bob_loblaw
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I dont see a lot of postings on here about Cris Andersons work, so I figured Id put up a review/first impressions of my recent acquisition from him. Seeing as how this is a new knife with ~1 week of use, I figured I split up the review into 2 parts- first Ill tackle the immediate reactions, and then after the honeymoons over in a couple months Ill cover the long-term stuff.
In fair warning- I am not a professional chef, Im just a home cook who loves sharp pretty things.
Intro:
I first came in contact with Cris work at the 2015 ECG. The knife attendance was what youd expect from a gathering of this sort- DT, Haburn, Carter, Shig, Kato, Mario, Marko the list goes on. Of all the knives I got to try, the passaround from Cris definitely stood out; it was thin behind the edge, fell through food with no sticking, and not to mention it looked pretty freakin' sweet! After doing a little bit of research and talking to Cris I decided I wanted to jump in the deep end with my first custom and get on his wait list.
Working with Cris:
As this was my first custom I wasnt sure what to expect. Ive read a bunch of negative experiences from several makers ranging from constant delays, radio silence and even some bait and switch. I also realize this is the internet, so you tend to hear more nightmares than praises. I can honestly say working with Cris was a great experience; not only is he an artist but hes also good people with a penchant for operating in full transparency. Cris likes to maintain an open line of communication throughout the entire build with plenty of updates, pics and videos as he goes along; needless to say, the level of anticipation was mind-blowing by the time I got my knife! I was on the wait list for ~6.5 months, and at that point the actual knife work only took about a week.
From day one, Cris was very open and worked with me on most of the details of the knife including handle shape and material, thickness/geometry and profile. In the end he went to great lengths to make sure I was happy with the final result.
The Knife Itself:
Steel: W2
Handle: Stabilized redwood burl, nickel silver and stabilized Oregon maple burl
Hardness: ~65 HRC
Weight: 196 g
Thickness of Spine at Ferrule: 4.3 mm
Thickness of Spine above heel: 3.6 mm
Thickness of Spine ~5mm from tip: 0.5 mm
Heel height: 51 mm
Blade length: 239 mm
Handle length: 113 mm
Balance point: At the maker's mark
When I first talked to Cris I was little apprehensive about how thin his normal grind was; Im not looking for a two-handed broadsword, but at the same time I want to feel something in my hand. When my name came up on the list, Cris had included an Extra Heavy option on his menu adding more meat to the blade near the ferrule, but quickly tapering out along the length of the spine. I was a little unsure at first, but Cris ensured this mod made no sacrifices in performance and the added weight allowed the knife to do more work; not to mention he favored this flavor among the rest (Im pretty happy I went this route, Ill talk more of this later). I didnt want to take too many blade measurements and give away his secret sauce, but the choil shot shows just how thin behind the edge it is even at the blades thickest point.
You can make out the profile the first pic. There's really no belly to it, it's more so 2 flats joined at about 1/3 of the way from the tip.
The Handle:
Cris offers a couple options here, I decided to go with his dual taper. This shape forms the symmetric tapers visible in the top view of the handle, which fits nicely in hand with a pinch grip and also helps keep the center of mass in the blade on a thin knife. The handle is a little shorter than what I'm used to, but still long enough to use with a hammer grip. Talking to Cris about this, he likes to keep his handles a little shorter so the knife remains more nimble in some of the more confined kitchens. If your ordering from Cris and have bigger hands, you may want to bring this up. I'm not exactly a sasquach, so I make out fine.
Impressions/Observations (beyond looks):
Wow...I think I'm in love. I've been working pretty long days during the week, so normally by the time I get home I'm rushing to get some food in my stomach (read carryout). I've found myself cooking at every chance I could get this week, just looking for opportunities to put it to use.
Cris' grind results in great food release (tested with potatoes) and I haven't noticed any compromises like wedging yet. I'm a fan of the profile as you don't have to raise the handle too far to do some tip work, and the flat at the tip also allows for some fine push cutting. I needed to adjust my "angle of attack" as the long flat is not parallel with the handle (it more so angles up away from the heel), but this isn't a big deal, just an observation. The additional weight (relative to his normal laser) feels good in hand and gives the knife some momentum to help carry itself through when cutting. The thinness at the tip is insane as this thing just flies through horizontal cuts.
