Ken Onion "Rain" Mini reveiw

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daveb

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I got to play with the new "Rain" 8 inch chef.

It looks and feels short for 8". Prob due to the top of the angled handle being an inch (or so) forward on the blade. The blade/handle juncture was awkward. Pinch grip was not as bad as it looks though far from ideal. I could not find a "typical" grip that was comfortable but the "pointy finger" was closest. Not something I would want to take to a case of anything - though I don't think thats what it's designed for.

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Rockers only need apply. Knife has more belly than I do. Good new is that is what most of target market is looking for. Consumers looking for that distinctive "Ken" style will find it.

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In use the knife feels thick. Took considerably force to dice onion, both the tip work and the push cut. When slicing tomato it compressed the tomato before slicing through the skin and continued to compress it going through. Red potatoes were also difficult to slice.

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Distal Taper?
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F&F The Lamson(?) part is good. The handle is ok, fit is good, blade is uniform. The blade finish is subjective - some think it looks "cool", I thought it looked like a gum wrapper.

Overall I think I hits the target market as a flashy housewife knife, competing with Shun, Wusthof and Henckels for a growing market of "keep up with the Jone's" consumers. It's at a similar price point as the Shun Classic or Wustie Ikon. Will be interesting to follow and see if it can get a viable market share.

YMMV
 

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That handle screams S/M gear to me. No bueno...

Thanks for the review though. No really- thanks for going through that experience...
 
Is the third photo the choil? If so it looks fatter than an Artifex...
 
Holy Carp!
It looks like Dr. Seuss made that thing in Whoville.
It does look to be made of recycled foil gum wrappers.
Good call Dave.
 
Ken hit this one on the head!

And by that I mean...I don't think in my wildest imagination I could have dreamed up a knife that appeals to me so little.

Btw, how did it perform cutting through that bench scraper. That's the real test ;)

Thanks for taking it for the team and reviewing it.

k.
 
from the looks of this i'd rather have an artifex

=D
 
the choil shot looks like a yo-deba, and a thick one at that.
 
So what? Does that affect the performance of the choil?

Choil shots tell you as much about the geometry of a knife as a woman's foot tells you about the rest of her body.

Sorry to intrude, just a pet peeve of mine.
 
So what? Does that affect the performance of the choil?

Choil shots tell you as much about the geometry of a knife as a woman's foot tells you about the rest of her body.

Sorry to intrude, just a pet peeve of mine.
Some people have foot fetishes!
Maybe there's a special club-foot, or deformed foot fetish.

Dude honestly here you go again "poking the bear"
"petting the porcupine"

You really can't tell anything about a knife by the choil?
really?

Here we go again. We're gonna get all riled up and start talking **** about each other, forum ethics, etc. on a Ken Onion and/or Chef Knives To Go thread!
 
Why does it have to be about that? You're the one bringing crap up.... I'm trying to make a point that you can't tell anything about blade geometry from the choil.

Yes, you really can't "tell" anything. You can assume a lot, and a lot of knives will validate your assumptions. But "judgment by choil shot" without any experience with a knife should be frowned upon.
 
I respectfully disagree sir. I always look at the choil.
Every time.
 
So what? Does that affect the performance of the choil?

Choil shots tell you as much about the geometry of a knife as a woman's foot tells you about the rest of her body.

Sorry to intrude, just a pet peeve of mine.

the choil is awfully important if you are cutting with the heel, bud. In that picture, you can also see that the heel edge is quite thick.
 
I respectfully disagree sir. I always look at the choil.
Every time.

Then I have a Takayuki Grand Chef wa-gyuto to sell you :D

sw4fpy.jpg


NewBevel.jpg



This is why you can't trust choil shots alone. People who own one complain about the Grand Chef being a "plank on a stick" but many are tricked into buying it from the choil shot.

In the 2nd pic, see how that huge bevel curves down to almost nothing at the point of the heel? The heel is the only place where the choil geometry exists.
 
SC, that is a bizarre example but for most situations the choil shot really helps to reveal the geometry of the knife. And back to the original point of the thread, this Onion looks butt ugly at the choil and I doubt if the geometry improves over the course of the edge though I'm sure the daveb would know.
 
Your GCW looks bent 1 cm from the handle.
 
SC, The choil is accepted as an indicator of the overall knife geometry - hence the choil shot being de rigueur in a review. In this review the thick choil, lack of distal taper and cutting experience at the tip and mid point all support a conclusion that this is a fatty. And for this application, (it's certainly not targeted at a professional or enen geek user), that may be ok.

Your "woman's foot" analogy fails. If "A" is not an indicator of "B" then "C" must not be an indicator of "D"?

Your opinion on the choil as an indicator of overall geometry may be different and may warrant it's own thread, but to paraphrase KKnerd, quit poking the damn bear. :)

Regards,

Dave
 
Man, you guys really hate it when I'm right, dontcha :)

No, the foot analogy is perfect. You could get a good rough estimate of height & weight from someone's foot, assuming they have normal proportions (ie, a knife with consistent geometry from heel to tip). But you can't tell anything for sure, because not everyone is built that way.

It was just a hunch - it's hard to believe it's really that thick behind the edge through the entire length of the knife. How does it cut anything?
 
That choil shot is disturbing. Surely it thins out quickly toward the tip, no?
 

Sorry but I don't know what you are meaning on jimping.

Tk I think the lack of distal taper means it doesn't much. Watching that youtube vid I posted in the other thread I wouldn't think it get thin very much at all.

Honestly you can tell a lot about a person from the teeth, feet and hands. Wait that is a horse.... oh wait that is a person. Any way the choil shot says a lot about the knife exp. when it's new. After it has been with someone and been sharpened it can be misleading. Just like white teeth.
 
If a woman's foot has Kankles, she's 99.99999999% of the time gonna be fat. I'm not really too picky, but some nasty feets are really a turn-off for me.
Hammer toes
Bunions
Extra toes (polydactyly)
Foot fungus
Nail fungus
crusty foot
stank foot
swamp foot

I rest my case.
I win. U lose.
Ha!
 
Sorry but I don't know what you are meaning on jimping.


Jimping describes notches cut into the blade or handle for grip. In the photo below you can see jumping above the spydie hole for more thumb traction. If you ever watch tactical folding knife videos (nutnfancy) those guys are crazy about jimping.. Because need that grip when you're in a life or death knife fight in the pouring rain. Ken Onion, who's known for making fighting knives, adding this feature makes sense!
military_jimping.jpg
 
So what does it mean that I can pick up pennies with my toes and hold a pencil with them and write my name?
 
Ty ar11 never heard it called that. But then again fighter/bowie knives are a total different world than kitchen knives which Mr. Onion has proven again.
 

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