What is VG-10 Steel, and Why Do We Make All Our Knives with It?

VG-10 allows for a number of intricate patterns, like the popular ripple or wave pattern shown here.

 

What Does VG-10 Mean?
VG-10 steel is a very strong type of stainless steel that is often used within the blades of knives. The G stands for “gold”. This is referring to the “gold standard” that this steel is held to while it is being manufactured. This steel originated and is primarily produced in Japan, where it has traditionally been used to make knives. It has since evolved to be the most popular choice for kitchen knives, due to its high durability and edge retention. Its ability to resist corrosion also has contributed to make it an extremely popular choice for professional and home chefs.

What Makes Up VG-10?
VG-10 stainless steel is considered to be a high carbon steel. VG-10 contains a blend of approximately 1% carbon, 1% molybdenum, 15% chromium, .2% vanadium, and 1.5% cobalt. These components give VG-10 its ability to hold an edge and to resist rust. As well as the ability to have some extremely intricate designs in the blade during temperament, like the extremely popular ripple or wave pattern shown above. One of the main reasons VG-10 steel has been so highly prized among so many individuals.

What Sets VG-10 Apart from VG1
VG-10 stainless steel is often confused with VG-1 stainless steel, which is actually a lower quality material. Although both of these varieties of steel are used by manufacturers in Japan and elsewhere, VG-10 is considered to be a much higher quality metal than VG-1. It’s for that reason that finding VG-10 knives for the kitchen and for work tools is fairly common, but finding it in more collectible or display knives is fairly rare. It costs much more, and so it is important for a consumer to distinguish the two different types.  VG-1 is a less durable steel, but is therefore less expensive, which leads it to be used commonly.

Why We Choose VG-10
We choose VG-10 stainless for all of our knives because we believe that quality matters more than price. Because we use VG-10, our knives are more durable, hold their edge longer, and resist corrosion better than knives with lower quality materials. VG-10 is the best steel for kitchen knives, as it does not require a lot of maintenance to stay razor sharp, and won’t rust.

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