Premium frying pan made of blue steel. Tojiro - Japanese knives Blue steel metal

Carefully preserving traditions, Japanese masters managed to carry through the centuries the best that was discovered in ancient times. The world-famous HITACHI company has a HITACHI STEEL division that deals with both traditional and modern materials. Interestingly, the high-carbon steels produced by the company are also called "gold". These are highly refined steels with the simplest composition - carbon and iron. These are the KIGAMI "yellow paper" and SHIROGAMI "white paper" brands. As you know, steel is an alloy of carbon and iron, and it was in this form that steel came to us from time immemorial. HITACHI, now using modern equipment, produces these steels exactly as they were hundreds of years ago.

Each sheet of steel is wrapped in colored paper, hence the name. The uniqueness of the steels lies in their amazing cutting properties, which is why I call them "Golden" - knives made from such steels are the sharpest. It is from them that traditional sashimi knives are made. However, these steels rust and require maintenance. The “blue” AOGAMI paper, which contains alloying additives, stands a little apart here. They give steel corrosion resistance, steel acquires new properties without losing old ones.

But knives made from Japanese MBS-26 steel, which has an interesting history of its appearance, have gained even more popularity. When, in the 70s, Hattori Noboru proposed to his father, the founder of MASAHIRO, to introduce stainless steel into production. This met with denial. Which even led to a quarrel. But in fact, everyone had their own truth. The knife, made of carbon steel, quickly rusted, but remained sharp. A stainless steel knife dulls quickly. The conflict was only resolved when Hattori Noboru, together with Daido Steel's professor Nishike Ori, created MBS-26 stainless steel. Only then the founder of the Masahiro company, Hattori Kazuichi, gave the go-ahead for the manufacture of knives from steel protected from corrosion. MBS-26 steel has been registered with the Japan Chamber of Materials. From this steel it was possible to make cutlery with high cutting properties. With its help, it became possible to introduce new ideas and expand production.

Not only chromium, which protects the steel from rust, but also other alloying additives began to be introduced during the manufacturing process. And one of the interesting elements is molybdenum. This element is directly related to Japanese steels. The fact is that samurai swords have unique mechanical properties, they are able to withstand enormous loads and not break. As it turned out, the reason for this was iron alloyed with molybdenum in natural conditions. Since scientists established this fact, molybdenum has been used to alloy steels. Today, almost all knife steels contain molybdenum and vanadium, which significantly improve their properties. What other elements are used in the creation of modern steels? The list here is very interesting. And each chemical element is not accidental. Because it has its own characteristics. By introducing them, the manufacturer seeks to improve the properties of steel and correct them in one direction or another.

Chemical elements that make up knife steels:

Carbon- the main element that determines the properties of steel. It is thanks to carbon that steel is able to be hardened. The hardness and strength of steel for knives depends on the amount of carbon, although it also increases its tendency to corrosion. Regarding steel for knives, we are interested in steels with a carbon content of at least 0.6%. It is from this mark that steel can be hardened to normal hardness. Although it is not uncommon to still find very simple, cheap knives made of steel saturated with carbon up to 0.4% -0.6%.

Chromium- the next most common element in steels. Chromium helps the alloy resist corrosion and makes it stainless. Officially, steel is considered "stainless" if it contains at least 14% chromium. In addition to its main property, chromium negatively affects the strength of steel.

Molybdenum- used as an alloying additive that increases the heat resistance and corrosion resistance of steel. Molybdenum enhances the effect of chromium in the alloy, improves hardenability, and makes the composition more uniform. In fact, it improves almost all properties of the alloy. Molybdenum is an essential element in high speed steels. Steels with the addition of molybdenum are used for the manufacture of parts operating in aggressive environments and at high temperatures. That is, in the chemical industry, in the details of jet engines, etc.

