Maintenance ? on certain steels.

T

Tar18

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Oct 3, 2012
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Hi folks. I will be getting a new kitchen set of knives for my sister and would like to know if the steel 5cr15mov is easy to maintain. I have found a nice set of 5 made of this steel but do not know anything about it. Since I will be looking after them for her (read sharpening) I wanted to know if I am making a good decision as far as the steel goes.
Thanks for any help or suggestions
Regards
Tar :)
 
That stainless is on par with most of the type used in kitchen knives. In terms of it's makeup, it's similar to 420HC (Buck Knives, Case), Victorinox's stainless, as well as that used by other well-known kitchen cutlery brands like Wusthof, for example. All of these utilize roughly 0.5% carbon (for adequate hardening, therefore edge holding) and around 14-15% chromium (corrosion resistance). Maintenance sharpening should be simple, using most any decent sharpening media, like aluminum oxide stones (hardware store stones, Norton's 'India' are examples), ceramic hones (Spyderco Sharpmaker and other 'V-crock' style sharpeners), water stones, diamond hones, etc. Natural stones, like Arkansas, should also do OK with these. You have lots and lots of options.


David
 
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Cheap kitchen knife sets tend to suck to sharpen. Lots of difficult to remove Burr and if you go much past a coarse grit level the edge doesn't last.

Typically, you can get 2 or 3 better quality knives for the price of those block sets yet have better edge retention, sharpness and ease of sharpening. It's a win for everyone that way.
 
Tar18 said:
Hi folks. I will be getting a new kitchen set of knives for my sister and would like to know if the steel 5cr15mov is easy to maintain. I have found a nice set of 5 made of this steel but do not know anything about it. Since I will be looking after them for her (read sharpening) I wanted to know if I am making a good decision as far as the steel goes.
Thanks for any help or suggestions
Regards
Tar :)
Click to expand...


Maybe you could link to the actual set?
For someone who might not use them so lightly, that steel has a reputation for cleaning back up fast. If the price is right I'd go for it. How they are stored and used will make a big difference in how long the edge might last.

Personally, I only ever use four knives in the kitchen and keeping them on a magnetic bar is the best way to store them.

A 3.5" paring knife with a coarse edge

A 6" utility knife with a medium grit finish (I could easily do without this one)

An 8" Chef pattern with a bright finish

A bread knife

I also have a second 6" utility knife I don't sharpen but a couple times a year and that only to a very mediocre edge that's for the wife to use.
 
I always recommend something like the 3-piece set from Tojiro. VG10/stainless laminate steel(WORLDS BETTER than 5cr). These 3knife sets go for about $150 or less, which is a fantastic deal. They will perform almost 100% of the tasks required in food prep. They are easy to maintain and are very high quality, ESPECIALLY considering the price.
 
The reason I ask is I'm curious, what is offered in a 5 knife set today. Being from a meat cutter background I call the kitchen knife shapes different
names than what most are familiar with today. Not just the names have changed, the shapes have as well through the years. We have 3 sets used in our kitchen. (my wife likes different shapes than me) I'll describe what I like in a kitchen set: a 4" paring, (their length can vary but within a 1/2") a 6" boning (straight spine w/ belly), a 8" French sabatier, a 9-10" breaking blade which doubles as a slicer (some up swept like a scimitar) and a 8-9" serrated straight spine bread knife which doubles as a large fruit knife. DM
 
https://www.amazon.ca/Ross-Henery-P...ss+henry+5+piece+kitchen+knife+set+with+block
I am not sure if what I have done is correct. It is the Ross Henery 5 piece set. I had looked at the 3 piece set but saw this one and the couple of extra knives that she would use. There is the chef, bread, slicer, and I think two paring. I hope the above link works.
Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions
I am just trying to learn about the steels.
Regards
Tar :)
 
I'm just not a fan of any of the CrMov steels. Chinese crap as far as I'm concerned! The 8cr, & 9cr are "ok" I guess... But the lowered numbers are too soft, & chip prone. They don't take more than a so-so edge, and have absolutely HORRIBLE edge retention. I know I'm pretty hard. I am kind of a steel snob. I use only CPM20CV to make ALL of my kitchen knives. So, kinda spoiled me on the lower line stuff. But like I said, I think VG10 is ok.
 
Tar18 said:
https://www.amazon.ca/Ross-Henery-P...ss+henry+5+piece+kitchen+knife+set+with+block
I am not sure if what I have done is correct. It is the Ross Henery 5 piece set. I had looked at the 3 piece set but saw this one and the couple of extra knives that she would use. There is the chef, bread, slicer, and I think two paring. I hope the above link works.
Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions
I am just trying to learn about the steels.
Regards
Tar :)
Click to expand...

