Already know which knife shape you need? This is where you choose the metal it's made of. Carbon, stainless, powder, three families, twenty-plus steels, one chart to compare them. We keep it honest: every steel has a trade-off, and we tell you what it is.
Every Japanese knife starts with this choice. There is no "better", just trade-offs. Here's the honest version.
Stainlessステンレス
Steel alloyed with chromium (>=10.5%). The chromium forms a passive oxide layer that resists corrosion, that's the "stainless" part.
Strengths
+Forgives a wet kitchen, won't rust if you forget to wipe
+Easier to maintain, no oiling, no patina to manage
+Keeps a clean appearance over time
+Available across price tiers, from VG-10 to high-end powder steels
Trade-offs
-Slightly less keen edge at peak sharpness vs equivalent carbon
-Harder to sharpen on traditional Japanese waterstones, different feedback
Best for: high-volume kitchens, home cooks new to Japanese knives, anyone who values low maintenance.
carbon
Carbon高炭素鋼
High-carbon steel with little or no chromium. The carbon hardens the steel; the absence of chromium means it can take a finer, sharper edge, but it will rust.
Strengths
+Sharper at peak, the keenest edges in production come from carbon
+Easier to sharpen, takes a clean, predictable bevel on waterstones
+Develops a personal patina, the dark grey discoloration that protects the steel and tells your kitchen's story
+Traditional choice, what apprentices learn on in Japan
Trade-offs
-Will rust if left wet, wipe dry after every use, oil periodically
-Reactive with acidic foods, leaves a temporary discoloration on tomatoes, citrus
-Demands a maintenance habit, non-negotiable
Best for: serious sushi work, chefs who maintain their tools, anyone chasing the keenest possible edge.
The map
The Japanese steel family tree.
Three branches. The names you'll see on a Japanese knife almost always trace back to one of these.
Japanese Knife Steels
Branch 1
Carbon
高炭素鋼
White Steel (白紙 Shirogami)
Pure carbon + iron. No alloys. The cleanest edge possible, at the cost of patina-care.
White steel + chromium and tungsten. Slightly less keen at peak, but holds the edge dramatically longer.
#1 · edge retention monster, ~63 HRC
#2 · most common Aogami knife, ~62 HRC
Super · highest alloy of the family, ~65-67 HRC
Branch 2
Stainless
ステンレス鋼
VG-10
Cobalt + vanadium stainless from Takefu. ~60-61 HRC. The benchmark mid-tier Japanese stainless. Found on most Tojiro, Kanetsugu, and many Damascus blades.
VG-Max / VG-10W
Refined version of VG-10 with finer grain. Used by Shun and similar premium brands.
AUS-10 / AUS-8
Aichi Steel general-purpose stainless. Soft enough to sharpen easily, hard enough to perform. Common on entry-tier Japanese knives.
Ginsanko (銀紙 Silver #3)
Stainless made to behave like white-paper carbon: sharpens like Shirogami, doesn't rust. The traditional sushi chef's compromise.
Branch 3
Powder Steels
粉末鋼
Made by atomizing molten steel into powder, then sintering under heat and pressure. Produces an ultra-fine, uniform structure that conventional ingot steels can't match.
SG2 / R2
Premium stainless powder from Takefu. ~63-64 HRC. Holds an edge longer than VG-10. Common on high-end Damascus.
ZDP-189
Hitachi's super-stainless: 3% carbon + 20% chromium. ~64-67 HRC, the hardest stainless on the market. Brittle if abused; legendary if cared for.
HAP-40
High-speed tool steel pressed into kitchen-knife use. Semi-stainless. Edge retention rivals ZDP-189 with slightly more forgiveness.
Quick reference
Hardness (HRC) and what it means
HRC is the Rockwell C scale of hardness. Higher = harder. Higher hardness holds an edge longer but is more brittle. Western knives sit around 56-58. Japanese knives go further:
56-58
HRC
Western kitchen standard
forgiving, easy to sharpen
60-62
HRC
Japanese mid-tier (VG-10, AUS-10)
balanced edge & durability
62-64
HRC
Japanese premium (Shirogami, SG2, Aogami)
sharper, longer-lasting
64-67
HRC
Powder elite (ZDP-189, Aogami Super)
near-glass keen, demands care
At a glance
How hard is your steel?
Every Japanese steel on the market, on one chart. Sorted hardest to softest. Bar colour tells you the family.
SteelHRC range
ZDP-189
64-67
Aogami Super
64-66
HAP-40
64-66
SG2 / R2
62-64
Aogami #1
62-64
Shirogami #1
62-64
Aogami #2
60-63
Shirogami #2
60-63
CPM MagnaCut
60-64
M390
60-62
Bohler Elmax
60-62
Apex Ultra
62-66
VG-10
60-61
Ginsan #3
60-61
AUS-10
58-60
AEB-L
58-62
Shirogami #3
58-60
AUS-8
57-59
Western standard
56-58
CarbonStainlessPowder
5456586062646668
Side-by-side
Compare any two or three steels.
Edge retention, corrosion resistance, toughness, ease of sharpening. Pick the steels you're choosing between and see them on the same chart.
Click up to 3 steels
How to read it: further from the centre = better. A balanced steel makes a big square; a specialist steel makes a stretched diamond. Carbon steels excel on the left two axes; stainless and powder steels excel on the right two.
How we curate
Knives we'd put on the line.
Every knife in our catalogue has been used by Ethan in a working sushi kitchen before it hit the site. We source from traditional makers in Sakai and Seki, plus a small group of newer-generation smiths working with powder steels.
We don't carry every brand, only the ones that earn the rack. If a maker's quality slips, we drop them. If you're not sure which steel fits your work, email office@smartsushichef.com with a photo of what you currently use, and we'll point you at the right one.
soon
New partnership
Coming soon: an exclusive maker partnership.
We've been working on something for a while: a direct partnership with a Japanese knife maker that will land in the SSC catalogue exclusively in Europe. Different blade shapes, different steels, same standard. Drop your email and we'll let you know when it goes live.
