You have cooler parents than I do
All Rectangle March?
- Thread starter HumbleHomeCook
- Start date
Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:
Introducing today's other ARM acquisition: Moritaka AS chuka, 197x104, 3.9mm, 344g, iron clad/ku, bog oak handle with g10 and blackwood.
Very nice, smooth, authoritative cutter. Decent food separation from the sort of lower wide-bevel design. Haven't tested dense root veggies yet so dunno if any wedging.
Markedly flat profile. Definitely a contrast in that regard with the sugi 6 I tested the other day. I'd say my ideal profile would be somewhere in between the two.
The bog oak handle looks really good with the knife. Height at the neck is good but it tapers pretty narrow in terms of width. So if you're looking to the handle to supply the main stability of your grip, it is an issue with this knife IMHO, because there's not much "meat" there for your grip at the neck. Instead, I think it is important with this knife to really choke up in your pinch grip and derive your main stability from that extended pinch, basically just lightly wrapping the remainder of your fingers around the handle for guidance. It's a different feel than a gyuto for sure.
With so many cleavers coming in and out, I'm trying my best to be ruthless and sell knives quickly if I don't jive with them immediately, before too much depreciation sets in on the secondary market. But something about this one speaks to me. I feel like I can learn from it in a good way, with modifications to my push cut and grip style. And it just cuts really well!
Very nice, smooth, authoritative cutter. Decent food separation from the sort of lower wide-bevel design. Haven't tested dense root veggies yet so dunno if any wedging.
Markedly flat profile. Definitely a contrast in that regard with the sugi 6 I tested the other day. I'd say my ideal profile would be somewhere in between the two.
The bog oak handle looks really good with the knife. Height at the neck is good but it tapers pretty narrow in terms of width. So if you're looking to the handle to supply the main stability of your grip, it is an issue with this knife IMHO, because there's not much "meat" there for your grip at the neck. Instead, I think it is important with this knife to really choke up in your pinch grip and derive your main stability from that extended pinch, basically just lightly wrapping the remainder of your fingers around the handle for guidance. It's a different feel than a gyuto for sure.
With so many cleavers coming in and out, I'm trying my best to be ruthless and sell knives quickly if I don't jive with them immediately, before too much depreciation sets in on the secondary market. But something about this one speaks to me. I feel like I can learn from it in a good way, with modifications to my push cut and grip style. And it just cuts really well!
Rectangular bread slicing.
In all seriousness, that's a great shot! It's the like cover of an east meets west cookbook.
BillHanna
Gotta get ready for ARM
I really^5 wish I’d have gotten a cleaver when they still sold direct. Top 5 regret
Jville
I used to work in a Mexican restaurant
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2018
- Messages
- 2,648
- Reaction score
- 3,187
Yeah that’s my cleaver.
I very nearly asked for that same grind from Tony, but it made me nervous. I was worried it would wedge and crack in taller denser produce. How's it been for you?
Now that is cool. How does that assymetric compound p-grind work in practice? A very interesting idea.
They're not too terribly hard to find with retailers, though I suppose there is added cost. Or do you mean you would have commissioned one with particular dimensions?
BillHanna
Gotta get ready for ARM
Cost. Strictly the cost. 190USD plus shipping v 400USD shipped
Yikes. Yeah. Although I suppose some of that differential is attributable to supply cost increases that have occurred in the meantime. It would be interesting to compare what the direct price would be now versus back then.
It's a tough life being a knife knut!
Update with some daytime photos in natural light. Again, I really like this knife, I just wish the handle wasn't as tapered at the neck. Scheming on a possible handle replacement
Although it's a shame because I really do like the bog oak. 
![5 - Moritaka - Day 3 [choil].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/kitchenknifeforums/data/attach/299/299083-5---Moritaka---Day-3-choil-.jpg "5 - Moritaka - Day 3 [choil].jpg")
![6 - Moritaka - Day 4 [handle].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/kitchenknifeforums/data/attach/299/299084-6---Moritaka---Day-4-handle-.jpg "6 - Moritaka - Day 4 [handle].jpg")
Hualicopter
Well-Known Member
Update with some daytime photos in natural light. Again, I really like this knife, I just wish the handle wasn't as tapered at the neck. Scheming on a possible handle replacement
That finish is so gorgeous!!!
Yes it's a very nice, rich ku. Not sure how long it will last because with the exception of a sort of like matte stainless kurouchi that i've encountered on some knives, most ku finishes tend to wear off with time and washings. If you discover the secret to keeping it around let me know!
