Harner/McLean CTS XHP Line knife - First Impressions

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I've had this knife a little less than two days, but I wanted to share some impressions.

Tom McLean (Lefty) provided the basic idea to Butch, who then translated the idea into a knife. Originally, the blade was supposed to range between 185 and 195 mm. The knife I have is 202 mm on the edge (210 mm from handle to tip).

Tom intended it to be a long and tall petty, one that could be used on a board. This style knife is often referred to as a "line knife", and that's how I'll refer to it.

Some measurements of the one I have:

Weight: 151 grams.
Overall length: 320 mm, blade 210 mm, handle 110 mm.
Height at heel: 39 mm.
Spine at handle: 2.90 mm.
Spine halfway to tip: 2.85 mm.
Spine 1 cm from tip: 0.85 mm.

The handle material is stabilized Buckeye burl, with three stainless pins. The blade, as Tom has said, is Carpenter CTS XHP @ 61 - 62 HRC. It doesn't have much distal taper, and is fairly stiff with little if nay flex.

Here are some "beauty" shots:











How does it compare to what is usually referred to as a "line knife"? Here are some comparison photos of the Harner against a 21 cm Hiromoto G3 sujihiki and a 24 cm Misono Swedish sujihiki. I didn't have a 21 cm wa-petty to compare it to.









Keep in mind that I have only had this knife for a little over a day and a half, but I have used it instead of my usual 24 cm gyuto for vegetable prep and have not felt disadvantaged in any way. As a slicer, it worked very well with both raw and cooked protein.

I'll report on edge retention and sharpening in the future.

Thanks to Tom and Butch!

Rick
 
Nice review. I love Butch's handles. Looks like it gives a nice amount of clearance.
 
The length is perfect for a line knife and a stiff blade is preferable to me.

Really excited to get in line to buy this knife, thank you for the review!

Ferry
 
As always, wonderful photos! How did the edge hold up?

I got tired of waiting for the edge to need sharpening, so I took it to the stones anyway. The CTS XHP feels a lot like CPM-154 on the stones, and is about as easy to sharpen. If you like to "play in the mud", this one won't give you much excuse to.

I think Butch has a couple in the works that will be going to pro chefs, and will be better gauges of edge retention than me.
 
I'm not sure whether or not this is over-stepping, but I think I can say that we have two of these going to pros (one of whom I know does insane amounts of knife work), and the other likely does as well, considering he's leaned on very heavily for his family restaurant. They will be good judges of edge retention, and the like. One other thing to note is that butch has been using CTS-XHP for a while now, and guys like Chuck, Chris, and countless others have been using this steel, because of Butch's work since he took it on. It's tough for me to really put my finger on what it's like, but a good way to look at it is, it's being used a lot for straight razors, and it's still comparable to CPM-154 in toughness.
 
when are they going to be available tom? I am really interested in one now that I have a use for another line knife!
 
Brad, send me an email. I have one with your name on it. :)
 
Sorry to do this, but Brad, I'm Gina have to let brainsausage have it if you don't get back to me by tomorrow morning. Sorry, but I just dropped $500 on more nursery stuff. Haha
 
I want this one for sure 100%. Just give me the details and I am on it!

Thanks Tom!
 
Nice, Brad! Just about to leave for work, but I'll send you the details this morning.
 
you the man mclean! are you an engineer? my dad is one in pheonix
 
Yeah, looking at my finances, I'd be tighter than I would like. I'd like to pass this one to brain.
 
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