Vanadium- a remarkable element capable of improving the properties of many alloys. Improves strength and significantly increases the wear resistance of steel. It is added to all the same high-speed and tool steels. For us, this means that the blade steel will last longer when cutting cardboard, felt, rope, and other similar materials. But the knife will be harder to sharpen.

Tungsten- the metal with the highest melting point of all metals. It is used in various devices and industries, from light bulbs to nuclear reactors. Tungsten is an integral element in the composition of high-speed steels. In addition to temperature resistance, knife steel acquires properties that positively affect hardness and wear resistance.

Cobalt is another metal with many uses, from cow feed to spaceships. In some quantities, cobalt is added to high speed steels and hard alloys. Of the steels used in knives, VG-10 and N690 steels contain about 1.5% cobalt. Nitrogen - used in steels as a substitute for carbon and nickel.

Nitrogen enhances the corrosion resistance and wear resistance of knife steel. And allows very low carbon steel to be hardened. For example, H1 steel in which there is only 0.15% carbon, but 0.1% nitrogen allows it to be hardened at 58 HRC and makes it almost completely stainless.

Nickel- also increases the corrosion resistance of steel and is able to slightly increase strength. A lot of nickel is present in the same H1 steel.

Silicon- an element necessary in the production of steels. It removes oxygen from the metal. Well, at the same time it is able to slightly increase the strength and corrosion resistance.

Sulfur- is not a useful element, it reduces the mechanical properties of steel and reduces its resistance to corrosion. Therefore, sulfur in steels is usually very small, only what could not be removed from the steel during its production. However, sulfur can be added to improve the machinability of wear resistant steels.

Manganese- as a useful and necessary element is used at the stage of steel smelting. Able to increase the hardness of steel. Rails, tanks, safes, etc. are made from steels with a significant manganese content.

Titanium- can be added to alloys to improve strength, corrosion and temperature resistance.

All of these components give knife steels different physical characteristics, which are described in terms such as Hardness, Strength, and Wear resistance. What do these concepts mean?

Characteristics of Knife Steels:

Hardness- the ability of a substance to resist the penetration of another body into it. That is, the ability to resist deformation and change in shape. For knives, the actual technique is Rockwell measurements. Hardness is tested by pressing a metal or diamond ball or cone into the substance. It is measured in conventional units designated HRC (or RC). The scale of the device has markings from 20 to 67 units.

Strength- the ability of a substance to resist destruction (not to deform irreversibly).

wear resistance- the ability of a material to resist wear (loss of weight and shape) under friction. Wear resistance depends on the hardness of the steel (ceteris paribus, higher hardness provides higher wear resistance) and on the amount and type of carbides in the steel. Carbides are compounds of iron and other metals with carbon. The hardest carbides are vanadium carbides, followed by molybdenum and tungsten carbides. The wear resistance of steel almost directly affects the ability of the knife to hold sharpening, not to dull. Steel composition table:

Andrey Shalygin: Continuing, and, accordingly, and, in connection with the huge amount of outright misinformation that various scammers stuff the consumer with, trying to sell who knows what, and also pass off poor-quality goods as original ones, I could not ignore the topic of knife and combat metals (from which ordinary knife steels originated). Therefore, this time the topic will be a little boring for those who are a burden to many bukuff, or long videos. The text of the material in no way replaces the video, and the video does not reveal much of what is stated in addition to it in the text. Moreover, below, in addition to the video from the author, there are also original documentaries that will dispel many illusions.

The Star Wars Jedai are actually a period of Japanese internecine warfare in the 15th century Sengoku Jedai, when Japanese war steels of the old period began to be mass-produced, leading up to New Shinto. Yes, and Shinto itself as a religion takes its name in the period of the New Swords, as a religion of a new, simple and mass consciousness ...

