VG-10 anyone?

kaozer said:
Vg10 gets double thumbs up from me. My go to knife for the kitchen is a hiro kaioh utility hunter with a thin dasmascus vg10 blade. Very very nice slicer. Altough on that subject i have used said knife to cut raw beef into cubes last weekend and when i washed the blade under warm water the blade blackened, like it had developped patina which seriously confused me as it never stained in any way before. Anyone else had that happen with vg10?

Ps: will post a picture later
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If your blade is actually a forging consisting of a VG-10 core forming the cutting edge, with brass and copper forged and layered over it, then the staining or blackening you've observed is probably copper sulfide (sometimes spelled "sulphide") tarnish caused by a chemical reaction between copper and sulfur, the sulfur either present in the atmosphere or more likely, from the meat that was cut. In copper and copper alloys (which includes the various brasses and bronzes) this tarnish is properly referred to as a "patina" and is actually self limiting and beneficial to preserving the metal underneath. This is in contrast to "rust" in ferrous (iron) metals like steel that is damaging and certainly not self limiting.

Copper sulfide tarnish typically appears black while copper sulfate tarnish is greenish (think of the Statue of Liberty). Sterling silver will also tarnish to black because it isn't pure silver but is instead mostly a silver-copper alloy.

So the blackening on your blade is not really harmful as rust would be on a plain carbon steel knife; if it's really a patina, then it should not pit or deeply etch the surface. If the knife were mine, and if it's going to be used for future food preparation, I'd simply apply a light coating of mineral oil and call it done.
 
I consider VG-10 a huge upgrade from the 400 series of stainless and considering it's very easy to sharpen and get very sharp I'd consider it almost as good as the super steels that are not as easy to sharpen. I put it in the same basket as 154CM.

I've used it for over a decade and never have been disappointed in it. It's a funny steel that for the most part can only be heat treated in Japan so you only see it on certain knives but having VG-10 steel does somewhat gurentee that the heat treat is done correctly. I have heard that the company that makes it has recently started allowing other heat-treaters to treat it but only under close supervision.
 
symphonyincminor said:
One of my favorite steels, in one of my favorite hard-use folders....

2e660ls.jpg


It has all the characteristics of making a great blade - takes a scary edge without much effort, extremely stain resistant, and moderately wear-resistant (compared to the newer crop of super steels).
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Ditto 100%
 
Deltadag said:
If your blade is actually a forging consisting of a VG-10 core forming the cutting edge, with brass and copper forged and layered over it, then the staining or blackening you've observed is probably copper sulfide (sometimes spelled "sulphide") tarnish caused by a chemical reaction between copper and sulfur, the sulfur either present in the atmosphere or more likely, from the meat that was cut. In copper and copper alloys (which includes the various brasses and bronzes) this tarnish is properly referred to as a "patina" and is actually self limiting and beneficial to preserving the metal underneath. This is in contrast to "rust" in ferrous (iron) metals like steel that is damaging and certainly not self limiting.

Copper sulfide tarnish typically appears black while copper sulfate tarnish is greenish (think of the Statue of Liberty). Sterling silver will also tarnish to black because it isn't pure silver but is instead mostly a silver-copper alloy.

So the blackening on your blade is not really harmful as rust would be on a plain carbon steel knife; if it's really a patina, then it should not pit or deeply etch the surface. If the knife were mine, and if it's going to be used for future food preparation, I'd simply apply a light coating of mineral oil and call it done.
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Thats some real usefull information, thank you. That makes more sense to me now. I was just so damn surprised about it.

E4cpfQj.jpg
 
I've personally not had the best luck with vg10. I've had three knives in the steel and have had chipping issues with each. VG10 would be the one steel I'm the most critical of. I still like the knives (2 Delicas and one Endura) but mostly because of their overall designs and their price points. I personally have had better results from Victorinox mystery steel, and contrary to other statements in this thread, I've found even 440C to be all around better.
 
archieblue said:
I've personally not had the best luck with vg10. I've had three knives in the steel and have had chipping issues with each. VG10 would be the one steel I'm the most critical of. I still like the knives (2 Delicas and one Endura) but mostly because of their overall designs and their price points. I personally have had better results from Victorinox mystery steel, and contrary to other statements in this thread, I've found even 440C to be all around better.
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I've found that my older 440C Benchmade Mini Griptilian was more prone to chipping than my Spyderco in VG10.

I'm not knocking 440C or BM. Just a different experience.
 
Out of all my Spydercos, the models with VG10 steel get the least amount of pocket time. My experience is that they do not hold an edge. I have to work a lot more to get the edge back with VG10 than just about any other steel with the exception of S90 and ZDP189. I don't have a lot of luck getting a razor edge on them, either. I haven't noticed any chipping, but really don't like the amount of time that I spend maintaining an edge. My experience - I know a lot of folks extol the ability of VG10's ease of sharpening and getting that edge that we all love so much on our Spydercos.
 
I got the Spyderco Police in the mail today; it has to be the sharpest knife I've ever owned. I don't think I'm skilled enough to get the edge back to its current state when the time comes lol
 
What type of sharpening system would you guys recommend that's more for beginners that can keep the edge at it current level of sharpness?
 
JcyHunter said:
What type of sharpening system would you guys recommend that's more for beginners that can keep the edge at it current level of sharpness?
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While it is a but pricey i would recommend the spyderco sharpmaker with a good strop+strop compound. I am sharpening challenged without my sharpmaker but with it i can maintain all my knifes to atleast hair popping sharp. I know some people like their knives even sharper than that but the way i see it, if i can shave with it. Its sharp enough for anything i will do troughout the day
 
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