VG-10 in stock
Yes, it is a benchmark premium Japanese stainless. VG-10 from Takefu Special Steel runs about 1% carbon, 15% chromium, 1% molybdenum, 0.2% vanadium and 1.5% cobalt at 60 to 62 HRC. Edge retention and corrosion resistance are both very good, and it is the classic Japanese kitchen steel.
The cobalt addition is what distinguishes VG-10 from the general run of high-chromium stainless. Combined with 1% carbon it produces a steel that takes an extremely fine edge and holds it well, which is why Japanese kitchen makers built their reputations on it.
It is also used widely in Western folders.
Run at the top of its 60 to 62 HRC range it can be a little brittle compared with the tougher modern stainless steels. In a thin kitchen edge that is a real consideration; in a folder ground sensibly it rarely bites.
Keep it away from bones and frozen food and it will behave.
It takes a polished edge beautifully, which is the point of the steel. Ceramic and fine waterstones suit it. It is harder work than 14C28N but far more tractable than a high-vanadium powder steel.
A light strop between sharpenings keeps a VG-10 edge going a long time.
The grid below shows VG-10 listings from Böker Plus, chosen from the catalog when this answer was written. Each one carries VG-10 in its own specification table, and its price is read from the live catalog every time the site is built.
The full reference entry, with the published composition and hardness range and every listing we carry in it, is VG-10 in the Steel Lab.