Of course, many will be upset when they find out that 95% of what is in stores is not Damascus at all, real Damascus never existed at all, like good European metal, while all modern ones are much better than old traditional ones, and almost all Japanese knives are made in China at its best. But, I think that the conclusion that a modern high-tech Japanese knife is much better than any historical katana, and certainly than a European knife, will slightly alleviate the despondency of those who will be forced to say goodbye to the myths about Viking and Norman metals, as well as secret secrets. Japanese masters. But, at least you will now know that foliation across is a sure sign of a twisted snag, which is not Damascus at all, and artistic foliation - 100% distinguishes a waste piece of decorative metal from a practical knife.

Previously about Japanese knives:

Damascus steel is the most blatant mythical lie in the history of war metal

Let's start with the fact that, in fact, there have never been any Damascus steels at all in world history and simply could not be, if only simply because Damascus never produced at least some even rural value of mass weapons, simply because there never there were no weapons workshops, even of regional significance. Moreover, in general, in world history and museums, and even in libraries, there is not even a single photograph of even some remnants of some Damascus swords produced in Damascus.

Myths, allegedly brought by supposedly crusaders, that allegedly in Damascus, in Palestine (Syria), etc., they, allegedly worth their weight in gold, bought some kind of Damascus swords (or even damask) who could chop like butter something other than butter itself - just myths spread by speculators sitting on their own backside in Europe, who never went anywhere at all, but speculated on goods unknown to them, wrapping noodles on the client’s ears just like today forum selyuks screw noodles on the ears of the buyer, luring him into a scam of buying Chinese garbage.

In fact, something puff from the Middle East, if it was in world history, it had its origin in Persia and India, it was primitive spongy steel, and had the most ugly characteristics of domestic use and nothing more. Something of higher quality in the form of puffed metals and even damask steel - everything absolutely came with waves of "nomadic Mongols" mainly from the regions of China (including rarely from Japan), and damask-shaped - much later came from Persia in the form of reincarnation myths in new technologies, and it was already in the days of the Ottoman Empire, and not earlier, that is, "yesterday".

Japanese steels for knives and swords, secret Damascus steels, oriental damask steels, German weapons of the Third Reich and the USSR - comparison of steels

Mythical high-quality European historical steels have never been used to make any famous combat melee weapons.

Due to the fact that the Russians for thousands of years, they repeatedly defeated their neighbors in civil strife both from the west and from the east, having at their disposal all the possible weapons of both, as well as the entire palette of weapons brought by nomads from the East, including merchants (remember Afanasy Nikitin and etc.), - Russia has always been armed with the best weapons both from the east and from the west, and therefore Russian armor and weapons have never been European, but always Asian (the experience of use allowed the Russians to choose weapons or defeated nomads, or dogs - knights - the Russian always chose only Asian ones, as better ones).

All the weapons brought by the Crusaders and subsequently dragged into the vaults of the Jewish Masons are generally not subject to discussion as outright trash. Even the American Freemasons, as the main successors of the Templar conspirators, with modern technology, did not create anything worthwhile in their Masonic swords. You can believe me - he wore "Masons" in bundles, taking away at least something. Any French sword or Spanish broadsword is no match.

If we take the history of European edged weapons, then all of it was collected to the maximum by fascist Germany, and embodied in the best examples of weapons of the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich during their early heyday, that is, it was founded in 1934, and the maximum production of piece goods - in the period 1936 -1937 years. The Germans collected, collected everything they could all over Europe - so they did not collect anything sensible. Running after myths.

Considering in general everything that the Germans created, including at the legendary factories of Solingen, one can definitely say that apart from design and myths with legends, the Third Reich did not find anything, did not collect and did not create anything worthwhile. The elite German troops had the very best German spies could find in Europe. The elite were Göring's Luftwaffe and Dönitz's Kriegsmarine. However, considering all possible samples does not at all allow us to find anything better than a third-rate instrumental.

In March 1933, the German Aviation Sports League (German: Deutscher Luftsport Verband - DLV), united all civilian flying clubs into one organization. The DLV organization was used as a civilian organization, but under this guise they trained personnel for the future air force. In February and April 1934, the DLV approved daggers for officers and enlisted personnel of all ranks. Later in 1934, members of the secret military branch of the DLV Fliegerschaft also approved both types of dagger for themselves to wear - for officers and privates. This is in quality - a knife from the times of the general store of the USSR.

