Which steel for the kitchen?

J

John L

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Oct 28, 2004
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Plan on making several kitchen knives...both large and small. Which steel would you use and why? thanks
 
I usally make kitchen knives out of 154cm. I like that steel,good edge holding,nice flexablity,stainless,great to work with and I have about 20 foot of bar stock. I also like to use Stainless Damascus in a twist pattern. the egde is very toothy, I guess you could call it micro-serrated.

I like stainless in the kitchen. Boye dentritic Cobalt also make a nice kitchen knife but I find it hard to find a peice big enough to make a cheifs bowie style knife.


hope this helps
jimi
 
Ignore this .................. somedays theres just too many buttons on this computer


jimi
 
Use a fine-grained steel. Kitchen knives generally have very thin edges, you need something without large carbides. For stainless you probably want a Swedish stainless like 12C27 or AEB-L. CPM-154 would be a great choice once it is officially released, especially since it is more recognized than the Swedish steels. S30V would be a good choice since it is popular among the knife community, but generally isn't popular among the kitchen knife community. For carbon steels just use your favorite, 52100 is a good option. Kitchen knife people are usually big on three-layer laminates (san mai) and damascus, too.
 
Personaly any good stainless will work in the kitchen with the rite heat treat. All other factors are apples to oranges. I like 154CM/ATS-34, it's fairly easy to sharpen, takes a decent edge and holds it, and is more stain resistant than carbon steel. I also like S30V, it takes a very fine edge and holds it forever, but is dificult to sharpen, it is very stainless. My personal favorite is 52100, it'll turn blue and spotted, but it'll take a fine edge very easily and hold it forever.
 
I've been struggling with the same question...

my biggest gripe with S30V is the cost...for my kitchen knives, I'd end up paying about $30-40 for the steel. 1095 costs me about $3....:rolleyes:

I'm considering D2 and 154CM though...I still want some stainless...just not terribly excited about going back to 440C.

I'm also toying with the idea of laminating some 420 and 52100 in a canister. Just need to learn how to do it first....:rolleyes:

If it works, that would be a dream knife for me.
 
I have made a few kitchen knives out of D2 and it worked well. I like A2 in 1/16" thick at HRC 60. It makes great slicers and holds an edge very well. It is also reasonably priced. Mostly I have made chef's, butcher and santoku knives with the 1/16 stock ranging from 1 1/4" to 2" wide. A 2" wide by 7" long santoku will cut a chicken in half (longways) either by chopping or just line it up and lean on it. I haven't had much problem with rust, but I don't leave 'em in water.
 
and chop LOTS of vegies... good kitchen cutlery for me means stock thinness, some distal taper, and edge geometry are the firsts on my list. Any good steel will harden and sharpen. The temper can't be too hard.
The 440 series has such good abrasion resistance that some people can't seem to get'em sharp; they are never aggresive enough in their sharpening... I've seen a lot of knifemakers make really poor kitchen knives and wonder why they don't get used. Well, if your not a fairly accomplished cook, you don't know what is needed. Some I've seen try and make a knife that has great edged retention. That's just what a chef doesn't want. a good steel will put a sort of wire, or serrated edge on a knife and that's what cooks want; something they can easily maintain and not so bloody sharp that it's ready to take off fingers! Also many I've seen are too thick and heavy. Henckles makes a really nice professional series that has all the above save that they're too soft. I Rockwelled one once and it came out in the 40's....

m
 
Larrin said:
...CPM-154 would be a great choice once it is officially released, especially since it is more recognized than the Swedish steels.
Click to expand...

Just a quick side note on the CPM-154, if that's something you might consider. I picked some up in 3/16" from Crucible a couple months back, so it should be a viable current option for you. Bruce DiVita at Crucible seemed to be pretty excited about it, and though I haven't finished or used anyone else's knives made from it, it looks like it should be great steel. It isn't cheap though; priced the same as S30V... and I wish they'd find a better name for it!

Bukiewicz
 
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