I know this is a loaded question, but what would be a better steel for a chef's knife?

Thanks!

Stainless

I should have been more clear.

What I meant, is it: VG-10, VG-2, 440A, or some other steel?

Ideally something very corrosion-resistant that requires almost no maintenance, takes a fine edge and holds it for a while. So that rules out carbon and tool steels right away. Even a moderately corrosion-resistant steel like D2 will lose its cutting ability quickly in the kitchen because the various acids in the food degrade the edge quickly.

With PROPER heat-treatment, you'd be hard pressed to find a better steel for use in the kitchen than 12C27. IME a stainless Mora makes a pretty much perfect paring knife, bar none.

VG-10 would make a superior blade as well. I have a laminated Japanese chef knife with a core made of VG-10. It's simply an awesome cutter and keeps the edge very well.

ATS-34

Many real chef's knifes are still made in carbon steel are they not? Kinda depends on whether you're a chef or a family cook, a chef is gonna clean and sharpen their knives religiously while a typical family cook would rather have the convenience of stainless steel.

JohnE

That's correct, there are still plenty of high-quality carbon steel kitchen knives out there (especially Japanese). With regular maintenance they work very well. But for most people it's simply not an convenient option. I don't mind sharpening my kitchen knives now and then but having to oil them after every use is simply too tedious even to a knife freak like me, let alone the average Joe & Jane. So I think the corrosion resistance of stainless is well worth the slight tradeoff in edge holding and quality. Of course, a professional might feel differently.

Take a look at Henkles, Sabatier, Wustoff, Old Hickory etc.
They are plain vanilla carbon.

A kitchen knife undergoes TWO metalurgical treatments; a patination from food acids and oils and continued cleaning in HOT water.

If you cook, the brief periodic steeling and even less often sharpening of a quality knife is minimal.

Um, actually Chris, Sabatier(Thiers-Issard),Henckels, Global and most of the other big brand names are almost all stainless steel.
I would give their links to their catalogs but my browser is acting retarded today, very slow.
There are some makers that still have plain carbon steel knives, but there are not many. As noted by Tom L they are mostly Japanese and they are usually traditional sushi knives.

The big reason chefs want stainless steel isn't to prevent the knife blade tarnishing, it is because they don't want their food colored by the steel.
Carbon steel colors a lot of veggies and fruit by reacting with the acids in them as you are slicing and dicing.

I can't give Redflare a great answer.

I recognize that the requirements are pretty severe and the requirements vary with what each knife is made for.
(A meat cleaver calls for different steel and temper than a fillet or boning knife does.)
The question gets into which steel is best for each of the different knives in a chefs tool roll.

I wish I could be of more use on this one, but the short answer is still stainless.

Edit:
I have heard that the European manufacturers use a lot of the 425M, 12C27, 440A types of steel which are all pretty similar alloys, but I can not readily confirm who is using what.
VG-10 and VG-1 seem to be OK too.

If you want you might look at RWL34 rapidly solidified stainless, but I hear it is pricey, and fussy about tempering.

I think a good stainless is the way to go for most people. Easier to maintain in general and don't react as much with the foods. Good is a relative term but I really like my Victorinox Forschner knives. They come from the factory very sharp and maintaining the edge is pretty easy. I don't think these would qualify as top end chefs knives- at least they didn't cost that much, but the are good practical tools for the kitchen.

- Eric