Experiences with William Henry steels?

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Aug 6, 2013
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I am in the market for a William Henry knife. :thumbup: I see two steels being used in the models I like: ZDP-189 and VG5.

Does anyone have any personal experiences with these steels from WH? I can assume their ZDP-189 is silimar to other companies, but as far as the VG5 I am at a loss. Any recommendations as to which steel is best? This will be an office EDC. Thanks!!
 
Never seen a wh with vg5. Is it an older model? They only use zdp189 and d2 these days AFAIK. Their current lineup of steps is awesome.
 
I find it difficult to imagine either steel failing you for an office EDC. From what I've read about VG5 (very little), I think it is a stainless steel with relatively high carbon content and relatively low chromium content (for a stainless). It seems to be a little harder to come by, I would personally probably get the VG5.
 
I've got several blades (not WH) in ZDP-189 and like them. Wish I had more.
 
I like all of my William Henry ZDP-189 blades. They are very hard but fine grained. I have had no problems with chipping. The VG5 has 1/4 the Carbon and 3/4 the Chrome of ZDP-189. I wouldn't be tempted to try VG5 as I don't think it can be taken to as high a hardness as the ZDP. It is billed as a cutlery steel which probably means it's softer than ZDP. I don't know if it is a powdered steel, but I doubt it.
 
For regular use, the Vg5is just fine. It is in the core of the copper wave Damascus, which is a very nice blade pattern! I have one of their knives also in raindrop Damascus, they use Devine Thomas and Mike Norris I believe so it is good steel. The zdp is just like the spyderco zdp I have, so hard and good edge holding. Finally, the d2 in the edc series is a very good all around steel. I don't like that it only comes in black, but it performs very well.
 
To be perfectly honest, I think 420 series or 440A is more than adequate for office EDC, so I wouldn't worry too much about anything from William Henry (which is bound to be much better.) Just my 2¢...

Good luck, OP! :)

-Brett
 
WH gets its ZDP from Hitachi, same as Rockstead I believe. Their steels are superb, as is their build quality.
 
FWIW, William Henry states that the VG-5 knives are ~59 Rc at the edge while the ZDP-189 are 65-67 Rc at the edge. If the goal is high wear-resistance ...

But as others have said, an office EDC could be alright with 420. I'd suggest buying the design (blade/handle shape, decorations) you like best, which is really what WH is selling, and ignore the steel type/chemistry.
 
Thank you all! There is a WH "trunk show" in town this Friday, I'll be sure to post my spoils here. :D
 
I went with the B04 Pikatti "Kampos" (Greek for sea monster):

AB3MoXS.jpg
 
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