Historical traditions as a cultural value - Japanese sword and Japanese knives

In fact, the inherent value of Damascus is very speculative. and practically uncompetitive against the modern sandwich. However, in the period of bad steels, it was effective when it was impossible to create a universal high-strength hard steel with high selective alloying and toughness. Today's monosteel sandwich is much more efficient.

Russian "Anosov" damask steel, which over time, in imitation of ancient masters, passed into the category of Damascus puff damask steel, when not low-carbon, but alloyed steels are interspersed, born in search of black, white, black and white damask steel, black, white and black and white Damascus, - were created only in recent years, and in all respects they are better than their foreign analogues by a multiple. However, it became completely non-massive.

On the Russian Damascus market, there are mountains of completely trashy pieces of iron, which in 95% of cases are sold to the buyer. This is not Damascus at all - these are puffs with a cross-twined bar, where the bar is needed to create a pattern, and not to improve the quality of the canvas. This is a drawing for the sake of drawing, and steel is complete rubbish. Moreover, artistic delights on solid steel are categorically impossible, therefore, everything decorated and intertwined - obviously in quality - is plasticine.

In the current situation- the market is dominated by fakes, profanity, junk metal, deceit, delirium, fraud and speculation reign.

However, if for some reason you are not satisfied with modern high-tech Japanese knives and Japanese modern metals, and you, with the stubbornness of a maniac, certainly want something, as it were, handicraft-traditional-Japanese, then with a general understanding that all this will be much worse than modern , you still have to be quite aware of yourself - that there is actually a traditional real, like a Japanese sword and a traditional knife(even if you manage to find a real one and not from scammers) - by real qualities and real performance. Below is everything - both the exact facts and the documentary video, so read and watch.

It is difficult to unequivocally comment on handicraft production with the help of improvised means, where the main sales factor is the process and design. However, the exact history of the creation of swords speaks of much worse times, of which the modern ones were far from the worst.

Traditional Japanese steels used in the manufacture of kitchen knives include 3 main grades:

Steel Shiro Gami(literally "white paper"; romaji, eng. shirogami), Ki Gami(jap. yellow paper), Ao Gami(jap. blue paper). Their names are due to the color paper wrapped in finished steel at the manufacturing plant. These are the so-called "golden" steels produced by Hitachi Metals, which are a kind of standard for all Japanese craftsmen. It was with such steels that the blacksmiths of the country of the Rising Sun worked from ancient times.

The history of the development of the samurai sword and historical realities

Making a modern katana - documentary

There are several main characteristics of a samurai sword, it is: 1) made of steel, 2) has one-sided sharpening, 3) is curved, 4) is hardened. The history of the samurai sword is usually divided into 4 periods:

1. Ancient period (chocuto) (before 900 AD). Swords are made mainly by Chinese, Korean and early Japanese smiths. They are poorly hardened, although they are made of steel; and mostly straight (chocuto). Sword manufacturing centers are located in Yamato, Mutsu and San-in.

Although Japanese craftsmen work there, their swords are only imitations of Chinese ones (later, these imitations would develop into a samurai sword). High-ranking military men usually carry Chinese-made swords.

2. Old period (koto) (900 - 1530 AD). With the fall of the Fujiwara clan, in the second half of the Heian period, a new class arises - the samurai, who begin to use swords during numerous military conflicts of that time. Mostly, military leaders use mounted warriors, so many swords have a cutting edge of 4 feet or more. The main weapons are bows, naginata and swords. The sword becomes an everyday weapon and is worn constantly. The straight sword, which was used before this period, mainly for stabbing, is replaced by a curved sword with a one-sided sharpening; this transition to a new type of sword took a long time. Around 900, a blacksmith named Yasutsuna of Hoki begins to forge fine samurai swords. Since then, very few changes have been made to the style of the sword. Blacksmiths of that time, using primitive tools, make almost perfect swords. The most famous Japanese blacksmiths lived between 900 and 1450. By and large, the geographical location of the centers for the production of samurai swords depended on the proximity to the administrative center, where there was usually a great demand for swords, access to ore, coal, sources of good water, and a temperate climate.

