banjo1071
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2011
- Messages
- 462
- Reaction score
- 148
Hi everyone
I would like toshare my experiences with a nakiri from french blacksmith Bryan Raquin. English is not my first langue, so bear with me, if some strange formulation should arise..
I was is the market for a nakiri and i am always on the search of something aside from the well trodden paths. Its always hit-and-miss-game. I was instantly tempeted by his aesthetic and artisanal approch. He had one avaible and offered me a shippingdiscount, so i decided to go for it. I also like to support european makers..
The maker
Bryan ist a one-man-show located in central france, often using local products. He welds his own sanmai. He is not a man of many words, thought. You can follow his work under his instagramm account:
https://instagram.com/bryanraquin/
just as a quick reference: Among his many followers are well known members, such as Lefty...
Pictures of my knife can be found in the pics around the 17.03.2015
The steel
The core is made of sc145, at a HRC 64. One of the rarest, extra-high-carbon-steels ever produced. Only about 700Kg were made for german metallugist Achim Wirtz
Its like Shirogami 1, but much, much purer:
http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=sc145
Cool stuff indeed!
The handle
Its made of burned oak, carved in a unique manner, that could be best describe as a hybrid betweend round an octogonal. Very nice, very confortable, very usable indeed.
F&F
Now this i something you either love or hate (i love it). Ther are no fancy spacer, no engraved pins, no bling at all. It very smooth where it need to be (rounded spine, handle, egde) and quite rough, where it can be (kuro uchi partly left on, forming some interesting patterns). In all it has an appeal, that could be best compared to takedas. It has lots and lots of "charakter"
The grind
Its no laser, the grind is has rather some workhorse charakter. It is still very thin (it is a nakiri after all), but not as paper thin as others. Some might like their knives thinner, i like both, always depending on the execution. Keep in mind, this blade is quite large ..Its quite bladeheavy, too
Cutting and retention
Now comes the fun part. l. I tried it on many (nakirirelateted) produce and i must say, that not only it cuts very well, its just great fun to work with. I have been using it as homecook on a daily basis and one bigger party for about two weeks now and its is still able to cut seethrough-thin slices of very ripe tomatoes or grapes with ease. I did not sharpened it yet (didnt had to..).
Overall conclusion:
The overall package ist very appealing to me (lore, steel, looks, perfomance, and, after all, price). Not only i am very happy with my knife, i also placed another order for a gyuto right away.
Its not a beginners knife, of course. But its no collectors piece, either. It a highly usable cuttingmachine.
I highly recommend everyone to take a close look at Bryans work..
Greetings Benjamin
P.S. Will add pics later
I would like toshare my experiences with a nakiri from french blacksmith Bryan Raquin. English is not my first langue, so bear with me, if some strange formulation should arise..
I was is the market for a nakiri and i am always on the search of something aside from the well trodden paths. Its always hit-and-miss-game. I was instantly tempeted by his aesthetic and artisanal approch. He had one avaible and offered me a shippingdiscount, so i decided to go for it. I also like to support european makers..
The maker
Bryan ist a one-man-show located in central france, often using local products. He welds his own sanmai. He is not a man of many words, thought. You can follow his work under his instagramm account:
https://instagram.com/bryanraquin/
just as a quick reference: Among his many followers are well known members, such as Lefty...
Pictures of my knife can be found in the pics around the 17.03.2015
The steel
The core is made of sc145, at a HRC 64. One of the rarest, extra-high-carbon-steels ever produced. Only about 700Kg were made for german metallugist Achim Wirtz
Its like Shirogami 1, but much, much purer:
http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=sc145
Cool stuff indeed!
The handle
Its made of burned oak, carved in a unique manner, that could be best describe as a hybrid betweend round an octogonal. Very nice, very confortable, very usable indeed.
F&F
Now this i something you either love or hate (i love it). Ther are no fancy spacer, no engraved pins, no bling at all. It very smooth where it need to be (rounded spine, handle, egde) and quite rough, where it can be (kuro uchi partly left on, forming some interesting patterns). In all it has an appeal, that could be best compared to takedas. It has lots and lots of "charakter"
The grind
Its no laser, the grind is has rather some workhorse charakter. It is still very thin (it is a nakiri after all), but not as paper thin as others. Some might like their knives thinner, i like both, always depending on the execution. Keep in mind, this blade is quite large ..Its quite bladeheavy, too
Cutting and retention
Now comes the fun part. l. I tried it on many (nakirirelateted) produce and i must say, that not only it cuts very well, its just great fun to work with. I have been using it as homecook on a daily basis and one bigger party for about two weeks now and its is still able to cut seethrough-thin slices of very ripe tomatoes or grapes with ease. I did not sharpened it yet (didnt had to..).
Overall conclusion:
The overall package ist very appealing to me (lore, steel, looks, perfomance, and, after all, price). Not only i am very happy with my knife, i also placed another order for a gyuto right away.
Its not a beginners knife, of course. But its no collectors piece, either. It a highly usable cuttingmachine.
I highly recommend everyone to take a close look at Bryans work..
Greetings Benjamin
P.S. Will add pics later
