VG10 and SG2 Experiments and History

[Larrin]

I was able to get some VG10 and SG2 steel which I was excited about because the steels are used in many Japan-produced knives but it is tough to get here. A lot of knife enthusiasts are curious about the properties. Spyderco of course has made many knives from VG10 and a lesser number in SG2. I did corrosion resistance and toughness experiments on both steels. And I tracked down some history on the development of each steel. I also have an experimental edge retention value for VG10 and calculated edge retention of SG2. https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/12/16/ ... d-history/

[jasonstone20]

Nice Larrin! You just made me a very happy man!

[Sumdumguy]

I have been wanting to hear the details of SG2.
Thanks, great read!

I want to see it, unclad, on a Caly 3.5 or a Baby Horn.

[Baron Mind]

Thanks for another great article Larrin, I enjoyed it very much.

[Sumdumguy]

I have been wanting to hear the details of SG2.
Thanks, great read!

I want to see it, unclad, on a Caly 3.5 or a Baby Horn.

Speaking of,

What was the reason they clad the EnDelica one?
Lower price? More knives, with less SG2?

[Cycletroll]

Great elaboration Larrin!
I've ben comparing a VG10 Stretch and a SG2 Endura for edc and find your results in line with my anecdotal experience. The SG2 seems about like s30v but a bit easier to get sticky sharp. Nice to know about the relative toughness.

[zuludelta]

Thank you for this latest article Larrin. VG-10 seems to be out of fashion in these days of powdered metallurgy & "super steels" but as your analysis shows, it's still a very capable & reasonably well-balanced steel option for folding knives.

But while I probably own more folding knives in VG-10 (all Spydercos) than any other steel, I wouldn't really mind if it is eventually supplanted by CTS-BD1N in Spyderco's Dragonfly/Delica/Endura family of knives, though the odds of that happening are probably very remote barring a change in manufacturing location from Japan to Taiwan or the US.

[Pancake]

Oh baby, another great article from Larrin!

[Larrin]

Oh baby, another great article from Larrin!

I'm glad you guys are excited. :)

[JD Spydo]

Thank you for this latest article Larrin. VG-10 seems to be out of fashion in these days of powdered metallurgy & "super steels" but as your analysis shows, it's still a very capable & reasonably well-balanced steel option for folding knives.

I couldn't have said it any better and this is coming from a guy who has some Supersteel folders and wants more of them. But on the other hand VG-10 is a very versatile hard use steel. The more I use some of my Spyderco VG-10 blades in the kitchen the more I believe it's still a great steel for culinary uses and for the food industry in general. Oh sure you could spend a lot more but there's no need to. And VG-10 can take on a really wicked, super sharp edge which is ideal for most food use.

I"ve never yet used SG2 and I plan on checking it out. But I'm not going to dump any of my VG-10 Spyders in the near future.

[thewoodpecker]

Thanks for the excellent articles Larrin. I always appreciate the in depth, yet accessible nature of your writing. Really makes me want to try out SG2 but I'm going to have to hold out for a Wharncliffe version.

[zuludelta]

Congrats Larrin on getting an "honourable mention" in the knife portion of Nick Shabazz's Gear of the Year video for 2019... I think you might be the first non-knife thing to make it to the list!

[vivi]

I'm surprised at how low VG10 ranks for toughness on your graphs. In use its always performed very well for me in that respect.

[Larrin]

I'm surprised at how low VG10 ranks for toughness on your graphs. In use its always performed very well for me in that respect.

I think it is not a surprise given its carbide structure. Though it compares favorably with most of the PM stainless steels. Most steels in a folder given light cutting tasks with 20 dps is going to be just fine.

[vivi]

I'm surprised at how low VG10 ranks for toughness on your graphs. In use its always performed very well for me in that respect.

I think it is not a surprise given its carbide structure. Though it compares favorably with most of the PM stainless steels. Most steels in a folder given light cutting tasks with 20 dps is going to be just fine.

I use my folders rougher than the average bear, and use 10dps bevels :p

[Cambertree]

Another excellent article Larrin. Thanks.

Regarding the dating, Takefu Special Steel had their 60th anniversary in 2014. I guess the ‘60 years old’ date would go back to the founding of the company.

I was lucky to be a guest at the celebrations in Gifu prefecture. The event also marked the third generation of the Kono family taking over the management of the firm.

It’d be interesting to see some similar research and micrographs of Hitachi’s ZDP-189, which I think continues to hold its own very well, even in the current crop of PM stainlesses.

[JD Spydo]

I'm surprised at how low VG10 ranks for toughness on your graphs. In use its always performed very well for me in that respect.

I think it is not a surprise given its carbide structure. Though it compares favorably with most of the PM stainless steels. Most steels in a folder given light cutting tasks with 20 dps is going to be just fine.

I use my folders rougher than the average bear, and use 10dps bevels :p

I'm the same way in my daily uses which is why I make it a point to always have a full SE companion folder to go with my main EDC. Because serrated blades just take on tough, rugged and demanding cutting jobs much better than PE blades do. But there are jobs where PE blades just simply work better.

And VG-10 is a great steel for Spyderedges. And again VG-10 is one of the few steels I've had equal success using in PE & SE both.

[Larrin]

Another excellent article Larrin. Thanks.

Regarding the dating, Takefu Special Steel had their 60th anniversary in 2014. I guess the ‘60 years old’ date would go back to the founding of the company.

I was lucky to be a guest at the celebrations in Gifu prefecture. The event also marked the third generation of the Kono family taking over the management of the firm.

It’d be interesting to see some similar research and micrographs of Hitachi’s ZDP-189, which I think continues to hold its own very well, even in the current crop of PM stainlesses.

The ZDP-189 article has already been written. I don’t think it is being released for a week or so though.

[sal]

Good stuff. Thanx Larrin.

FYI, It was my understanding that VG-10 was developed for grafting plants in Japan.

It is also my understanding that the President of Takefu feels that the addition of Cobalt in the chemistry will improve most of the properties of the other chemicals. We started using VG-10 in our Moran Fixed blade in 1998 after some initial testing. We've been very pleased with the material.

sal

[Larrin]

Good stuff. Thanx Larrin.

FYI, It was my understanding that VG-10 was developed for grafting plants in Japan.

It is also my understanding that the President of Takefu feels that the addition of Cobalt in the chemistry will improve most of the properties of the other chemicals. We started using VG-10 in our Moran Fixed blade in 1998 after some initial testing. We've been very pleased with the material.

sal

Thanks Sal. I already went on a journey to figure out what those cobalt statements mean: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/05/14/ ... -in-vg-10/

But fortunately after measuring the properties of the steel we can see how it performs rather than guessing what cobalt does.