Wustoff steel

J

jpvjr

Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
340
What kind of steel do they use? My sister had me touch up her 3" parer & it got me thinking.
 
I asked Wustoff a while ago and they answered "stainless steel". Good luck finding it out.
 
Last edited:
Some of the Wusthofs I have sharpened, had X50CrMoV15 stamped on them. That's pretty close to AISI 440A.

Ref - X50CrMoV15 vs. AISI 440A
That's higher end and mid range knives.

Low end I am guessing will be very close to AISI 420 class steel.
 
That would depend. Are we talking about the good expensive, made in Germany, Wustoff, or the cheaper end of their line thats made elsewhere?
 
Gator97 said:
Some of the Wusthofs I have sharpened, had X50CrMoV15 stamped on them. That's pretty close to AISI 440A.

Ref - X50CrMoV15 vs. AISI 440A
That's higher end and mid range knives.

Low end I am guessing will be very close to AISI 420 class steel.
Click to expand...

I would definitely consider 440A and 440B very "low end" steels for cutlery. :thumbdn:
 
There is a dealer on eBay who sells "vintage" Wustoff knives. He claims that the new knives are made of recycled steel and the old ones were virgin steel.


Like many things, only aficionados really care.
 
If properly processed recycled steel is no different from the virgin...
I'm not a metallurgist, but I'd think it's easier to purify than the ore?
As for the rest, difference between 420 or 440A and VG-10 or something like that is very noticeable.
 
I don't believe Wusthof makes steels. I think they buy them from the same place that makes most of them. The type of material used isn't even remotely important. I steel knives on pot lids. Works fine. Any kind of steel will do as long as you know enough not to apply pressure and try to sharpen the knife with the steel. Used properly, anything hard can realign an edge that is still in good shape.
 
My mother has a few of the Wustof classic line. They're the only blades I've been unable to get a satisfactory edge on. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, it's really frustrating. It just wont take or hold a refined edge. Compared to her other kitchen blades (in CPM154 at 60-61), the Wustof knives don't even feel heat-treated.

Phillip

p.s. Sorry for the rant. I just get frustrated with those knives.
 
Wusthoff steel is evolving. The old material was CrMo. That was replaced by CrMoV. That was replaced by CrMoVW. They are trying to keep up with the Japanese who have been using Vanadium for a long time.
 
Dunno how it is evolving, but the one I saw with X50CrMoV15 stamped on it, was less than 1 years old. Besides X50CrMoV15 does have some V in it.
 
In the 21st century, and for the prices they are asking, using relatively crappy steel is just a joke. Step up.
 
John Frankl said:
In the 21st century, and for the prices they are asking, using relatively crappy steel is just a joke. Step up.
Click to expand...

And people still buy them, thinking they're high-quality (probably because of the price). After a week of use, they start to wonder why they still can't slice a tomato and go out and by a specific (serrated) knife for that task. It's hard to fault the company. They're actually selling more knives by keeping their manufacturing costs low and selling lots of overpriced junk.
 
As with any companies knives, you get what you pay for. If people can't get a Wustoff sharp, it is not the fault of the knife.
 
Ben Dover said:
I would definitely consider 440A and 440B very "low end" steels for cutlery. :thumbdn:
Click to expand...
Randall uses 440B. They seem to be considered high end. Also, many relatively pricey customs are made from 10xx steels, quite inexpensive compared to PM, VIM-VAR, ESR, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top