CPM-D2 Gyuto Pass-Around (Proposal)

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All packed up and ready to go a while ago. Unfortunately I have a pretty severe case of what is going around. I apologise to all for holding up the passaround.
 
MSicardCutlery said:
https://i1.wp.com/knifesteelnerds.c...2019/07/steel-carbide-volumes.jpg?w=527&ssl=1

36% Chromium Carbide, and no appreciable volumes of W or V. It all probably gets absorbed by the Cr carbide
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Cheers, that’s a great chart.
I forgot to say the reason I asked was regarding an earlier post about good compromise steels for kitchen knives. Is ZDP something that western makers can use these days? I seem to recall it used to be pretty hard to get unless you knew the right person.
 
captaincaed said:
Cheers, that’s a great chart.
I forgot to say the reason I asked was regarding an earlier post about good compromise steels for kitchen knives. Is ZDP something that western makers can use these days? I seem to recall it used to be pretty hard to get unless you knew the right person.
Click to expand...

FWIW, Spyderco converted their ZDP-189 Seki offerings over to K390. Sal cited ZDP-189 supply issues and that is in Japan. It could be a volume thing though with Spyderco requiring a fair amount.
 
captaincaed said:
Cheers, that’s a great chart.
I forgot to say the reason I asked was regarding an earlier post about good compromise steels for kitchen knives. Is ZDP something that western makers can use these days? I seem to recall it used to be pretty hard to get unless you knew the right person.
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Ahhh, gotcha.

It is extraordinarily difficult to find. I personally probably wouldn't use it even if I could (well, maybe once just to say so). Given how expensive just the white and blue steels are after import, I could probably afford to make knives in S90V, and throw in a Naniwa diamond stone and still come out cheaper overall than if I were to ever use ZDP-189.
 
Wow that paints a picture, thank you for the info. I have one ZDP knife that’s had great edge retention, but nothing so good it’s worth going to the expense you described.

Anyhow, I’m having a good time reading along, really curious to hear how things go. CPM-154 is a really cool steel, and if CPM-D2 is in the same ballpark, it’ll make me rethink it seriously. I am no fan of the ingot variety, but would love to have my mind changed.
 
I've really been wanting to play with CPM-154CM too. By @zizirex 's account, the knife sharpens more easily than the SLD knives he's used previously. Whether that's just a function of hardness or hardness and microstructure is hard for me to say. I've never touched the ingot stuff. D2 sees essentially the same set and margin of improvements that 154CM does when made by the PM process. The toughness roughly doubles, and working with it become easier too.
 
I used the knife extensively last week at work. Since Matt had urged it, I was not shy, using it on all manner of veg and protein. It withstood the professional environment admirably. When I have a bit more time to pontificate, I will go into greater depth about my experience with it.

I will pack it up tonight and get it ready to send off the Chang.

Thank you very much Matt, for putting this together, offering up your blade, and allowing me to get on board!
 
I wanted to elaborate a little more on my experience using the PA knife. I have handled a number of Matt's knives in the process of doing sayas for them, but never used one, so I was looking forward to the experience.

When I took this one out of the box, I was impressed with the feel of it immediately. While there was taper, the spine was thick enough to offer a sturdier, weightier feel that I prefer. I would put it in the light middleweight class. The profile really worked for me, as someone who grew up on European blades. I also enjoyed the burnt oak handle from a pragmatic performance perspective. It was a good size and had a grippy texture even when damp or a little greasy. Aesthetically, I prefer something a little showier, but I can argue with this constructs usability.

The knife arrived sharp, shaving sharp anyway, so I didnt freshen it up before I took it to work. I sort of regretted that. On my first day, I did a couple of soups which required quite a bit of mire poix, and I also cubed 4 butternut squash to roast. Credit to Matt's grind, The knife performed very well on thick carrots and the butternut. It was not as effortless as with my Kipp the week before, but there wasnt any cracking or splitting, and I couldnt feel any significant wedging. On onions and peppers, the Wat I had with me cut more easily and smoothly, but I think this was primarily due to my laziness in not freshening the edge before I started with it.

I am not sure what the protocol is in a passaround as far as sharpening goes. There are a lot of participants, and I don't want to grind away too much steel. I did take it home and worked the edge a little on a BBW, just to touch it up. Didnt raise a burr, just tried to clean up the apex. It noticeably improved on onions the next day. Sharpening is not my greatest strength, and I can't off insights into how this version of D2 felt compared to other versions, but I can vouch for it's durability. I didnt notice any chippiness or brittleness while I used it, and I used it on some pretty tough veg.
 
