Spyderco Murray Carter Steel

[Aallard8]

Hey, first post here, I’m just hoping to get some opinions and advice about which steel to get the Spyderco Murray Carter knives in. The top of the line Itamae in the Super Blue or the Wakiita in the BD1N. I’ve never had or used a non stainless knife before and honestly I’ve never used a quality knife in the kitchen at all. That being said my wife and I are looking to get a set of quality kitchen knives that will last and I am set on getting Spyderco of some type. I’m wondering if the extra work and care involved with the super blue is worth it. I’m not worried about patina or how it looks, just worried about if it is going to rust super easy and be a constant headache. And then with the BD1N I’m wondering if there is something I would be missing out on compared to the super blue.
I haven’t been able to find anything comparing these two steel’s directly, im sure im way overthinking it but any information would be appreciated!

[Michael Janich]

Dear Aalard8:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

[vivi]

I'm a professional chef and I use a combination of carbon and stainless steels at both work and home.

I don't find the carbon steel knives very difficult to care for, but you'll want to keep in mind that different steels corrode faster than others. My white #1 knives will start to form rust and patina before I'm done with a prep job. On the other hand I've never seen rust on my Aogami Super knives, and they've taken a long time to patina.

I have not tried out super blue in a kitchen knife so I can't comment on it from experience, but from what I gather it falls in between White #1 and Aogami Super in terms of corrosion resistance and edge holding.

Basically when I'm using a carbon knife at work, I keep a towel soaked in hot water nearby and wipe them down periodically. How often depends on what I'm cutting. If I'm trimming asparagus with aogami super I'll wipe the knife down when I'm down with the job. If I'm making fancy lemon slices with a White #1 petty, I'll wipe it down every 5-10 minutes because otherwise rust can start forming from the corrosive juices.

Once you get in the habit of wiping them down often when working with corrosive foods, they're pretty easy to care for. Just make sure to never leave them sitting with corrosive food bits and juices on the blade, and definitely don't forget to clean them when you're done using them. Also, never even think about running knives like these through the dishwasher.

The carbon knives tend to be run a little harder than stainless knives, which results in better edge holding, less edge deformation on cutting boards, and the ability to handle thinner edge angles for superior cutting geometry.

That said some makers are taking their stainless steels to 60-62rc, and these can be very high performance knives too. I have some 61rc VG10 knives I use at work and they have excellent edge holding for a stainless kitchen knife. It is not required to get carbon steel kitchen knives to get high performance. A lot of japanese makers also work with ginsan 3, or g3, and they run those knives up to 61-63rc from what I've seen.

In fact when it comes to how Spyderco handles their BD1N in particular, you can order a z cut paring knife for $20-25 and try it out yourself right now. I've had very good experiences with it. Very corrosion resistant, easy to sharpen, and holds an edge pretty well. I've used both plain edge and serrated z cuts and they're very good knives for the price.

[Josh Crutchley]

I have not tried out super blue in a kitchen knife so I can't comment on it from experience, but from what I gather it falls in between White #1 and Aogami Super in terms of corrosion resistance and edge holding.

Pretty sure Aogami Super is the same as Super Blue.

[vivi]

thanks for the info Josh.

[Scandi Grind]

I have not used either steel, so my opinion can be appropriately taken with a large grain of salt, however I am guessing that based on the fact that you say you have never used a quality kitchen knife before, you probably don't cook more than a typical enthusiastic home cook, but please correct me if I am wrong. If that is the case however, you can get along very well with the cheaper BD1N and probably never want for anything better.

Most steels used by any kitchen knife that has a sound reputation tends to work very well for most home users, even stuff that isn't very expensive. $50 and even less there are steels that can be satisfactory. Heck, I can even make a $10 knife perform fairly well if I resharpen regularly.

That is also a good point of emphasis, being able to sharpen, or having someone who can do it for you, is more important than the steel itself. I heard it said recently, that all steel is created equal if you can't sharpen it. Super Blue is higher performance, but both steels can be made sharp, you just might have to make BD1N sharp a little more often, which shouldn't be much of an issue if you are similar to a medium volume home cook.

[cabfrank]

Good answers here already. I will just add that I like my Para3 with BD1N very much. I think if Spyderco uses this steel in the Murray Carter line, they are using it because it will perform quite well. I don't think you would be missing much.

[vivi]

That is also a good point of emphasis, being able to sharpen, or having someone who can do it for you, is more important than the steel itself. I heard it said recently, that all steel is created equal if you can't sharpen it. Super Blue is higher performance, but both steels can be made sharp, you just might have to make BD1N sharp a little more often, which shouldn't be much of an issue if you are similar to a medium volume home cook.

I've posted about these before, but if OP or anyone else wants to practice sharpening kitchen knives, this set is great for that:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264425897984?e ... BM0NqIzZRh

Very thin stock on an easy to grind steel means they'll sharpen very fast.

[skeeg11]

Japanese carbon steels are wonderful stuff I'm sure, but I'm actually quite content with old Sabatier carbon steel. My palate is not refined enough to detect the taste of rust from carbon steel, but I sure can see it when working with acidic foods like apples. I've been known to stooping so low as to use a ceramic blade for such purposes.

[Bdubs808]

If anyone has been on the fence about picking up one of these, check out Cutlery shoppe and you'll find they have some big discounts on most of these Carter knives. I ordered the 10inch Super blue gyuto for 267, the bunka bocho super blue is only 237.

[spydergoat]

Whichever you like will be fine since both are really good steel and the knife itself is a good package from a good designer. I don't have any super blue but I have a Spyderco/Carter in BD1N and I have a japanese knife in a different carbon steel. I don't think the steel choice will matter as much as you think. Always more important are the blade geometry and heat treat and craftsmanship. The super blue is harder and could be sharpened to a finer edge for fine slicing your sashimi. I don't think for the average home cook with average sharpening skills that this will ever matter. BD1N is a nice steel I enjoy it in the kitchen and pocketknives. I picked that steel for lower maintenance. If I got another one I would get the super blue just to check it out.