Hualicopter
Well-Known Member
The key is replacing it with a new knife before the finish wears off right? Am I doing the KKF thing right? Haha.Yes it's a very nice, rich ku. Not sure how long it will last because with the exception of a sort of like matte stainless kurouchi that i've encountered on some knives, most ku finishes tend to wear off with time and washings. If you discover the secret to keeping it around let me know!
One could shorten the handle removing that part and still use the Bog OakUpdate with some daytime photos in natural light. Again, I really like this knife, I just wish the handle wasn't as tapered at the neck. Scheming on a possible handle replacement
View attachment 309326
View attachment 309327
View attachment 309328
View attachment 309329
I think you've got it!!
It's not a bad idea but unfortunately I think the handle is also a bit too light in general. If at all possible, what I'd like to do is preserve the handle for a smaller and lighter knife if it can be removed without being destroyed. I think it would work really well for a nakiri in the typical 165x50-something range.
Whatcha making good sir and who is your rectangular friend?
tostadas
Hobbyist / Craftsman
Is it wedgy at all? This is the thicker Chuka and not the tall nakiri right?Update with some daytime photos in natural light. Again, I really like this knife, I just wish the handle wasn't as tapered at the neck. Scheming on a possible handle replacement
View attachment 309326
View attachment 309327
View attachment 309328
View attachment 309329
I am gonna use it tonight on carrot and potato and get back to you re: wedging. As for thickness, I dunno how it compares to other models. It was listed as a chuka, 197x104, 3.9 @ heel, 344g.
"My onions and poblanos are on their last leg so let's make a creamy poblano chicken thing" with white rice.
My rectangle friend is this https://ikkyu-japanavenue.online/co...re-tosauchi-black-nakiri-170mm-from-japan-f-s
The tosa nakiris are killing it right now.
So I was able to test it on some carrots and some yukon golds.
When cutting carrots, the performance of the blade of course depended upon the section of the edge used, and whether the cut was cross- or lengthwise. If was cutting the carrot crosswise and using the front portion of the blade, it cut as smooth as any laser, even when hitting the "shoulder" at the top of that primary bevel. Especially in this configuration with the small bogwood handle, the blade feels particularly forward-heavy. In fact the balance point is about here:
![12 - Moritaka Carrot Potato Test 6 [Balance Point].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/kitchenknifeforums/data/attach/299/299171-12---Moritaka-Carrot-Potato-Test-6-Balance-Point-.jpg "12 - Moritaka Carrot Potato Test 6 [Balance Point].jpg")
If I dropped down to the middle of the blade, I could feel the shoulder a little in the crosswise cut, but it did not impede the cutting motion and didn't require me to use any extra force.
If I dropped down to the heel, I could hear/feel the carrot crack or split along with the cut, but it didn't create any janky cuts and it didn't really require any extra force or altered motion to make the cut. Again, the knife is heavy enough and the initial cut smooth enough that the momentum really carries itself through the cut.
When I cut the carrots lengthwise it's a different story because, given the length of the carrot, there is no way to avoid sections of the blade in addition to the front. So I could feel the grind in a lengthwise cut, but I wouldn't describe anything that really seemed like wedging. The blade didn't get stuck and it didn't require me to force it through. I could just feel that it was more of a wide bevel design. The weight was, again, a welcome factor.
The knife also performed well with the potatoes. No steering. Equatorial cuts of a still intact potato took a little bit more attention than slicing an already cut potato into wedges. But the knife never felt wedgy and the potatoes either fell of the blade or were easy to remove, thanks to the grind and finish.
Prepped and into the breville they go:
I would still want to test it on harder stuff like beets, squash, etc., before forming a final opinion -- but I think it did pretty well in this test and I enjoyed cutting with it.
Last edited:
Hualicopter
Well-Known Member
That price is quite nice... you have me real tempted to impulse buy this one.
Love his workOne of my 3 nakiri from Karol Karyś:
Got a custom giant bunka from him that rocks
Performance be damned. That knife is sexy AF!
For cutting carrots lengthwise, I've been doing a lot of tip-drawing lately.
Tip-drawing is the only way I survived All Rectangle Weekend. Was a really fun challenge but it definitely made me rethink how I used a square to cut things xDPerformance be damned. That knife is sexy AF!
For cutting carrots lengthwise, I've been doing a lot of tip-drawing lately.
