Reevaluating my knife purchase

Advertise with us
Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
Find deals on amazon
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

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

AddictforLife

Active Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2012
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
After using a the Carbonext for a couple of months now, I realized that there are many thing that I did not consider when making that purchase. Things that I did not think was a important and things that might not be apparent when I made my first purchase. At the time of the my purchase I was so eager to get a decent J-knives for a decent price that I only look at the steel type and forget the rest.

Handle
Handle are very important to a knife. Make sure that it is comfortable to hold in the hand. Thing you need to consider is the material of the handle. When holding does it feel somewhat cold to warm. The shape of the handle is another consideration. Is it too square? Does the manufacturer need to rounded the handle some more. Would you prefer a wa or a yo handle, octagon or a D-sharp handle?

Grind and Shape
Another thing that need to watch out for is the grind and the shape of the blade. Your style of cutting might not goes so well with the geometry of the blade. Some might prefer a narrower and straighter edge, while other like to have a large curve to the blade.

Weight and Balance
This is another something that you might also consider. Heavier knife can help you cut the food, but too heavy it might not suit your style of cutting. The balance of the knife is also very important. Some like to have the balance slightly forward, while other like to have it just on bolster.

Size
If you are comfortable with 240mm, don't get a 210mm or 270mm. Unless you feel the need of wanting a larger/smaller knife, stay at your comfortable size.

You have to consider the overall package and not just the steel type or just a certain other element. A well made knife is like Apple computer, the overall package is very good, but the a certain part alone might not wow anyone.

I am not regretting my Carbonext purchase, I am very satisfied with my purchase. But there are some part of the knife that only after using it you wish they are different. I have to tweak how I cut with it to get the best performance/comfort, but that could just be I my lack of still. In the end I have to change my style to suit the knife, not buying a knife to suit my style.
 
So after the reevaluation what do you think you would like to have for your next knife? One that would suit for what your style is?
 
I been using the Carbonext for a few months now and kind of got use to the knife, however next knife I get I would get a comfortable handle with a warmer wood, a blade-biased balance. When I hold onto the knife, the handle feel lifeless and does not feel like a extension of my my arm. I have a co-worker who recently brought this knife, I love the handle on it, the balance on it is also good(closer to the bolster, the Carbonext has a more biased toward the handle).
 
When you say warmer I assume that you mean to the touch, and not with color. I don't own a Carbonext what kind of handle is it? I checked pics and really can't tell.

Also what type of blade did you get? Gyuto, Santouku ect.? I only ask because this can also steer you to a different knife.
 
Yes I mean by touch. I got the 240mm sujihiki CarboNext, before that I use a 210mm cheap Stainless Surgical Steel gyuto. I am not looking for a new knife right now, I just want to make a point that sometime you need to look at the overall package and not just focus on the steel.
 
This is also the reason it's hard to recommend a super expensive knife to someone just getting into nice knives. Until you've really experience a few knives, you may not really know what you want. Glad you like your purchase, but glad you didn't have to spend a ton to figure out some of the things you'll want with your next purchase.
 
AddictforLife said:
Yes I mean by touch. I got the 240mm sujihiki CarboNext, before that I use a 210mm cheap Stainless Surgical Steel gyuto. I am not looking for a new knife right now, I just want to make a point that sometime you need to look at the overall package and not just focus on the steel.
Click to expand...

Kind of interesting that the handle and 'touch' is one of the issues you bring up, since (i know - this is a broad statement...) handles seem to be some of the least important design aspects considered by J-knife manufacturers....I remember the comments of the immortal "Fish" years ago regarding a pretty expensive and rare at the time blade ( I think the Fujiwara No Meito) as being an awesome sbale with the most hideous handle imaginable.
A solution that may work for you, for awhile at least - wrap your handle with either rubberbands, or paracord. I know some members here have seen some very elite chefs on the original Iron Chef shows with drool worthy j-knives, only to have the handles wrapped in rubberbands!
 
I just want to make a point that sometime you need to look at the overall package and not just focus on the steel.
Click to expand...

Bingo!

-AJ
 
So here we are with a perfect example of, "You don't know what you don't know." For people new to J knives they just don't realize that selecting a knife can be a little complicated. At least AddictforLife did the right thing and bought a reasonably priced knife to start with. You most likely will go through several more knives before you find the knife that best suits you.
 