So that's it, enough words for now.
In fair warning- I am not a professional chef, Im just a home cook who loves sharp pretty things.
Intro:
I first came in contact with Cris work at the 2015 ECG. The knife attendance was what youd expect from a gathering of this sort- DT, Haburn, Carter, Shig, Kato, Mario, Marko the list goes on. Of all the knives I got to try, the passaround from Cris definitely stood out; it was thin behind the edge, fell through food with no sticking, and not to mention it looked pretty freakin' sweet! After doing a little bit of research and talking to Cris I decided I wanted to jump in the deep end with my first custom and get on his wait list.
Working with Cris:
As this was my first custom I wasnt sure what to expect. Ive read a bunch of negative experiences from several makers ranging from constant delays, radio silence and even some bait and switch. I also realize this is the internet, so you tend to hear more nightmares than praises. I can honestly say working with Cris was a great experience; not only is he an artist but hes also good people with a penchant for operating in full transparency. Cris likes to maintain an open line of communication throughout the entire build with plenty of updates, pics and videos as he goes along; needless to say, the level of anticipation was mind-blowing by the time I got my knife! I was on the wait list for ~6.5 months, and at that point the actual knife work only took about a week.
From day one, Cris was very open and worked with me on most of the details of the knife including handle shape and material, thickness/geometry and profile. In the end he went to great lengths to make sure I was happy with the final result.
The Knife Itself:
Steel: W2
Handle: Stabilized redwood burl, nickel silver and stabilized Oregon maple burl
Hardness: ~65 HRC
Weight: 196 g
Thickness of Spine at Ferrule: 4.3 mm
Thickness of Spine above heel: 3.6 mm
Thickness of Spine ~5mm from tip: 0.5 mm
Heel height: 51 mm
Blade length: 239 mm
Handle length: 113 mm
Balance point: At the maker's mark
When I first talked to Cris I was little apprehensive about how thin his normal grind was; Im not looking for a two-handed broadsword, but at the same time I want to feel something in my hand. When my name came up on the list, Cris had included an Extra Heavy option on his menu adding more meat to the blade near the ferrule, but quickly tapering out along the length of the spine. I was a little unsure at first, but Cris ensured this mod made no sacrifices in performance and the added weight allowed the knife to do more work; not to mention he favored this flavor among the rest (Im pretty happy I went this route, Ill talk more of this later). I didnt want to take too many blade measurements and give away his secret sauce, but the choil shot shows just how thin behind the edge it is even at the blades thickest point.
You can make out the profile the first pic. There's really no belly to it, it's more so 2 flats joined at about 1/3 of the way from the tip.
The Handle:
Cris offers a couple options here, I decided to go with his dual taper. This shape forms the symmetric tapers visible in the top view of the handle, which fits nicely in hand with a pinch grip and also helps keep the center of mass in the blade on a thin knife. The handle is a little shorter than what I'm used to, but still long enough to use with a hammer grip. Talking to Cris about this, he likes to keep his handles a little shorter so the knife remains more nimble in some of the more confined kitchens. If your ordering from Cris and have bigger hands, you may want to bring this up. I'm not exactly a sasquach, so I make out fine.
Impressions/Observations (beyond looks):
Wow...I think I'm in love. I've been working pretty long days during the week, so normally by the time I get home I'm rushing to get some food in my stomach (read carryout). I've found myself cooking at every chance I could get this week, just looking for opportunities to put it to use.
Cris' grind results in great food release (tested with potatoes) and I haven't noticed any compromises like wedging yet. I'm a fan of the profile as you don't have to raise the handle too far to do some tip work, and the flat at the tip also allows for some fine push cutting. I needed to adjust my "angle of attack" as the long flat is not parallel with the handle (it more so angles up away from the heel), but this isn't a big deal, just an observation. The additional weight (relative to his normal laser) feels good in hand and gives the knife some momentum to help carry itself through when cutting. The thinness at the tip is insane as this thing just flies through horizontal cuts.
So that's it, enough words for now.
