Source for hitachi steels

J

JeffreyFogleboch

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May 13, 2009
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Do any of you guys know if there is any source for hitachi blue white other than the European shops and the eBay store that sells the laminated bars? I have ordered some pre laminated bars but they are thin and in off lengths which doesn't give me a lot of freedom. I've contacted NJSB and they informed me that they are all out. Thanks

-Jeff


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705 said:
Do any of you guys know if there is any source for hitachi blue white other than the European shops and the eBay store that sells the laminated bars? I have ordered some pre laminated bars but they are thin and in off lengths which doesn't give me a lot of freedom. I've contacted NJSB and they informed me that they are all out. Thanks

-Jeff


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I get mine from dictum in Germany. I've not found any North American suppliers, other than the one batch Aldo had.
 
705 said:
Do you mind me asking how much shipping to North America costs you?


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I don't remember offhand, but it wasn't outrageous. I last bought about 1.5 years ago. Use the checkout and calculate shipping. It's based on weight from what I remember, so add pieces until you get a price jump, then remove one.
 
I use Dictum, in Germany. The dollar is strong now, so it is a good deal. Shipping is not bad, and placing a larger order makes the shipping go farther. It is a good idea to make a large order if you plan on using this steel,, as once you start, you will likely not want to use another steel .. at least for kitchen knives.

Workshop Heaven, in the UK, also sells it.

Takefu steel is the same as Hitachi steel, so look for that in US suppliers. Bill Burke, one of the Bladeforum members, sells it:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1355262-Takefu-steel-for-2016

There is a US ebay knife supply seller who sells these steels. He buys from Dictum( and others) and resells at a marked up price. His price is still reasonable, and there is no big shipping charge. He is a reliable seller. I have bought from him when out of something I needed quickly.
here is his ebay site:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/phorizt/m.h...-mUAAOSwaB5XlRed&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
 
Stacy- thank you for the information! I have been looking at the takefu steels but I have noticed that they don't seem to be as low in P and S as the hitachi and i noticed that the takefu white 2 has added nickel and chromium. Do either of these factors make any difference at all? What does the lower amount of impurities in the hitachi steels equate to? What does the addition of small amounts of Cr and Ni do in comparison to the hitachi? Thanks!


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I recall shipping to be in the $40 range but I could be wrong, the more you buy, the better you get to amortize shipping across each bar.
The suminagashi from workshop heaven is thicker, I have 14 bars coming next Tuesday, (niece bringing it over :-) )

I have some white steel clad with 410 stainless from Japan in varied thickness and lengths but it's very expensive.

what thickness do you want?
 
I would ideally want 1/4" thickness but 3/16" would be okay. The only bad thing about the sumingashi is the added cost because of the pattern welding. I would really love to get my hands on some white steel with stainless![emoji15]


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What are you making with white steel that needs 1/4" thickness? I use 3mm to 4mm for most blades.

The difference between the two suppliers of steel is minor, and unless you are a very experienced smith, you probably would never know which was which. The P and S are insignificant traces from the smelting. The slight amounts of Cr, Ni, and W vary from type to type, with #1 having none ( or little) and #2 having more. Again, you probably couldn't tell them apart once the blade is done, it just makes for a slightly tougher steel.

4Suminagashi (and warikomi) is really nice for certain blade types. It is not much more expensive than the plain steel. An average knife has about $20 to $35 in the steel. That isn't bad, since it will add at least $100 to the knife's sales price over regular steel.
 
Thanks for the clarification! I am making knives between 3-4mm just as you I just like the added flexibility and width I can get with thicker stock. I'm not nearly as good as forging as some of you guys so I generally have more waste.


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As a rule, the laminated Hitachi steels are mainly used for stock removal. I do some basic profile shape forging ( sori and raised tips as well as any tang shaping), but grind the details and bevels in. The core is usually only 1mm thick, so any forging from the sides may disrupt it and make the edge not be centered evenly.

The white/blue paper mono-steels are perfect for forging, and I forge to the point where I am ready for HT. The final bevels and sugata touch-up are done post-HT.
 
Thanks for the clarification! I am making knives between 3-4mm just as you I just like the added flexibility and width I can get with thicker stock. I'm not nearly as good as forging as some of you guys so I generally have more waste.


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Okay I see what you mean. I was planning on making a full tang knife but I wouldn't have enough witdth in the handle...I was hoping to forge in a tapered tang. Not to mention that if I used it for stock removal I would have a very strange 5" piece of scrap...if they would sell it in 3 foot lengths this could be avoided


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Okay I see what you mean. I was planning on making a full tang knife but I wouldn't have enough witdth in the handle...I was hoping to forge in a tapered tang. Not to mention that if I used it for stock removal I would have a very strange 5" piece of scrap...if they would sell it in 3 foot lengths this could be avoided


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Just cut it off 1" longer than the blade length and weld on a 1084 tang. That puts 1" of the main billet in the handle and the cheap steel inside the handle One 100mm bar should make two knives this way. Careful placement on the bar will allow the max use. Placing one blade up and one blade down allows the tips or tangs to pass each other a bit and gain more usan]ble blade length.
 
I am doing some research into blade metal and I read through a pdf on Hitachi's website (in Japanese). While I was not able to find a supplier in the US, I can still offer some info from the official text for your references. May not be very valuable if you already know this metal inside and out.

These steels are known as YSS, (Hitachi Yasuki/Yasugi Special Steels)

Yellow paper (yellow label) #2 - YP2: is a purified high carbon steel
White paper #2 - WP2: is based on YP2, further purified. Carbon (1.05-1.15%) other non-iron substance is below 0.5% total
White paper #3 - WP3: is based on WP2, reduced Carbon to (0.80-0.90%)
White paper Saw(?) - WPS: is based on WP2, reduced Carbon to (0.80-0.90%) for making saws (?)
White paper #1 - WP1: is based on WP2, increased Carbon to (1.25-1.35%)

Blue paper #2 - BP2: is based on WP2, added Cr and W
Blue paper #1 - BP1: is based on BP2, increased Carbon to (1.25-1.35%)
Blue paper Super - BPS: is based on BP1, added V, increased W

There is a separate line of stainless steels (silver paper #1, #3, #5)
 
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