new carter kuro uchi funayuki ?

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

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

ramenlegend

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2013
Messages
598
Reaction score
20
Has anyone had any experience with Carter's newer kuro uchi funayuki? http://www.cartercutlery.com/kuro-uchi/ he recently put up a new batch and they are very tempting. The KU finish on them seems very "rustic", and it appears that they have deep grind marks in the photos. Any experience? also, how is the steel on these? taking an edge, edge retention and reactivity.

thaaaaaanks :D
Erik
 
I have an older Carter high grade IP with KU finish and I own / have owned/used a few others in different styles. AFAIK the KU finished, non-stainless gokunan-tetsu blades are the only ones that he completely makes himself (does the lamination). The stainless he buys pre-laminated and then forges and grinds to shape.

He's only using white #1 these days, and it's a simple, pure, very high carbon steel. He pushes it about as high as it will go in terms of hardness. Ease of sharpening, maintenance (touch ups), and maximum attainable sharpness is all among the best of any steel that I've used, but the trade off is in edge retention and toughness.
For me, some people bemoan the edge retention, but given the right type of edge geometry and finish, I've had no problem creating and edge that will maintain excellent cutting performance for a day of heavy pro-level use or many days (or even weeks) of home-level use without needing sharpening and will come right back to 95-99% of "fresh" with no more than a few strops on a finishing stone or loaded strop.

I've also heard reports (but not experienced) that the edge can be kinda chippy at first, but this goes away after a few sharpenings.

The deep, fugly grind marks are something that I've seen on all of his kitchen knives, from freebies to HG. I'm guessing there's some reason on his part for leaving them (maybe to help release or reduce drag?) but I've slowly removed them as I've gradually thinned and evened the bevels over time.

Personally, I think that the plain handled KU knives are most "pure Carter" knives that he makes and also the closest to "value" priced (certainly still the cheapest mastersmith blades you're ever gonna get). They're the only type that he currently makes that I'd personally consider purchasing / would be what I'd own if I could have only 1 type of Carter.
 
So I actually really love the look of the new handle, especially after seeing his recently incorporated custom ones. But I have to ask, whats up with handle having a slight drop off in height when going into the ferrule?

KU225x185Gyu__03322.1382141885.1280.1280.jpg
 
i followed the link to check out the other knives and the grind is not very consistent through out the line. I can see the height of where one would stop the polish changing and such but on some it just looks like sloppy work. Shigefusa is my gold standard and his ku knives look like a ruler was used for the grind. I know everyone has a bad day, but....
 
With regard the grind, if it doesn't affect the cutting then IMO it's fine to leave on the cheaper line. I'd rather he make 2 knives quickly than 1 knife slowly, as it means I can afford it. If you want more finishing work look to the HG, if you want more than that the IP.

It's also something that can be worked out on the stones when thinning. Given a year or 2 of hard use and there will be no remnants of the initial grind marks if you've been maintains it. As a buyer it's also much less daunting thinning a roughly finished carter than a well finished shig, so you're more likely to give it a try.

I'm also glad he's started offering basic handles on some new knives, everything having a 'custom' handle was a bit frustrating.
 
Mastersmith offers blades for $200 (which everyone knows are great cutters.... I think folk around here forget sometimes what kitchen knives are actually for - they are tools) people find fault and moan. Incredible.

Lets be honest, given his pedigree (18 years training in Japan and ABS Mastersmith) he is more or less unique as a knifemaker (and obviously in the upper, upper tier).

Perhaps he should only offer $2000+ westerns made with exotic materials. That'd be better, right?
 
I think they look fine. I'd consider one if I didn't have to worry so much about oxidation.
 
My KU finished carter is amazing. It took a while to get the edge to where it would last me an entire day at work but it gets super sharp and there is just something special about Carter's blades. They are unique and custom made and they are always a little but different. The cheap ass handle could be replaced and mine is, but I have tried someone else's with the cheap handle and it's not bad. It's his low end knives and they have low end handles. It's kind of fitting honestly
 
I'm glad he has a variety of lines, with different pricing. I keep hearing how great his knives are, and it would be nice to try one. I'd rather pay less for the knife, and make my own choice about the handle. (I'm not crazy about some of his HG handles.)

Personally, I think the uneven KU looks kind of cool.

There seems to be quite a bit of demand for his knives in his many lines.
 
My Carter Nakiri has all types of grind lines that are still visible, but it is one of the best damn cutters I have and frankly, I'll take function over form any day of the week when it comes to kitchen cutlery. Oh and the knife was "cheap" for a Carter so I was really happy about that!

Now if only he could make a decent supply of 10" gyuto's...
 
Dang, you guys make me want to buy another carter.

k.

happens every time a thread is made about his knives. And when I get the new stuff for sale e-mail. He puts out so much it's amazing how much he puts out there.
 
He's only using white #1 these days, and it's a simple, pure, very high carbon steel. He pushes it about as high as it will go in terms of hardness. Ease of sharpening, maintenance (touch ups), and maximum attainable sharpness is all among the best of any steel that I've used, but the trade off is in edge retention and toughness.

Just curious how you know he's only using white #1 now--product description says "High carbon steel core laminated with Gokunan-tetsu." Reading that, I figured it was something different since he didn't mention the specific steel.
 
Just curious how you know he's only using white #1 now--product description says "High carbon steel core laminated with Gokunan-tetsu." Reading that, I figured it was something different since he didn't mention the specific steel.


It's pretty common for smiths in Japan to just focus on 1 steel in order to come as close to perfection as possible. It was maybe about a year ago in a newsletter that Murray stated that upon reflection of what he thought that it would take to further improve his craft, he decided to take inspiration from some of his mentors and dedicate himself to one steel.
He did have and existing stock of blue super (AS) that he said he would continue to make knives from, but once it was all gone he wasn't buying more. I guess that it's possible that he still has some old AS kicking around, I just didn't think that it was likely.

I really loved his use of AS and thought that the slight trade off in maximum crazy sharpness and ease of sharpening wasn't bad for the extra toughness and edge retention, but I understand his mindset as he's not really about "trade off's" and is all about attaining maximum sharpness/ cutting performance as quickly an easily as possible and white #1 is what he feels best lends itself to that purpose.

Still, we're talking in pretty esoteric and hair-splitting levels of difference and as much as we all would like to look tough behind our keyboards and claim that we can tell the difference, between the 2 steels, I think that very few of us actually can.

Bottom line is that if there's a "Carter" stamp, then the steel stamp really doesn't matter for anything beyond our own Knerdy curiosities. It's gonna get really sharp, really easily, and cut really well.

EDIT: just poked around the site a bit, and I was surprised to see that he recently posted a batch of stainless-clad AS knives; so I guess he still does have some left. It's been a really long time since I've seen KU iron clad knives in AS from him, but I guess it's still possible.
 
My Carter Nakiri has all types of grind lines that are still visible, but it is one of the best damn cutters I have and frankly, I'll take function over form any day of the week when it comes to kitchen cutlery.

I agree. I love my Carter and I could care less about grind marks on the knife. I bought the knife to use it and not to frame it and hang it on my wall.
 
I have a 215mm nakiri that was a special order while he was still in Japan. I hated the right hand D-handle and sent it back to him for adjusting. For some reason, he also polished the KU finish off the knife before returning it with an ambidextrous oval handle. Now it looks like a normal polished knife that somebody let rust to the point it has deep pits all over the flats. Still works great though and it is one of my all time favorites.
 
Back
Top