Please help !! (steelexperts)

[Neo]

I'm loocking for buying a puuko and have to choose between two steels.

- Böhler K510 (DIN 115 CrV 3) toolsteel also called "silversteel"
(C=1.18 Cr=0.7 V=0.1)

- RWL34 powdersteel
(C=1.05 Cr=14 Mn=0.5 Mo=4.0 Si=0.5 V=0.2)

Both steels have 62 RC in the finnished knife.
How would you compare them in
- Strength,
- Toughness,
- Edge holding,
- Ease of sharpening

Would you pay a premium for RWL34?

Thank you very much

 

[M Wadel]

strenght is afaik a function of hardness in steel.

toughness - crv3

edgeholding - rwl

ease of sharpening - crv3

the rwl is stainless so yes i would pay more for that one, but thats just me

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I'm loocking for buying a puuko and have to choose between two steels.

For that type of knife the choice is really easy, K510. The wide and acute scandinavian bevel is best used in fine grained, low carbide, high hardness steels. RWL is a more expensive steel so yes you would be expected to pay more for it, but being more expensive doesn't always imply worth.

Böhler K510 (DIN 115 CrV 3) toolsteel also called "silversteel"
(C=1.18 Cr=0.7 V=0.1)

This by the way very similar to one of the most common knife steels used in cutlery, 50100B, which goes by many names depending who is using it, Case, Cold Steel, Camillus, etc. .

-Cliff

 

[Neo]

Thank you both, I think I'll go for the silversteel.

So, K510 is actually a very common regular steel.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

It is a significantly higher carbon content which is typical of most steels used in Japanese cutlery, there is also a "blue steel" which is a higher alloy composition for greater wear and corrosion resistance but more coarse grain. The japanese argue for sharpness vs wear resistance in such cases primarily but you need pretty high standards to pick steels apart based on sharpness.

-Cliff