... I think the only reliable source is Takefu.
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2009
- Messages
- 1,711
I just checked my AG Russell Ultimate Pen Knife and on the VG-10 blade is stamped "Japan", also on the 2.5" & 3" locking versions it is the same. I don't have any VG-10 blades not made in Japan.
Morrow
Don't make this weird
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2007
- Messages
- 27,773
They are....but I'm not sure to what extent they are ground and finished in Japan.