Maybe I do the same. But first I have to find a good sharpenerI wasn't me who thinned it. I took it to a local sharpener who did a great job with it.
Maybe I do the same. But first I have to find a good sharpenerI wasn't me who thinned it. I took it to a local sharpener who did a great job with it.
Some interesting find when I was doing research, there’s no result for Shanzu/膳祖 cutlery on TaoBao or JD, the top 2 e-platform in China. As a cutlery brand they don’t exist, they are more likely just exporting e-commerce companies slapping labels on OEMs for customers who want exotic sounding names. But interesting searching on TianYanCha - the largest open business registry list in China- I find Shanzu is a real company, just a one that manufacture pots and pans with a drastically different logo, unlikely to have any relation with this weird thing here.Ok I’ve been seeing this ad a lot and just bought it off Amazon, I’m glad I did so because Amazon does have a good return policy. See this for yourself.
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For what it's worth the listed composition is very similar to S35VN. The carbon balance is a bit higher so one might expect a little higher achievable hardness and a larger carbide volume. Do you know what the company used for composition analysis? If its XRF then that would definitely explain the low carbon measured. IDK about the nickel.The lab will run a test again, so no conclusion yet
Thanks! They market it as a powered steel blade.For what it's worth the listed composition is very similar to S35VN. The carbon balance is a bit higher so one might expect a little higher achievable hardness and a larger carbide volume. Do you know what the company used for composition analysis? If its XRF then that would definitely explain the low carbon measured. IDK about the nickel.
Why do you think it's powder steel? It's a little hard to tell without scale bars on the micrographs but it really doesn't look like a PM steel.
Overall to me it looks a lot like a non-pm version of S35VN
Again it's pretty hard to tell without scale bars but the carbide morphology certainly looks quite different from S35VN and other similar PM steels. Maybe they could send you a copy with scale bars attached to the image or some more info about the image so we can make scale bars.Thanks! They market it as a powered steel blade.
I hope the sharpener will respect the typical geometry.Maybe I do the same. But first I have to find a good sharpener
Thanks! I did some measurements and the carbide size seems to suggest that it is a PM steel. But I still think the carbide structure looks quite odd compared to other PM steels. I wonder if they are using an older process.Here's the graphics with scales and more information attached.
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Thank you! Could this be the result of inadequate heat treatment, too?Thanks! I did some measurements and the carbide size seems to suggest that it is a PM steel. But I still think the carbide structure looks quite odd compared to other PM steels. I wonder if they are using an older process.
Hmm possibly. Long times at high temperatures could cause the carbides to coarsen but the angular nature of the carbides and the banding in the steel suggest that the issue is the "PM" process.Thank you! Could this be the result of inadequate heat treatment, too?
Thanks!Hmm possibly. Long times at high temperatures could cause the carbides to coarsen but the angular nature of the carbides and the banding in the steel suggest that the issue is the "PM" process.
A Hezhen, which suppose to be the higher end label of Xinzuo. Honestly it doesnt look bad, the packaging proudly says Made in China, not pretending to be something else. The handle is ok, fit&finish is on par with its $60 price point. The blade itself is somewhat wide bevel, much better than the Xinzuo yesterday, still didn’t out cut Vnox, but with some thining it should be workable. The steel 10Cr15CoMoV is just Chinese VG10, with proper HT it should be a good hard steel. The only problem I see is with little more you are going to the Tojiro DP and Fujiwara Kanefusa range which performs out of the box. It does has the wa handle and hammer thing going tho. No distal taper what so ever, but it’s normal in the price range. Would I buy it myself? No, but if someone want a wa handle knife to look at probably not bad, or just want a project knife to play with. (It’s not gonna be worse than Dao Vua)
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I have four Xinzuo/Hezhen knives, but much more high end, and they perform very well. Two are Chinese VG10 and two are 110 layer dual core.This knife is on sale for 32$ on Aliexpress. I wonder if it's still worth buying at the moment?
Not really, if you want something good just go for Dongsun hammered Damascus, slightly more expensive but a lot betterThis knife is on sale for 32$ on Aliexpress. I wonder if it's still worth buying at the moment?
A Hezhen, which suppose to be the higher end label of Xinzuo. Honestly it doesnt look bad, the packaging proudly says Made in China, not pretending to be something else. The handle is ok, fit&finish is on par with its $60 price point. The blade itself is somewhat wide bevel, much better than the Xinzuo yesterday, still didn’t out cut Vnox, but with some thining it should be workable. The steel 10Cr15CoMoV is just Chinese VG10, with proper HT it should be a good hard steel. The only problem I see is with little more you are going to the Tojiro DP and Fujiwara Kanefusa range which performs out of the box. It does has the wa handle and hammer thing going tho. No distal taper what so ever, but it’s normal in the price range. Would I buy it myself? No, but if someone want a wa handle knife to look at probably not bad, or just want a project knife to play with. (It’s not gonna be worse than Dao Vua)
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There are about 80 different Xinzuo/Hezhen knives listed at Ali Baba--with an AliExpress price range from less than $10 to more than $200. Hard to generalize about the brand.I looked at getting some branded for my store but the knives were not up to my standard. I came across the same issues as @blokey did and the wholesale price is only a few dollars less than $60.
The handles are good but I'm concerned about the origin of the timber.
Sadly I have to agree with this, I tired both their highest end and lower end stuff, all suffers from mediocre blades. The high end “powered steel” is more like spray formed under microscope and the heat treatment seems pretty bad. ( I also sent Larrin those metallographs, he also thinks it’s more likely something spray formed than actual powder metallurgy)I looked at getting some branded for my store but the knives were not up to my standard. I came across the same issues as @blokey did and the wholesale price is only a few dollars less than $60.
The handles are good but I'm concerned about the origin of the timber.
Tho if you are looking for some good cleavers for sale, I have Fu Yi Dao on contact, they are a family business based in Shanghai, does really good forged cleavers in both stainless and carbonI looked at getting some branded for my store but the knives were not up to my standard. I came across the same issues as @blokey did and the wholesale price is only a few dollars less than $60.
The handles are good but I'm concerned about the origin of the timber.
I like Ide-san's knives (Yosimitu Kajiya), they are generally a low height as you say but I've found his aogami knives are a bit closer to 50mm.3. Yoshimitsu kajiya from Nagasaki
Pros: Nice profile, good steel (for me), iron clad for polishing potential.
Cons: Low height, around 45mm if I remember correctly.
I used a Yoshikane SKD 240mm quite a bit at work. The heel height was not tall.I like Ide-san's knives (Yosimitu Kajiya), they are generally a low height as you say but I've found his aogami knives are a bit closer to 50mm.
I prefer a lower height of blade, I like a more nimble knife and Yosimitu Kajiya knives are perfect for this. I worked in kitchens for decades and I definitely like the suji/Gyuto style.I used a Yoshikane SKD 240mm quite a bit at work. The heel height was not tall.
This made it excellent for peeling cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple. It also was light & nimble for speed cutting. Excellent knife between tall heel & slicer.
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