Addict, your comments on the handle section are eerily like mine. The first time I handled a non-mass-produced knife, I remember commenting that the handle felt organic, and like it was a living thing. Kinda weird, but I am pretty sure I am following you on that one. :)
 
99Limited said:
So here we are with a perfect example of, "You don't know what you don't know." For people new to J knives they just don't realize that selecting a knife can be a little complicated. At least AddictforLife did the right thing and bought a reasonably priced knife to start with. You most likely will go through several more knives before you find the knife that best suits you.
Click to expand...

+1. This practically deserves a sticky that can be referenced when we get the occasional new person that wants to start with a $1000 + custom.
 
Interesting, I always found the cn completly utilitarian in almost every aspect. Probably one of the best value knives out there.

Sounds like its time for a rehandle.
 
AddictforLife said:
Yes I mean by touch. I got the 240mm sujihiki CarboNext, before that I use a 210mm cheap Stainless Surgical Steel gyuto. I am not looking for a new knife right now, I just want to make a point that sometime you need to look at the overall package and not just focus on the steel.
Click to expand...

If I can just add one thing here, going from a gyuto to a sujihiki is a big change - they're not really interchangeable knives.

When I see people asking for recommendations, I almost never recommend a different shape/style of knife than the one they're most familiar with. There are so many subtle differences between the usual knife (Wusthof, Henckels, etc.) and a nicer knife that it can almost be jarring to use the better knife. A completely different shape just compounds the learning curve and difficulty in getting used to a new knife.

But yes, you really hit it on the head - you have to look at the overall package and not just focus on the steel, unlike a certain newbie/troll that occasionally roams around these parts.
 
You have officially become one of us.
Your realization is the same one that every regular on this forum had at some point. Some people get their first "good" knife and are satisfied with it because it's 1000X better than what they had before, but they never really analyze the knife and the way that they use it to the point that they realize that with every answer or every new level of performance comes only more questions and more possibilities to step closer to un-attainable perfection. Each step covers exponentially less distance and costs exponentially more.
Welcome to the Knut House!!!!
 
AddictforLife said:
After using a the Carbonext for a couple of months now, I realized that there are many thing that I did not consider when making that purchase. Things that I did not think was a important and things that might not be apparent when I made my first purchase. At the time of the my purchase I was so eager to get a decent J-knives for a decent price that I only look at the steel type and forget the rest.

Handle
Handle are very important to a knife. Make sure that it is comfortable to hold in the hand. Thing you need to consider is the material of the handle. When holding does it feel somewhat cold to warm. The shape of the handle is another consideration. Is it too square? Does the manufacturer need to rounded the handle some more. Would you prefer a wa or a yo handle, octagon or a D-sharp handle?

Grind and Shape
Another thing that need to watch out for is the grind and the shape of the blade. Your style of cutting might not goes so well with the geometry of the blade. Some might prefer a narrower and straighter edge, while other like to have a large curve to the blade.

Weight and Balance
This is another something that you might also consider. Heavier knife can help you cut the food, but too heavy it might not suit your style of cutting. The balance of the knife is also very important. Some like to have the balance slightly forward, while other like to have it just on bolster.

Size
If you are comfortable with 240mm, don't get a 210mm or 270mm. Unless you feel the need of wanting a larger/smaller knife, stay at your comfortable size.

You have to consider the overall package and not just the steel type or just a certain other element. A well made knife is like Apple computer, the overall package is very good, but the a certain part alone might not wow anyone.

I am not regretting my Carbonext purchase, I am very satisfied with my purchase. But there are some part of the knife that only after using it you wish they are different. I have to tweak how I cut with it to get the best performance/comfort, but that could just be I my lack of still. In the end I have to change my style to suit the knife, not buying a knife to suit my style.
Click to expand...

Most, if not all of us, started much the same way, since few if any of the knives we love are readily available for us to check out in person. All you can go on is the wisdom of the many, but the individual experience of a single person is the greatest teacher. You simply don't know until you have a knife in hand and can work with it for a bit to get a feel for it. There are so many details of a knife that are beyond definition until you actually experience it. I think that's why so many of us, myself included, view a great many knives as "base platforms" upon which to impose our own unique tweaks which make the knives more in tune with the individual and make the knives, in turn, equally uniquely fine tuned. Blocky handle? Nothing a bit of sanding won't cure. Blade a bit sticky? A little thinning is appropriate. Spine feels sharp? Round away. I don't think there are many knives, at least at the lower end of the scale which won't take a bit of refinement to bring out the best in it. As we gain more experiences with a greater variety of knives, I think we all gain a knowledge of what we look for in a knife. Sounds to me like you're well on the road.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top