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Show HN: I built a knife steel comparison tool

(new.knife.day)
133 points p-s-v | 1 comments | 17 May 25 17:13 UTC | HN request time: 0.209s | source

Hey HN!

I'm a bit of a knife steel geek and got tired of juggling tabs to compare stats. So, I built this tool: https://new.knife.day/blog/knife-steel-comparisons/all

It lets you pick steels (like the ones in the screenshot) and see a radar chart comparing their edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening on a simple 1-10 scale.

It's already been super handy for me, and I thought fellow knife/metallurgy enthusiasts here might find it useful too.

Would love to hear your thoughts or any steel requests!

Cheers!

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whalesalad ◴[17 May 25 19:56 UTC] No.44016569[source]▶
Tangent: I had a decent benchmade griptilian folding knife for the last 10 or so years. Wasn’t the sharpest knife but I loved the form factor, grip, etc.

I left it on the bed cover of my truck the other day while unboxing some towing equipment in a parking lot and took off accidentally.

Looked at Amazon to replace it and they’re going for $200+ now. Is this just Amazon tax? Tarrifs? Something else? No way in hell I paid that for it initially. It was probably $50! It’s listed at $160 on their website right now.

Why?!?! It’s a simple plastic body and a small piece of steel. Make this make sense.

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Zak ◴[17 May 25 21:34 UTC] No.44017144[source]▶
> Wasn’t the sharpest knife

Sharpness is a product of sharpening, which should be done regularly for good results.

Benchmade's pricing is based on irrational customers being willing to pay premium prices for knives that really aren't competitive anymore.

If you want a replacement knife that's very similar for a more reasonable price, consider the crossbar lock version of the Vosteed Raccoon.

replies(1): >>44017379 #
globular-toast ◴[17 May 25 22:08 UTC] No.44017379[source]▶
> Sharpness is a product of sharpening, which should be done regularly for good results.

How often? I have a Japanese santoku knife made of VG10 and I really like it when I get it razor sharp. But is it normal that it loses that after a few weeks? Do I really need to keep sharpening on a whetstone that often? I cut vegetables almost every single day.

replies(1): >>44017465 #
1. Zak ◴[17 May 25 22:21 UTC] No.44017465[source]▶
Knives should be sharpened when they no longer cut as effectively as the user would like. Several weeks of daily use with no maintenance is probably longer than I would go, but I do not know your knife.

It's not necessary to use a whetstone that often though. My preference is a leather strop with a fine (under 1 micron; I use 0.25) diamond paste on it, and it usually only takes a few strokes (around five) per side to restore my gyuto to performance I'm happy with. The duller I let it get, the more time it takes to restore.