Zwilling Twin Henckels Steel Question

[Thin-Slice]

I have bought a Pro series kitchen knife set about 8 years ago way before i got into the hobby heard they are one of the top brands for kitchen cutlery and i love them.

Questions is with todays knowledge about high performance steels i wondered how would their steels rate compared to them. Specifically The Friodur steel.

"The Friodur ice-hardened blade of Zwilling's Special Formula high carbon stainless steel results in an extraordinarily durable blade that stays sharper longer." Description from KC, https://www.knifecenter.com/item/H38400103/zwilling-ja-henckels-pro-paring-knife-38400-103

Can anyone tell me if they know what it compares to: 154CM, S30V and the such

 

[jdm61]

It doesn't compare. It is a simple medium carbon stainless strip steel chosen primarily for corrosion resistance and ease of manufacture.

 

[DeadboxHero]

It's in the realm of 420hc and 440a with a hardness range of mid to high 50's HRC and has a cryo.

Nothing special. But just like Jdm61 said it's focused on corrosion resistance, ease of manufacture.

Also durability, and ease of edge maintenance with a sharpening steel at the cost of edge performance.

 

[jc57]

It's 1.4116 / X50CrMoV15. Same thing Wusthof uses. They run it to 57 HRC hardness. It's a decent kitchen knife. Not great, but decent. I have one of their Pro series 5 1/4" prep knives.

 

[knarfeng]

What they said. The steel composition is similar to 420HC.

For Henkels, to a certain extent you are paying for the name. But, you are also paying for that thick chunk of steel where the blade joins the handle. That can't be stamped from sheet steel. It has to be forged. The chunk of steel improves the balance and ergonomics. I have a couple of Henkels 4-star. The steel edge retention performance isn't anything to boast about. But they are very well balanced and a pleasure to use.

 

[Kevin Wilkins]

I believe quite a lot of current Solingen production has the bolster type areas welded on, they are no longer forged. Güde still has everything (unless they have recently changed) drop forged. Last I heard, there was only one forge still working in the area.

What they said. The steel composition is similar to 420HC.

For Henkels, to a certain extent you are paying for the name. But, you are also paying for that thick chunk of steel where the blade joins the handle. That can't be stamped from sheet steel. It has to be forged. The chunk of steel improves the balance and ergonomics. I have a couple of Henkels 4-star. The steel edge retention performance isn't anything to boast about. But they are very well balanced and a pleasure to use.

 

[Thin-Slice]

Tyvm for all the info and i minda had a feeling since i feel like having to sharpen it often. Might consider getting the Spyderco Sprig in S90V for the kitchen even though it has a sheet.

Qhile on topic any suggestions in some like the spyderco steel and size/look. I feel its similar to the look of my Zwilling mentioned above.

 

[DeadboxHero]

Tyvm for all the info and i minda had a feeling since i feel like having to sharpen it often. Might consider getting the Spyderco Sprig in S90V for the kitchen even though it has a sheet.

Qhile on topic any suggestions in some like the spyderco steel and size/look. I feel its similar to the look of my Zwilling mentioned above.

Eh, the zwilling is fine, it's just a different set of properties. Some like that in the kitchen, some like harder steel but everything is a compromise for something.

The sprig looks sweet but it's not going to replace a full size 8" chef knife IMHO but if that works for you then that's fine too.

 

[Thin-Slice]

Eh, the zwilling is fine, it's just a different set of properties. Some like that in the kitchen, some like harder steel but everything is a compromise for something.

The sprig looks sweet but it's not going to replace a full size 8" chef knife IMHO but if that works for you then that's fine too.

Was looking more for a 4 inch or so peeler since i use that size knife the most in the kitchen.

 

[DeadboxHero]

Right on, I'm more of a chef knife guy, works faster for me. I use it for everything, I don't use a paring knife for peeling since peelers are faster In my experience. No right or wrong way for home use. Whatever works

If the utility/petty and paring knife was all I used then that would be a cool choice.

 

[jdm61]

You are correct, Mein Herr. The Zwilling-Henckels "factory tour" video shows them forge welding the bolsters to a rectangular piece of strip steel coming off of a big honking roll using an induction coil setup, then punching out the finished blank with a big press before it goes to bevel grinding. Most of the operations are done by industrial robots.

I believe quite a lot of current Solingen production has the bolster type areas welded on, they are no longer forged. Güde still has everything (unless they have recently changed) drop forged. Last I heard, there was only one forge still working in the area.

 

[jdm61]

If you want a "proper" stainless knife, find one in AEB-L. I would recommend with some hesitation trying to find one of the Zwilling-Henckels Kramer Essential knives on sale. I say hesitant because I am not all that impressed with the full convex grind or the fit and finish on those knives, even compared to the original 52100 models, but the HT is supposed to be pretty respectable. The Misono UX-10 is also supposed to be pretty good. if those are too rich for your blood, there are supposed to be some Japanese knives for considerably less that are a good bang for the buck. The Tojiro DP line is frequently mentioned. I have the house brand Carbonext gyuto from JapaneseChefsKnives.com. It is semi stainless, so it requires a bit more care. The 210 gyuto is $105 and the shippng from Japan is crazy cheap. it has been a few years, but I think they charged me like $9 for two knives using the Japanese post office. I bought my Carbonext 240because it was reasonably priced, sounded interesting and had a nice shape that I used as a pattern from 240-270mm blade that I make.