Worst Knife "Article" Ever?

J

John_0917

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Apr 15, 2014
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A friend of mine sent me this, he's in the market for a set of quality kitchen knives (he's not into knives but is into food, I'm working on the first thing, recommended a Spyderco Chef's knife in VG10 for starters).

https://www.knifeplanet.net/best-steel-kitchen-knife/

I hope it's OK to link, well worth the comic relief...It reminds me of the Cabelas descriptions that talk about "8Cr13Mov...ultra high hardness carbon stainless extreme edge retention blah blah"
 
??? Although I didn't read all the chapters, the first section did not seem so egregious. :rolleyes: I believe it is a reasonable place for the non BF type kitchen knife user to begin. :thumbsup:
 
I haven't been around for that long, but how is this the worst ever?

It talks about steel properties, trade off, grinds, what steel works for who, ect.

Nvm it just recommended an electric sharpener.
 
katanas said:
??? Although I didn't read all the chapters, the first section did not seem so egregious. :rolleyes: I believe it is a reasonable place for the non BF type kitchen knife user to begin. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Then you didn't get to the good part, after the first paragraph it is literally 95% wrong and prone to massive hyperbole
 
A bit harsh criticism IMO. :( Some hyperbole, yes, but not terrible and I remember when those were considered "super". ;)
 
"Super steel" is a marketing term that changes over time with what was available. At one time AUS8 was a Spyderco, Al Mar, etc. upgrade from AUS6. It is still used by AlMar, but is now middle of the pack steel.
 
LOL that is pretty bad... many parts had me laughing, this is probably the worst:

"Sandvik 12C27 – a Super Steel made in Sweden, similar to S30V"...

how in the hell are they similar?, lmao, pm steel vs ingot, and zero Vanadium vs 4%? and 0.6% Carbon vs 1.45%?? wow
 
I do understand some of the weaknesses that are mentioned by the above posts.
The problem, as I see it, is that the fellow who reads this article is likely looking for informed guidance in picking a good steel for a kitchen knife. This article, although well-meant, generally appears to be well behind the times.
 
There are 3 steel qualities that are important for knives, especially kitchen knives.

  1. Tensile Strength
  2. Rust-Resistance
  3. Edge Retention
Unfortunately, you can’t have all three. A knife with great Edge Retention will be difficult to sharpen when it does get dull. A knife with great tensile strength will flex, rather than break, but it will not hold an edge for long. It is easy to sharpen, on the other hand. Adding enough chromium, and/or vanadium to the steel to make it rust-resistant will make the blade very hard. It can snap from excessive lateral pressure, and will be hard to sharpen. But it will take a very keen edge, and will hold it much longer than a Carbon Steel knife.
Click to expand...
High tensile strength and edge retention go together, they are not opposed to each other. Tensile strength doesn’t measure flexing. Tensile strength doesn’t necessarily correlate with ease in sharpening. Vanadium doesn’t increase rust resistance. Stainless steels aren’t particularly known for taking keen edges. That’s as far as I got in the article.
 
dirc said:
LOL that is pretty bad... many parts had me laughing, this is probably the worst:

"Sandvik 12C27 – a Super Steel made in Sweden, similar to S30V"...

how in the hell are they similar?, lmao, pm steel vs ingot, and zero Vanadium vs 4%? and 0.6% Carbon vs 1.45%?? wow
Click to expand...

That one got me pretty good too, besides all of their steel descriptions, that one was probably the worst. I also don't think they have the right info on ATS-34. I think my skepticism grew at "1055 - one of my favorite knife steels." Not that there's anything wrong with that being your favorite but I think we're shopping in different price points. Honestly, can't say I've seen a 1055 kitchen knife but maybe that's when "carbon steel" is the name given to the knife steel.

At least at the end they mention using the best knives you can afford and to not skimp on the sharpener.
 
Much of the info in the article is either wrong or simply long outdated. For example, ATS-34 was a Japanese version of 154CM, not the other way around.

That said, I wouldn't say it's the worst knife article ever. I've seen worse.

Jim
 
the only way I could think that 12c27 is similar to s30v, is if you're measuring the improvement from 'standard' stainless used in cheap kitchen knives... both offer a huge improvement, with s30v taking a much bigger jump of course
 
dirc said:
the only way I could think that 12c27 is similar to s30v, is if you're measuring the improvement from 'standard' stainless used in cheap kitchen knives... both offer a huge improvement, with s30v taking a much bigger jump of course
Click to expand...

Or that they are both made when you get a bunch of metal REALLY hot and then mix it all around!
 
It's obvious this person got all the steel info from Google searches. Since he really has no clue what he's talking about. However.... You may pick on the writers knowledge of metallurgy, but not his taste in kitchen knives. Those are all quality blades he suggests. You wouldn't go wrong with any of them.
AND the guy knows how to sharpen. If you read part 3 he says that electrics and "V" sharpeners work, but they will essentially eat your knife (as we all know)
So, for the layman this is a fantastic article!
 
Certainly not the worst I've ever seen.

I can think of at least one now defunct knife magazine that routinely had terrible articles that were at least this bad.
 
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