I started working with Del on these over a month ago at the request of a mutual friend. This knife is the culmination of several drafts and improvements in the consistency and fit and finish are still being made.
I can honestly say that Del has finally made an excellent knife. It is 2 mm thick at the spine over the heel and tapers slowly until it reaches the secondary bevel (sharpeners terminology) whereupon it tapers dramatically to an exceedingly thin point. The knife is on the stiff side, similar to DTITK or Carter esp considering it is quite thin. It owes its stiffness to the height of the blade at the heel ~60 mm making it the tallest knife Ive considered adding to my arsenal. While it is about as tall as a Takeda, I much prefer the feel of Dels knife. Dels O1 at 61 hrc is well known for easily taking an excellent edge and it holding quite well. It cuts very well at the tip in this incarnation, rivaling some of the best knives Ive used and the heel feels solid and is able to handle tough jobs with virtually no release issues. The handle is just like Dels other handles, very unique to Del and very comfortable. I personally like the darker, more dramatic redwood burl piece on this knife better than most but thats just me.
What I didnt like was the left-handed grind, lol. Slices released perfectly when I cut potatoes left handed in careful, even slices but stuck quite well on the right side making the same cuts. I was surprised because 4 of 5 of the other drafts he ground were about even or slightly right-handed and released well from both sides. The knife was a full cm shorter than I specified, as well. The latest knife had the spine and choil eased as opposed to rounded and a small amount of HT scale (or other blackish material) was still visible in some places. There were a couple of holes in the board contact which also made sharpening impossible. I did fix this and the knife was passed on to a very happy left-handed individual.
In conclusion, Del has officially made an excellent or even outstanding performing knife by my own personal standards. As he becomes more comfortable with this type of grind, I expect his blades will be more consistent. Im looking forward to owning one in the future.
I can honestly say that Del has finally made an excellent knife. It is 2 mm thick at the spine over the heel and tapers slowly until it reaches the secondary bevel (sharpeners terminology) whereupon it tapers dramatically to an exceedingly thin point. The knife is on the stiff side, similar to DTITK or Carter esp considering it is quite thin. It owes its stiffness to the height of the blade at the heel ~60 mm making it the tallest knife Ive considered adding to my arsenal. While it is about as tall as a Takeda, I much prefer the feel of Dels knife. Dels O1 at 61 hrc is well known for easily taking an excellent edge and it holding quite well. It cuts very well at the tip in this incarnation, rivaling some of the best knives Ive used and the heel feels solid and is able to handle tough jobs with virtually no release issues. The handle is just like Dels other handles, very unique to Del and very comfortable. I personally like the darker, more dramatic redwood burl piece on this knife better than most but thats just me.
What I didnt like was the left-handed grind, lol. Slices released perfectly when I cut potatoes left handed in careful, even slices but stuck quite well on the right side making the same cuts. I was surprised because 4 of 5 of the other drafts he ground were about even or slightly right-handed and released well from both sides. The knife was a full cm shorter than I specified, as well. The latest knife had the spine and choil eased as opposed to rounded and a small amount of HT scale (or other blackish material) was still visible in some places. There were a couple of holes in the board contact which also made sharpening impossible. I did fix this and the knife was passed on to a very happy left-handed individual.
In conclusion, Del has officially made an excellent or even outstanding performing knife by my own personal standards. As he becomes more comfortable with this type of grind, I expect his blades will be more consistent. Im looking forward to owning one in the future.