Warther Cutlery

[pappy19]

I just wanted to put in a plug for an AMERICAN cutlery company from Dover, Ohio that's been in business for many, many years. Their kitchen knives are the best I have ever used. They are unique. They also make their own AMERICAN cutting boards from AMERICAN trees. You can pay less, but you can't get any better than Warther.

Pap


http://www.warthercutlery.com/catalog/

 

[RobsanX]

Thanks Pap! I've been looking at some Lamson Sharp knives, but I'll give these a gander too.

 

[S.Shepherd]

I'm sure they're a great company, being american and all. Here's the description of the steel they use:
"
"We use American made high carbon tool steel that is rust resistant"

aka, stainless, I wonder whay type- possably 440 ?

 

[buzzard767]

I'm sure they're a great company, being american and all. Here's the description of the steel they use:
"
"We use American made high carbon tool steel that is rust resistant"

aka, stainless, I wonder whay type- possably 440 ?

I'm betting 440A.

 

[pappy19]

I have a number of their quality knives and they really hold an edge. I only need to steel them once in a while to have arm shaving capability. I use their 9" French and 5" sandwich with cutting board the most of all the models that they have. The 5" slides into the cutting board and is a very neat little setup.

Pap

 

[joec]

I know one guy that has some of their knives and I'm not sure they are 440x at all. Nick at Knife forum has several and Dave says they hold onto a burr as bad as any knife he has sharpened. I do know from messing with one of Nicks on stones it sure is harder to sharpen than any 440x steel I've dealt with in the past but could be wrong on that. I have 3 knives made with 440c steel that hold an edge OK though not great, no where near what my Japanese knives do by any stretch. I gave some serious consideration to buying a set of steak knives from them a couple of years ago but didn't as I found some cheap ones that filled my needs locally.

 

[buzzard767]

Out of curiosity I emailed Warther today and asked for the manufacturer and designation of the steel they use. On the Warther sites, one statement says they are made of a tool steel, and another says they are hardened to HRC 58-60. That amazes me so I'm eager to see what they send me for an answer to my questions.

 

[S.Shepherd]

Out of curiosity I emailed Warther today and asked for the manufacturer and designation of the steel they use. On the Warther sites, one statement says they are made of a tool steel, and another says they are hardened to HRC 58-60. That amazes me so I'm eager to see what they send me for an answer to my questions.

are you confused by that?

 

[buzzard767]

are you confused by that?

Nope, not I, so that's why I asked for specifics. I have a couple of real "tool steel" knives and they are obviously much harder than 58-60.

 

[pappy19]

I have carbon Randall knives that are mostly 57-58 Rockwell and their stainless is 58-60. Anthing over 60 is almost impossible to sharpen. I would say that the Warthers that I have would approach 58-59 and hold an edge better than all of my other carbon blades from Europe and England. As far as burrs are concerned, in all my years of culinary work, I've never had any "burr" experiences. My 2 steels take care of all of my sharpening needs and I never use anything but steels, thus no burrs.

Pap

 

[buzzard767]

I have carbon Randall knives that are mostly 57-58 Rockwell and their stainless is 58-60. Anthing over 60 is almost impossible to sharpen. I would say that the Warthers that I have would approach 58-59 and hold an edge better than all of my other carbon blades from Europe and England. As far as burrs are concerned, in all my years of culinary work, I've never had any "burr" experiences. My 2 steels take care of all of my sharpening needs and I never use anything but steels, thus no burrs.

Pap

Congratulations on your Randalls. I have a Marine Corps buddy who collected Randall hunting knives back in the 60's and I thought he was crazy to be spending as much as $18 for a knife. lol He gets the last laugh for sure.

As to "steels" (and burrs), I'm of a totally different camp.

CDawg Video

 

[buzzard767]

Warther Cutlery is in fact better than the Germans

I just received the following message from Warther customer service. Their information confirms that the steel they use is better than the 440A usually found on German (and many other) kitchen cutlery.

From: J Schranz [mailto:buzzard767@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2010 5:01 PM
To: Warthers
Subject: Inquiry from Warther Cutlery

Which steel (manufacturer and type) is used to make Warther knives?

Thanks,
J

J,
Currently our product line consists of Crucible 440C, a high carbon tool steel made in Akron, NY. We are also in the process of switching to a new steel, called Crucible CPM-S30V, a new type of steel that was recently approved by the FDA for safe kitchen use. Thanks

Warther Cutlery

 

[S.Shepherd]

I was just curious what you ment Buzz..

I figured they were using 440, it's what I would consider the minimum acceptable for blade steel.
Expect a totally different knife if they are switching to S30V ( 90% of that will depend on the heat treat), and more expencive too

 

[buzzard767]

I don't think they'll harden the CPM too much or they could run into chipping problems and it might help in the sharpening department as well given S30V's reputation.

 

[FryBoy]

I have carbon Randall knives that are mostly 57-58 Rockwell and their stainless is 58-60. Anthing over 60 is almost impossible to sharpen. I would say that the Warthers that I have would approach 58-59 and hold an edge better than all of my other carbon blades from Europe and England. As far as burrs are concerned, in all my years of culinary work, I've never had any "burr" experiences. My 2 steels take care of all of my sharpening needs and I never use anything but steels, thus no burrs.

Pap

I see that Warther provides free lifetime sharpening of the knives it makes. Do you take your knives to them for periodic resharpening?

 

[pappy19]

No, I never have. I did pick up a 40 year old + carving knife of theirs on an ebay auction and the blade was very chipped. I sent it in to them and for $5 (shipping) they completely resharpened the blade so it looks new. I have over 20 of thier various kitchen knives and have always kept them razor sharp with my steels, so never had to send them back for sharpening.

Pap

 

[Rob Babcock]

It's hard to imagine how they could switch to S30Vwithout raising prices significantly. At least based on the prices of other knives I've seen that use that steel. And what is "Crucible 440C"? I''ve never heard of that before...not that that's surprising, I guess. I'm not an expert on materials science.

 

[buzzard767]

It's hard to imagine how they could switch to S30Vwithout raising prices significantly. At least based on the prices of other knives I've seen that use that steel. And what is "Crucible 440C"? I''ve never heard of that before...not that that's surprising, I guess. I'm not an expert on materials science.

440C has been around for ages and it's an excellent knife steel, just overshadowed nowadays by all the newer steels. 440C makes for very nice knives and should not be discounted. When the term 440 comes up everyone thinks of 440A (for good reason because so many knives are made of it) which is generally soft and crappy, BUT, highly stainless, and cheap. Remember, the makers tend to cater to the lowest common denominator.

 

[Rob Babcock]

440C has been around for ages and it's an excellent knife steel, just overshadowed nowadays by all the newer steels. 440C makes for very nice knives and should not be discounted. When the term 440 comes up everyone thinks of 440A (for good reason because so many knives are made of it) which is generally soft and crappy, BUT, highly stainless, and cheap. Remember, the makers tend to cater to the lowest common denominator.

Sure, 440C- but what's Crucible 440C? Just the brand?

 

[S.Shepherd]

Sure, 440C- but what's Crucible 440C? Just the brand?

yup, just aded their name to it.
440c is slightly below 154CM/ATS34 in wear resistance, toughness, and corrosion resistance
http://www.crucibleservice.com/eselector/prodbyapp/stainless/stainlesschemtbl.html
FWIW, remember, I said 440c is the lowest acceptable "I" would accept for a knife steel