Blacksmith schools in 5 provinces - Bizen, Yamashiro, Yamato, Soshu and Mino - produced approximately 80% of all swords of the old period. They have a unifying name "Five Schools". Each of the schools had its own branches, and each province created and developed its own, different methods for forging swords.

Beezen School. Bizen Province consisted of the southern half of what is now Okayama Prefecture. Since Bizen is close to the continent, it is believed that the art of sword forging appeared there very early. The conditions for blacksmiths in Bizen were ideal, and for a thousand years the village of Osafune, located in the eastern part of the province, was the center of sword production. Tomonari (circa 1100 AD) is considered the founder of the Bizen school. His followers were Kanehira, Sukehira, Nobufusa, Takahira and Masatsune. These blacksmiths are known as Bizen Early School (Ko-Bizen).

The main branches of the Bizen School: 1) Fukuoka, 2) Yoshioka, 3) Osafune, 4) Yoshii, 5) Omiya.

Yamashiro School. Kyoto, the center of Yamashiro province, was the imperial capital from 794 until 1868. Naturally, there was a great demand for swords here. The founder of the school was Munechika (circa 987 AD).

The main branches of the Yamashiro school: 1) Sanjo, 2) Awataguchi, 3) Rai, 4) Ayakoji, 5) Nobukuni, 6) Hasebe, 7) Heyan-jo.

Yamato School. It is believed that when the city of Nara (Yamato Province) was the capital, there were many good blacksmiths in the province. However, after 794 most of them moved to the new capital - Kyoto. Around 1200, blacksmiths reappeared in Nara when the various religious sects that had begun to gain power in the city needed weapons for their followers.

Branches of this school were usually named after temples: 1) Toma, 2) Tegai, 3) Hosho, 4) Shirikage, 5) Senju-in.

Soshu School (Sagami). The center of sword production in the province of Soshu (Sagami) was the city of Kamakura, in which the first shogun Minamoto Yoritomo established his government in 1192. Although the conditions in Kamakura were not very favorable for the development of blacksmithing, it attracted many craftsmen with its martial atmosphere.

Main branches: 1) Yamashiro (composed of blacksmiths who moved from Yamashiro), 2) Bizen (consisted of blacksmiths who moved from Bizen), 3) Soshu.

Mino School (Seki). The center of the Mino school was the city of Seki. It is believed that it was founded by the students of the blacksmith Masamune, from Soshu. The early works of this school are very good and difficult to distinguish from Soshu swords. However, most of the school's subsequent works were of poor quality.

The main branches of this school are: 1) Kaneuji, 2) Kaneshige.

During the old period, the art of sword making also flourished in other provinces of Japan. Prominent blacksmiths of the Heian period were: Yasutsuna, Sanemori, Aritsuna, Nichijo from Hoki, Moritsura from Bichu, Joshu (Sadahide) from Bungo, Yukiyasu from Satsuma.

The 70 years of internecine warfare after 1467 is known as the Sengoku Jidai period. To meet the ever-increasing demand for swords, blacksmiths begin to mass-produce them, which negatively affects the quality. In the middle of the 16th century, the achievements of blacksmiths receive official encouragement from the emperor. He bestows honorary titles on some blacksmiths: usually the name of the master is added to the name of the province and the title. The most common titles were Suke, Jo, Daijo and Kami.

Many swords from the Sengoku Jidai period have come down to our time, but only a few of them can be considered good.

