With its tungsten and chromium, blue steel is a more durable option for knives than white steel. Blue steel knives are an excellent choice when you need your knife blade maintained at top quality while resisting corrosion longer.
In this blog post, we shall learn more about this elite kind of knife and discover why they have become very popular worldwide.
Contents
Blue Steel Backgrounder
Blue steel is a type of alloy made from iron and carbon, as well as tungsten and chromium. Blue steels are known for their hardness due to the high content in these materials; this makes them more difficult to transform but also able to hold an edge longer than standard knives with white steel blades.
White steel is lower in carbon compared to blue steel and thus has a less durable edge. The more carbon the blade has, the harder it is.
Blue Steel Knives
Manufacturing
For a blade to be considered “blue steel”, it must first meet the requirements of knife grade steel, which means having a hardness measurement higher than 58 Rockwell.
Blue steel knives are more expensive than their white steel cousins due to the difficult manufacturing process that they go through. However, the process is worth it, as a blue steel blade can outperform its white steel counterpart.
Characteristics
Durable
Their hardness will enable the blade of your knife to resist bending, and they are more likely to maintain their edge throughout repeated use compared to white steel blades. The blue coloring of the steel means that acid is less able to corrode it.
Versatile
Blue steel knives can be used to cut through a wide range of foods. The metal’s hardness will help the blade withstand pressure from dense foods, and its sharpness means it will efficiently cut through harder ingredients.
Sharp
The hardness of the blade will ensure that it stays sharp longer, allowing you to cut through food faster and more accurately.
Nonstick
The surface of a blue steel blade is nonporous and so does not typically retain food particles. Such a material results in less destructive cleanup, such as scraping or washing the knife clean after use.
Knife Types
Aogami # 1
As compared with Aogami #2, Aogami #1 has a higher concentration of tungsten, carbon, and chromium. Therefore, it is more expensive and offers a better edge formation than the latter.
This steel is a desirable option for those who desire top-quality Aogami cutlery because of its abrasion resistance and stickiness. On the Rockwell hardness scale, its hardness ranges between 61 and 64 HRC. It is made of highly durable steel, which cuts well and preserves its edge for long periods of time.
Aogami # 2
As compared to Aogami #1, this variant contains a lesser amount of tungsten, carbon, and chrome. This type is cheaper than Aogami #1 because it is stickiness, sharpness, and hardness is lower. If you’re thinking about buying your first Aogami knife, look at this blue paper steel type, as it is the cutlery idol renowned for its ease of use.
Aogami Super:
There is the maximum amount of carbon in this type, which is approximately 1.4% to 1.5% of all ingredients. Compared with Aogami #1, it also contains molybdenum and vanadium besides tungsten and chromium.
Because molybdenum is more resistant to corrosion and has a higher stickiness than chromium, the Aogami super knife ensures maximum edge life (sharpness). As a consequence, the steel’s hardness is not affected by changes in temperature.
In contrast, vanadium makes steel stronger and harder, and it is highly resistant to abrasion. The edge on this blue steel is sharper than any of its competitors and remains sharp the longest.
The blade is capable of reaching a hardness level of 70 HRC after quenching. A subsequent tempering process restores the hardness to 65-68 HRC. Despite this, Aogami super is harder than all of the carbon steels combined.
Final Verdict
In a nutshell, blue steel knives have a greater strength and hardness level compared to their counterparts. Overall, they are more expensive than other steel knives but offer you better value for your money in the long run.
