The Verdict on Hitatchi White vs. Blue Steel is Out 

Great video Carter. I'm truly glad this information is around. Just goes to show that the smith makes the tool, not the other way around.

Nice thought process, Murray

Nice Video Murray! A word that I like to use to explain this to folks is "relationship". as in my relationship with 1095, or your relationship with white steel. the steel can be good, we can do all we can to be good smiths, but it is our relationship with our chosen steel or steels that will take the "good" to "great".

Fascinating. When I soak this in I relate it to sharpening. You can create the worlds finest knife but I feel it is my responsibility to ensure that it's excellent performance in the kitchen is maintained. So you spend years perfecting your knives, it would be a shame not to sharpen it to ensure it operates in peak condition over it's lifetime. You make them easy to do this and I find that truly incredible. (Greetings from Halifax).

Very nice to open the horizons & understanding it's the fundamentals & craftsmanship that make the knife superior. Reminds me of 'never having a reason for a dull knife'. As a more extreme example: Sharpening on a cinder block, river stones even smooth pavement & stropping on cardboard or smoother river stones. You've always taunted: 1000 grit, 6000 grit, maybe some stropping, it doesn't have to be expensive, just knowing what & how to do things. Results of the fundamentals & person doing the task have the same conclusions - a well finished product! Thank-you very much Murray! 'Keep forging ahead' ;-) © lol

It's good to see that an Old Art is still growing. Hope to snag a blue steel neck knife soon. My apprentice neck knife is sharp and shave worthy, can't wait to get an upgrade see the side by side comparison.

Nothing I've used cuts like Hitachi white steel. The edge is even hard to describe well. Simply amazing.

great explanation, thank you!

VERY insightful. Thank-you...

Very well said murray.

Very insightful video - cutting and keeping vs cutting and throwing away. Thank you!

I have bought and carried Murray's knives for many years now and I remember a conversation with Murray maybe 7 years ago where he said that he felt the sharpest edge would come from white steel and the most durable from super blue. Having both for many years I feel the same for the highest degree of sharpness get my favorite white steel and for extra edge holding get super blue. The difference is not huge but noticeable.

Awesome!

i think this evaluation makes sense...it's like comparing one martial art against another and claiming it 'superior' - i believe it is the person involved, and how well they do whatever they are striving for excellence in.

Great video thanks, I just bought a blue steel knife and coUldnt find much info on blue or white

Not too many folks can even attempt to forge Hitachi White Steel. Very difficult.

Outstanding Murray... Thank you once again for your insight. My "Carter" neck knife which I purchased from you in the early part of this year has performed amazingly. Unlike my many "modern" "super steel" blades I own which invariably requires my buddy a professional sharpener to correct the all to common sub standard geometry and factory secondary bevel in order to allow me to then maintain the blades using my field expedient method of fine stone/strop. Since purchasing the aforementioned "Carter" neck knife, I followed your tried and tested sharpening method using two Japanese water stones. All I can say is that my free hand sharpening technique using this method has gone from zero to proficient. As a serving U.K. RM Commando I am now hoping to purchase one of your FS-1 blades as a duty carry blade. I'm looking forward to see how it will perform compared to my currently carried WinklerKnivesII Belt Knife & S.A.R. blades! All the best from the U.K. Cheers!

awesome globe and mail article! still representing canada. wish your blades were up here.

after what I find is a very informative vid. do you feel that VG-10 is not better than white or blue? And why is it that VG-10 is only available in japan but now some German companies have acquired it from them.

Can you visually or perhaps chemically distinguish between a blue paper steel and a white paper steel blade without damaging the blade? The reason I ask is I was given a higo no kami and I know both steels are used. Thanks for any help.

So white is like a finishing steel? Man I wish f3 was still in production.

How do you forge 18,000 blades in a single lifetime? I'm not trying to be a smart-ass or anything, but even if it only took you a single day to forge and finish one blade, it still amounts to 49.3 years. Even if we cut that time in half it's still close to impossible. I must be misunderstanding what Murry means when he says he's forged 18,000 blades? He must be talking about his knife company specifically, and the amount of product he's sold/forged along with his employees.

Bob Kramer uses 52100 for his knives for a reason.

INTERESTING!… I DO NOT “FORGE”, BUT CHOSE MY STEELS TOO: USE HARD ABE-L FOR CUTTING IN THOSE “KEEPS”… & S90V FOR THE “CUTTING-AWAYS” (& FOR SIMILAR REASONS). BUT, I USE M2 @ 64 HRC, FOR MY “WHITTLING”/FINE CARVING STEEL (ENDURING “SILKY” SLICING). THE EDGE STABILITY & FINE EDGES OF AEB-L HAVE THEIR PLACE… THE “TOOTHIER” S90V HAVE THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH & THE BITE I LIKE IN SKINNERS, HUNTERS & BUSHCRAFTERS. YET M2 CAN HANDLE BOTH TASKS WELL (FINE BUSHCRAFTING?). ONLY M2 IS NOT FOR “SALT WATER”OUTDOOR WORK: NEEDS A RINSE A WIPE & LIKES AN OILING FOR GOOD MEASURE (SHARPENS EASIER THAN S90V, WITH SIMILAR TOUGHNESS )

i detest blue steel personally. very rust prone, if wet off onions it starts to brown or rust very very quickly after minutes and scrubbing off gets annoying. very good edge retention tho!

Its VANADIUM!!!!!

So you discovered that quater to 7. IsThe same as 6:45

Yelp review on this bozo - Welcome to bizarre insanity. The founder of this place made a book about himself where he says his greatest influences are Conan the Barbarian and Jesus Christ. He walks around open carrying a .45 on premises, and rants and raves about conspiratorial political ideas in front of staff and customers. With only a few minute conversation you will find that he is delusional about what his company actually is, which is very specialized knives that are massively over priced. Terrible. Just terrible.

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