3. New period (Shinto) (1530 - 1867 AD). Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi put an end to the long wars. There comes a period of peace and the functional significance of the sword begins to be lost: the daito (long sword) is shortened, the cutting part is reduced to two feet, and the samurai wear it in their belts. At the beginning of the New Period, many experienced gunsmiths are located in Osaka - Kyoto.

The traditional, distinctive methods of the Five Schools are being lost, and swords are made in almost all castle towns. During the Tokugawa period, Edo (Tokyo) is the center of sword making and attracts many good smiths, but by the end of the period the art declines and the focus shifts from quality to the look of the weapon. Blacksmiths richly decorate their products with extravagant floral ornaments, images of dragons, etc. (as opposed to simple Sanskrit inscriptions on old swords). Even on the blades of swords are placed graceful images of maple leaves, cherries, chrysanthemums and Mount Fuji. More than half of all samurai swords currently in existence were made in the New Period.

4. Modern period (Shin-Shinto) (after 1868 AD). The feudal system is disappearing, and with it the prestige of the samurai class is falling. The carrying of swords is prohibited by national decree. Blacksmiths, who previously specialized in the production of swords, are forced to switch to ordinary blacksmithing: the production of hoes, scissors, knives, horseshoes and other household items. Since then there has not been a single great blacksmith.

During the Meiji period (1869 - 1912 AD) Samurai swords were exported, mainly to France and the USA. The beginning of this century was a golden time for sword collectors in the United States, and many books were published at that time on samurai swords and their ornamentation.

At the beginning of the Showa period (1926 - present) (the Showa era ended in 1989. Now the Heisei era is underway), nationalism begins to gain strength. Attempts are being made to revive the production of swords, and at the exhibition of arts of the Imperial Academy even opens a special section dedicated to samurai swords. By the beginning of World War II, there were already about 100 blacksmiths in Japan who, in addition to their main work, make swords. Many swords from the Showa period bear the mark of a cherry blossom with the symbol Se (Seva).

Many swords produced over the past 60-70 years, as well as police and parade swords, cannot be considered samurai swords because they were made by modern methods, different from the traditional hand forging and tempering methods.

Making a Modern Japanese Knife - Documentary

Some statistics

According to available data, in the entire history of Japan, up to the Meiji Revolution of 1868, there were about 13 thousand professional blacksmiths - swordsmen. If we take into account that each blacksmith produced about 100 swords in his life, the total number of samurai swords produced is approximately 2 million. Before the Second World War, there were about 1.5 million swords (including factory-made ones), almost a third of them were more than two feet long (daito). About 200 thousand of them were produced by order of the Japanese government at special factories, or by blacksmiths who lived after the Meiji revolution. Currently, there are no more than 100 thousand swords in Japan. There are more samurai swords in the USA than in Japan - about 70% of all currently in existence. Approximately 250 - 350 thousand swords were brought to the USA by soldiers. Most of them are daito, formerly used by Japanese officers. Most of the swords brought to the US by soldiers are of the buke-zukuri type.

R2 grade steel- powder steel from the Japanese company Kobelco Steel, Ltd (KOBELCO). Today it is one of the best steels, according to some reviews, surpassing the well-known ZDR-189 and Cowry X in all key indicators - maintaining the sharpness of the cutting edge, strength and rust resistance. The chemical composition of R2 steel was not disclosed. The hardness of R2 steel is 62-64 HRC.

ZDP-189(Has the same composition as Cowry X) is a high-carbon powder tool steel manufactured by Hitachi Metals (Japan), developed on the basis of amorphous metal alloy technology, used in the manufacture of knives. Composition: C: 2.90-3.00%; Si: 0.35; Cr: 19.00-20.50%; Mo: 0.90-1.00%; V: 0.25-0.35%

VG-10- Japanese corrosion-resistant steel developed by Takefu Special Steel Co., Ltd. (Japan) for cutting tools. Known as V-Gold No. 10. Composition: C 0.95-1.05%; Cr 14.50-15.50; Co 1.30-1.50%; Mn 0.50%; Mo 0.90-1.20%. Hardens up to 60 - 61 HRC (Rockwell units).

