sharptools
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Today I'll be doing a initial review of the tall Raquin nakiri from Carbon Knife Co. You can find the original posting here.
Basic stats:
Dimensions: 175mm x 75mm
Weight: 271g
Core Steel: 145sc (Bryan explains it in a previous post here)
Cladding: XC10
Finish: Kurouchi/Nashiji upper with kasumi finish lower and polished edge. Spine and Choil rounded.
Handle: Octagonal stabilized curly maple with metal spacer by Anton Kudris
Saya: Soft wood friction fit saya with a nice click
I had been looking at Bryan's work for a while, as I was interested in the core steel and the overall aesthetics. Being a cleaver guy, when I saw a tall nakiri, I knew I had to get it.
Comparison Shots:
To give you an idea of the size the following are a set of various comparison shots
Next to 210mm Gesshin Ginga, 240mm Marko gyuto and a 240mm Hiromoto Honyaki
Another comparison shot next to a CCK 1303, Kiwi nakiri style knife
About the Knife
The profile of the knife is flat with a rounded tip, typical of nakiris. While a lot of nakiris I have used in the past have been rather thin not unlike the Kiwi or even the CCK in terms of thinness, the Raquin nakiri is quite different in that it is somewhat substantial while being thin behind the edge. I find that this makes the knife much more robust as a cutter. The spine is a little thicker near the handle but tapers and becomes thin very quickly. The upper face of the knife has a kurouchi/nashiji finish that turns into a kasumi finish with a polished edge. Out of the box, the knife was fairly sharp and did not require further sharpening or touch up. I would guess it was finished definitely greater than 1000 stone but not quite to 6000 stone but that is just a guess. The grind on the knife is incredibly consistent and shows the skill and care put into making the knife.
Spine vs CCK 1303
Choil next to CCK 1303
Choil shot
Down blade shot (not sure if you can see how even it is)
The handle is beautifully done by Anton (icanhaschzbrgr), has a very comfortable taper with a glossy finish. Anton is very consistent in his work and I have included a comparison of another handle I have from him.
Handle
Next to another handle by Anton
Cutting Performance
I have been using this knife exclusively since I received it and have been through an assortment of fruits (apples, watermelon, pineapple, mangos), vegetables (potatoes, carrots, daikon, napa cabbage, onions, garlic, green onions, large beets, tomatoes) and boneless meat on either hinoki or plastic cutting board. The knife is good for thrust cutting, great at hammer/push cutting due to its weight, but surprisingly is a very good pull cutter. Unfortunately, it just doesn't have the length to be a real slicer. Cutting through most vegetables is rather effortless with no wedging (except for about 1 cm or so at the heel).
Food Release
The funny thing about this knife is that it has very good food release even for large wet items mainly due to its nashiji like finish but has minor issues for small items like garlic. The face of the blade near the edge is very thin and flat which is basically the main issue. Once you cut enough to hit the nashiji finish, the food just pops off automatically.
Reactivity
The knife overall is reactive but much less reactive than a lot of iron clad knives. Both the core steel and the nashiji develops a nice patina.
Edge retention
As a home cook have cooked daily for the past 3 weeks or so and cut things whenever I can come up with an excuse to cut things. So far I am still using the out of the box edge and only have done one to two stropping strokes on a 6k splash and go stone twice. I will have to caveat that I am very careful with my technique and do a lot of off board cutting (daikon, fruit etc) as well but I have done my fair share of VERY fine dicing, sengiri style cutting and just tap cutting for kicks.
Sharpening
To be updated, have not had a chance to really do any sharpening.
Summary
I couldn't be happier with my purchase. The knife just hit it out of the left field and I will likely be looking to get a gyuto or a suji from Bryan at some point. Unfortunately his knives just flies off the shelves, (the last one sold 2 minutes after his notification email went out. The knife sold before I actually received the notification email. lol) so if you have the opportunity to, you should probably not hesitate on getting one!
Basic stats:
Dimensions: 175mm x 75mm
Weight: 271g
Core Steel: 145sc (Bryan explains it in a previous post here)
Cladding: XC10
Finish: Kurouchi/Nashiji upper with kasumi finish lower and polished edge. Spine and Choil rounded.
Handle: Octagonal stabilized curly maple with metal spacer by Anton Kudris
Saya: Soft wood friction fit saya with a nice click
I had been looking at Bryan's work for a while, as I was interested in the core steel and the overall aesthetics. Being a cleaver guy, when I saw a tall nakiri, I knew I had to get it.
Comparison Shots:
To give you an idea of the size the following are a set of various comparison shots
Next to 210mm Gesshin Ginga, 240mm Marko gyuto and a 240mm Hiromoto Honyaki
Another comparison shot next to a CCK 1303, Kiwi nakiri style knife
About the Knife
The profile of the knife is flat with a rounded tip, typical of nakiris. While a lot of nakiris I have used in the past have been rather thin not unlike the Kiwi or even the CCK in terms of thinness, the Raquin nakiri is quite different in that it is somewhat substantial while being thin behind the edge. I find that this makes the knife much more robust as a cutter. The spine is a little thicker near the handle but tapers and becomes thin very quickly. The upper face of the knife has a kurouchi/nashiji finish that turns into a kasumi finish with a polished edge. Out of the box, the knife was fairly sharp and did not require further sharpening or touch up. I would guess it was finished definitely greater than 1000 stone but not quite to 6000 stone but that is just a guess. The grind on the knife is incredibly consistent and shows the skill and care put into making the knife.
Spine vs CCK 1303
Choil next to CCK 1303
Choil shot
Down blade shot (not sure if you can see how even it is)
The handle is beautifully done by Anton (icanhaschzbrgr), has a very comfortable taper with a glossy finish. Anton is very consistent in his work and I have included a comparison of another handle I have from him.
Handle
Next to another handle by Anton
Cutting Performance
I have been using this knife exclusively since I received it and have been through an assortment of fruits (apples, watermelon, pineapple, mangos), vegetables (potatoes, carrots, daikon, napa cabbage, onions, garlic, green onions, large beets, tomatoes) and boneless meat on either hinoki or plastic cutting board. The knife is good for thrust cutting, great at hammer/push cutting due to its weight, but surprisingly is a very good pull cutter. Unfortunately, it just doesn't have the length to be a real slicer. Cutting through most vegetables is rather effortless with no wedging (except for about 1 cm or so at the heel).
Food Release
The funny thing about this knife is that it has very good food release even for large wet items mainly due to its nashiji like finish but has minor issues for small items like garlic. The face of the blade near the edge is very thin and flat which is basically the main issue. Once you cut enough to hit the nashiji finish, the food just pops off automatically.
Reactivity
The knife overall is reactive but much less reactive than a lot of iron clad knives. Both the core steel and the nashiji develops a nice patina.
Edge retention
As a home cook have cooked daily for the past 3 weeks or so and cut things whenever I can come up with an excuse to cut things. So far I am still using the out of the box edge and only have done one to two stropping strokes on a 6k splash and go stone twice. I will have to caveat that I am very careful with my technique and do a lot of off board cutting (daikon, fruit etc) as well but I have done my fair share of VERY fine dicing, sengiri style cutting and just tap cutting for kicks.
Sharpening
To be updated, have not had a chance to really do any sharpening.
Summary
I couldn't be happier with my purchase. The knife just hit it out of the left field and I will likely be looking to get a gyuto or a suji from Bryan at some point. Unfortunately his knives just flies off the shelves, (the last one sold 2 minutes after his notification email went out. The knife sold before I actually received the notification email. lol) so if you have the opportunity to, you should probably not hesitate on getting one!