If I were your sister I'd probably be pretty stoked with that set. If she's a real foodie or becoming one, she can replace them down the road when she knows the difference and actually has a problem. Every description of that steel says its a direct analog to the stuff used in many German mfg kitchen knives.

The biggest advantage to using budget steels on kitchen knives is it makes them very easy to touch up, and they will respond favorably to improvised/convenience sharpening strategies like mixing bowls, grooved and smooth steels, etc. They will actually respond better to these means then higher price steel - downside you will have to sharpen more often.

Another upside, you won't get upset if you see her abusing them and she like as not won't ever know the difference esp if you're keeping them tuned up nice. As I mentioned before a magnet bar is a nice $12-$15 upgrade. Frees up counter space, keeps the knives from contacting anything and allows them to dry entirely if not wiped completely dry after use.

As a possible other option, a Victorinox three piece costs about the same, but no bread knife...
 
Thank for all of the replies. I will look up the couple of sets that have been suggested.
I want whatever I get to give her good service. Yes she will look after them the right way and not hard on them, but she will use them properly.
Regards
Tar :)
 
Tar18 said:
Thank for all of the replies. I will look up the couple of sets that have been suggested.
I want whatever I get to give her good service. Yes she will look after them the right way and not hard on them, but she will use them properly.
Regards
Tar :)
Click to expand...

That's all that's needed, with kitchen knives. Some will harp on about 'cheap' stainless of this type; 'cheap' is often a misdirected description, and often uninformed. But, kitchen knives are easy in terms of what they're designed to do, and therefore can be relatively simpler in what goes into their manufacture. The steel type, in itself, isn't as important as the manufacturer doing a decent, reputable job in heat-treating the steel. Nothing extraordinary is expected of the heat treat, as knives of this designed use don't need it. All they need is a process that makes the steel take a decent/good/excellent edge for kitchen use (and that's mostly dependent on user's ability to sharpen them, as with any knife). Secondarily, the blade and edge grind geometry will make a difference as well, in that some will have thickish grinds that make them less user-friendly for sharpening and upkeep. But even those can be improved by the end user, by thinning them out, if they're willing to do it.

Most of the issues I've seen with 'inexpensive' kitchen cutlery all have to do with the blade/edge grind, as I mentioned above. Steel type, even though many aren't even identifiable by a name, usually doesn't impact performance for better or worse, once the blades have been thinned out to the geometry I like in kitchen knives. Once that's taken care of, they perform like they should, for simple kitchen uses.


David
 
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Even though Victorinox is also 0.5% carbon similar to 5Cr, I know their heat treat is :thumbsup:
The Chinese made one, I'm not familiar, but if not expensive, maybe worth trying. Perhaps it's decent and becomes good buy, though it may also turn out not so.

Edit to add:
Please let us know how it goes. I'm curious if they HT them well.
 
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Hi folks. I have decided to get the 5 piece set of kitchen knives by Ross Henery for my sister. I will get them first to check them out and make sure they are sharp. I will report back to you folks on what I find and how well they sharpen up and then the luck that my sister has with them.
Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions.
Regards
Tar :)
 
Tar18 said:
Hi folks. I have decided to get the 5 piece set of kitchen knives by Ross Henery for my sister. I will get them first to check them out and make sure they are sharp. I will report back to you folks on what I find and how well they sharpen up and then the luck that my sister has with them.
Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions.
Regards
Tar :)
Click to expand...

Cool! You can pretty much assume they won't be very sharp, but good enough to get started anyway. They might need to be thinned at the edge to work well, just about everything from the factory does.
 
HeavyHanded: thank you for all of your comments. But I have a question. Since I am still learning about the sharpening and such what would I have to do to "need to be thinned at the edge to work well" accomplish this.
I figured that I might have to sharpen them that is why I am getting them first.
Thanks again.
Regards
Tar :)
 
Tar18 said:
HeavyHanded: thank you for all of your comments. But I have a question. Since I am still learning about the sharpening and such what would I have to do to "need to be thinned at the edge to work well" accomplish this.
I figured that I might have to sharpen them that is why I am getting them first.
Thanks again.
Regards
Tar :)
Click to expand...

Many knives come from the factory with 40° plus inclusive cutting edge. In the kitchen this is just too broad of an angle. 30° inclusive max will have them cutting a lot better, especially when chopping but really for anything. Mid to upper 20s inclusive would be a better choice and then microbevel or strop to strengthen the edge a bit (or not).

Either way they will need to be tuned up often as most budget kitchen cutlery won't hold a good edge for long even at 40°. Figure an hour of chopping at a board and it might benefit from a tune up. I'm kind of OCD about this - the edge should hold up functionally for a lot longer than that, but I like to keep them as close to 100% as possible - I don't wait for it to slow down before touching them up.

Out of the box it wouldn't surprise me if they might save some arm hair or not, but I would be amazed if they were ground with a reasonably acute angle.
 
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