ZA-18- Japanese steel produced by Aichi Steel. The company has recently developed this steel to improve upon the well-known VG-10 steel. The steel is quenched and then subjected to a cryogenic treatment (cryogenic hardening) to transform the remaining austenite into martensite. Steel hardness 60-61 HRC. The chemical composition of ZA-18 is similar to that of VG-10 steel, but contains more carbon (1.20% vs. 1.05% for VG-10), Chromium (18.0 vs. 15.5), Molybdenum (1.50 vs. 1.20) and Cobalt (1.8 vs. 1.5) for greater hardness, strength and corrosion resistance.

ATS-34- Japanese-made high-carbon chromium bearing steel (Hitachi Metals), which has been widely popular since the late 80s. of the twentieth century in the manufacture of blades of expensive serial and author's models. Very close in composition to the American 154-CM and the Swedish RWL-34. Composition: C 1.05%, Mn 0.4%, Cr 14.0%, Mo 4.0%.

AoGami- Japanese alloy steel ("blue paper", "aogami") of high purity produced by Hitachi (Japan), popular in the production of professional chef's knives, saws, braids. When oxidized, a blue tint appears on the surface of the steel. Composition: C – 1.20…1.40%, Si – 0.10…0.20%, Mn – 0.20…0.30%, Cr – 0.30…0.50%, W – 1.50…2.00%.

ShiroGami- high-carbon tool steel ("White Paper") produced by Hitachi Metals Corporation (Japan), a popular material in the manufacture of blades of high-quality chef's and industrial knives. Composition: 1.20-1.40% C; 0.20 - 0.30% Mn; 0.10-0.20% Si.

SUJ-2- Tool steel alloyed. Domestic analogues: ШХ15 - Structural bearing steel, one of the most popular blade steels in Russia. Holds the cutting edge well and is strong enough. The main disadvantage, most likely, is that steel is not corrosion resistant and rusts very well. Therefore, a knife made of SUJ-2 steel requires at least the simplest care (wipe the blade with a rag after use).

AUS-8A steel- Japanese-made corrosion-resistant steel (Aichi Steel Works). AUS-8A is made specifically for the American company Cold Steel and differs from AUS-8 with a slightly higher carbon content (1%). The blade of this steel has the optimal combination of flexibility and hardness, which is more than enough for an everyday kitchen knife. Composition: With 1%; Mn 0.50% ; Cr 13.00–14.50%; Mo 0.10…0.31%; V 0.10…0.26%; NI 0.50%; Si 1.00%; P0.04%; S 0.03%

A professional kitchen always has dishes that are used mainly in catering establishments. This is the so-called professional cookware for real professionals in cooking. This type includes a frying pan made of special blue steel.

The use of pans made of any steel is fraught with certain difficulties - you need to carefully control the cooking time and temperature in order to avoid missteps. Steel pans (both blue steel and steel pans) do not have a non-stick coating. They do not forgive mistakes on the part of the cook - getting charred pieces of dough instead of pancakes is a very real prospect. This fully applies to blue steel.

Advantages and disadvantages

The positive aspects of using pans made of blue steel include:

• durability - dishes with proper care do not lose their appearance and qualities for many years;
  convenience of shape and design - such a pan does not have a single sharp corner, so food slides onto a plate without problems;
• ergonomic shape - a special-shaped handle (the so-called French bend) allows you to take the pan with any grip and even with your left hand;
• frying pans are suitable for any heating, including induction;
• steel of this type is ideal for frying - meat is especially juicy, on which a crust forms at a temperature above 140 degrees (caramelization occurs), which prevents the product from drying out from the inside.

The disadvantages are:

• sensitivity to overheating - products can easily burn;
• delicacy in care - the product is afraid of temperature changes, dampness and acidic environments.

Main types