Artisan Powdered Steel

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

El Pescador

Engorged Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
2,283
Reaction score
2
One of my first Japanese knives was a 240mm Artisan Gyuto. I couldn't sharpen worth a damn (not a whole lot of improvement since then) and this knife lived on a poly board. This knife was such an improvement over the knives I had used prior that none of that mattered. My abused Artisan shined. I treated this knife horribly and I ended up breaking off 2 inches of it running it through the dishwasher at the end of a shift. I went on to buy other j-knives (Artisan was replaced by a Masamoto VG10 gyuto) and learn to respect my knives better, but I still think about this knife...

SO why has this knife fallen off the collective j-knife radar?

Stainless clad SKS-15 tool steel, nice geometry, fit and finish, and price($188).

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=14.011.240&dept_id=22992
 
I think we all went through our collective PM steel phase about seven or eight years ago (???). PM steel was all the rage. It was all Blazens, Artisans, and Tojiro PMs. Now it's all about carbon, lasers, and wa's. As a group we're always chasing that elusive perfect knife, the next greatest thing with the best steel, the best geometry, etc. We find something new, have fun with it, ooh and ahh over it, then figure out the shortcomings, shrug and move on because something else takes it's place as the blade of the moment. I'd judge that we have a collective case of steel associated ADD.
I still have mine. It just cuts and cuts. It seems to lose that fresh off the stones feel pretty quick but settles in at 85-90% and just stays there. Yep, it's hard. Brittle-ish. Paraphrasing the immortal words of Chef Ma, with proper technique, it shouldn't matter how hard or brittle. I like mine. I never found it to be terribly chippy. Admittedly, it's mostly a drawer queen these days, but when I do pull it out, I still enjoy it.
 
Looks good. I like the profile. Anyone have one that can post more pictures, maybe a heel shot?
 
How do these compare to Jon's kageros?
 
I thought these were rebranded Akifusas/Blazens. Same core/laminating steels, same construction.
 
I thought these were rebranded Akifusas/Blazens. Same core/laminating steels, same construction.

I've heard the same thing. I bought mine from Japan Woodworker because they were close and I was really impressed with the profile and balance. That's been at least 7 years ago and IIRC the price then was a little more than it is now. It was a good buy then and a good buy now. BTW, my experience with PMs has all been good.
 
in addition to the steel type, the profile, grind, handle, and distal taper are all different between the two
 
The Artisans, Akifusas, and for the one or two folks (Lee/LouisianaCook) who actually had them, the Ichimonjis, are the same knife. The Blazens are an entirely different beast. I like my Blazen. It's the only knife which has consistently held the same spot in my knife block since I got it. It was a sleeper for me though. The profile and grind on it is stellar. But it's the steel that really finally made me warm up. At first I was underwhelmed. The grind was great, but I just didn't get the hype. Then I used it. Used it some more. Used it more after that. And used it even more after that. I finally had to hit the stones. I looked at the calendar and understood. I was able to keep that edge going for the longest time by stropping it. It didn't see much use at work, so it probably didn't get the best test, but the edge has consistently outlasted by far, anything else I use at home on a regular basis.
 
I have a 240 Artisan gyuto. It isn't thin by any means. Mine needs a good thinning, but I don't use stainless much anymore and don't have a lot of motivation to do it. The steel is fantastic though.
 
Back
Top