Types of Steel Used for Kitchen Knives: Part 2

Video Transcript

"My name is Brandon Sarkis on behalf of Expert Village. Today I would like to speak with you about what to look for when buying kitchen knives. This right here, this Japanese blade, is a actually a powdered steel. What that means is it's a composite of a bunch of different kinds of steels that are turned into powder and they are somehow melted back together, magically, into a powdered stainless composite. The advantage to this, super, super, super hard edge. The disadvantage, super, super, super hard to sharpen. This knife will stay very very very sharp for a very very long time. The problem is though that once it goes dull, pretty much your only option is a professional sharpener. Especially with this one because it is a single sided blade. That's the disadvantage to really really hard steels. This is actually a hybrid steel. This is going to be a, going to be, the core of the blade, the center core of the knife is going to be powdered steel. The outer layers, you can see this ripple, it's hammered, softer steels are hammered on the outside to provide flexibility and durability to the blade. At the same time, the edge, just the absolute edge, is going to be super, super hard powdered steel. It's going to be a really hard composite. And the advantage to this, is much like the last knife, it is going to have a super, super, super sharp edge but because of the softer core metal they used, it is going to be a little easier to sharpen. You can actually sharpen this one yourself. That is all about different metals and blade technologies. "