Aogami Super Blue Steel and the Spyderco Endura4
Posted by admin on Sep 8th 2013
On Friday, we received our shipment of the Sprint Run of Spyderco Endura4 knives with Aogami Super Blue steel blades. I had a passing knowledge of Aogami but nothing in-depth–so I figured I would research it and get some information. Aogami Super Blue blade steel is manufactured by one of Japan’s leading steel manufacturers. Hitachi Metals Ltd. makes the steel. To produce it, Hitachi combines a higher percentage of carbon, chromium and tungsten than they use in their Aogami Blue #1 steel. If fact, it has 1.4% to 1.5% carbon, .3% to .5% chromium and 2.0% to 2.5% Tungsten. They also mix in .3% to .5% molybdenum as well as .5% vanadium. This special, rich combination of chemicals combine to give knife lovers one of the most amazing steels available. Aogami Super Blue is capable of extreme sharpness. It also has a high hardness level and gives great cutting performance as well as edge retention. This durable blade steel is in huge demand. Aogami is not stainless steel and requires diligent care to maintain it corrosion free–just like any other carbon steel.
In this latest iteration of the Endura4, Spyderco matched up a core of Aogami Super Blue sandwiched betweeen layers of 420J1 stainless steel. Combine this full flat ground blade with grey FRN handle scales and you have a terrific sprint run knife.
SPECIFICATIONS OF the ENDURA 4 with Aogami Super Blue Steel:
length overall 8.78″ (223 mm)
blade length 3.80″ (97 mm)
blade steel Laminated Super Blue / 420J1
length closed 4.98″ (126 mm)
cutting edge 3.44″ (87 mm)
weight 3.3 oz (94 g)
blade thickness 0.118″ (3 mm)
handle material FRN