MSicardCutlery said:
Update: the knife should be on its way to the next participant in the coming days

U.S

@birdsfan -PA-Pro
@Chang -PA -Pro
@FishmanDE -NY-Pro <- Knife is here
@labor of love -LA-Pro
@Malcolm Johnson -UT-Pro
@M1k3 -CA-Pro
@ch_br -CA
@Gshep91 -CA
@superworrier -CA
@Barmoley -CA
@xsmx13 -CA
@timebard -UT
@AT5760 -NE
@More_Gyutos -FL
@SwampDonkey -FL
@nickrut -GA
@Heckel7302 -IN
@Up_dog128 -NC
@Justinv -NY
@brimmergj -VT
@ian -MA
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I am actually in California now! So I think that actually works better anyways. Stoked to try it out
 
ch_br said:
Craig @labor of love, you'd better put that bisch through its paces, cuz @Chang has had radio silence...

Inquiring minds want to know!
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Already told @MSicardCutlery before the passaround that I might not be able to sit down and write down my thoughts on the knife, but I would tell him what’s up, and he was cool with that. Thus the silence.

Buuuut since I’m here, good steel. Didn’t get to sharpen it, which was what I really wanted to do. Kinda wanted it ground just a bit thinner at the edge, but Matt told me that it was thicker on purpose because of passaround. So yah, amazing values for handmade kitchen knives, really classy profiles.

I Can Dig It GIF by Soul Train
 
At @M1k3 's suggestion I'm making a small adjustment to the order to eliminate some zig zagging in California. Essentially I've just moved @Barmoley to be after @ch_br. Let me know if there are any issues resulting from that.

U.S

@birdsfan -PA-Pro
@Chang -PA -Pro
@FishmanDE -NY-Pro <- Knife is here
@labor of love -LA-Pro
@Malcolm Johnson -UT-Pro
@M1k3 -CA-Pro
@ch_br -CA
@Barmoley -CA
@Gshep91 -CA
@superworrier -CA
@xsmx13 -CA
@timebard -UT
@AT5760 -NE
@More_Gyutos -FL
@SwampDonkey -FL
@nickrut -GA
@Heckel7302 -IN
@Up_dog128 -NC
@Justinv -NY
@brimmergj -VT
@ian -MA
 
MSicardCutlery said:
At @M1k3 's suggestion I'm making a small adjustment to the order to eliminate some zig zagging in California. Essentially I've just moved @Barmoley to be after @ch_br. Let me know if there are any issues resulting from that.

U.S

@birdsfan -PA-Pro
@Chang -PA -Pro
@FishmanDE -NY-Pro <- Knife is here
@labor of love -LA-Pro
@Malcolm Johnson -UT-Pro
@M1k3 -CA-Pro
@ch_br -CA
@Barmoley -CA
@Gshep91 -CA
@superworrier -CA
@xsmx13 -CA
@timebard -UT
@AT5760 -NE
@More_Gyutos -FL
@SwampDonkey -FL
@nickrut -GA
@Heckel7302 -IN
@Up_dog128 -NC
@Justinv -NY
@brimmergj -VT
@ian -MA
Click to expand...
Looks like we are both in los angeles somewhere so I don't see a problem.
 
I’m going to bow out of this one guys. Life keeps getting crazier and crazier and I’ve cooked maybe 3 meals in the last 3 weeks.

Appreciate the opportunity but I don’t want to just waste time it could be getting used by someone else. @MSicardCutlery feel free to remove my name. Shouldn’t mess up the order either!
 
Gshep91 said:
I’m going to bow out of this one guys. Life keeps getting crazier and crazier and I’ve cooked maybe 3 meals in the last 3 weeks.

Appreciate the opportunity but I don’t want to just waste time it could be getting used by someone else. @MSicardCutlery feel free to remove my name. Shouldn’t mess up the order either!
Click to expand...

Alrighty. Hope everything works out for you
 
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Knife arrived earlier safely. The day after Christmas should in theory be one of the slowest days of the year for work so I should have time to play with it some.
Like others have said probably could be a little thinner at the edge but this makes total sense for a passaround knife-if anyone checks out Matt’s normal work you can see he usually has very thin bte grinds.
There is a very slight bend somewhere in the blade might be the smallest bend I’ve ever seen but it’s there. Not a priority to fix IMO considering it’s hardly getting sharpened during the passaround except for touch ups.
 
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