Japanese Knives: Carbon vs. Stainless

Hey Folks, thanks for tuning in! In todays video we're going to be tackling one of the most frequent questions we get at the shop, carbon vs stainless! They both have their ups and their downs and we're going to talk about it all in this video to help you pick the knife that works for you.

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[lz_]

These Chinese “VG10” knives are giving good Japanese VG10 a horrible name. I have a few Japanese made VG10’s that sharpen up great and hold a great edge. I do give the edge (pun intended) to my white and blue #2’s but still, I read comments all the time bashing VG10 and I just can’t imagine they’re basing the experience from a well made Japanese VG10. Anyway, great video thanks!

[markir]

Great summary of the pros and cons! Probably worth a mention that a good compromise for beginners is stainless VG10 or VG5 as it gets you the genuine Japanese knife experience without any significant maintenance changes, but is (usually) a better cutting experience than knives made from European steels.

[Maplecook]

I THOROGHLY enjoyed this content. It's not something that people typically learn in school. You are performing a valuable public service. Without videos like this, it's very confusing for people who are not in the know. Bravo!

[shawnhampton]

I would say one European exception would be the Swedish Stainless. Very good stuff. Great video!

[devondeswardt]

Your videos are super helpful and informative! And I dig the little comedic bits 😂

[natemccollum]

Go carbon all the way, the maintenance is simple. Especially if you’re a beginner, get a stainless clad with a carbon core. After a while you’ll begin to laugh at people cutting paper with their knives because if you have put a decent edge on your knife, you can use a Honing rod for weeks and cut magazine paper to your heart’s content. It really isn’t a big deal.

[danaltaras]

Hahaha, this is such a great video, but your hand motions belie the nervousness! You're doing great, stop playing with your hands <3

[lecco]

Blue carbon steel all the way in my book: gets sharper, and stays sharper.

[nikolaospavlou]

I'm looking to geek out...full hipster mode

[deathbyastonishment]

Your European/Japanese dichotomy for stainless steels is completely false. Japan produced plenty of lower cost/performance steels like AUS6 and some high quality stainless comes out of Europe as well, particularly Sweden. But most importantly you give no mention to the current sources of the "best" stainless steels available at present, China and particularly America. M390, S125V, LC200N, 20CV, Rex60 and Rex121.. these are all at least as good as the Japanese steels you mentioned and for any given trait (edge retention, rust resistance ect) there is an American steel that outshines the Japanese.

[lancemillward]

But san mai is the best of both worlds