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I know this is kind of the wrong thread for this but I'm looking into this knife. Do you guys think it's any good? Is it real carbon steel like it says?
https://www.acehardware.com/departm...nDox8acow0vNmBpPMEwaAgPwEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
I would be hesitant to buy most knives that doesn't specify the steel type. There are some brands you can trust you are getting something good, but otherwise I would avoid.

Saying it is carbon steel says nothing. All that means is it is probably hardened. Could be junk stainless or anything else but you could just about guarantee it is cheap basic steel.
 
I know this is kind of the wrong thread for this but I'm looking into this knife. Do you guys think it's any good? Is it real carbon steel like it says?
https://www.acehardware.com/departm...nDox8acow0vNmBpPMEwaAgPwEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
A bit of online digging turns up the fact that this is Chinese manufacture. I suspect the steel is not a good alloy and almost certainly has the sort of indifferent heat treat I have come to expect from Chinese cutlery that tries to conceal its origin.

The handle shape and bolster scream gimmick to me. This knife is the opposite of ergonomic. I would give this brand a wide berth. As suggested above, an Ontario/Old Hickory knife has none of the bling, but they’re solid performers.
 
That is not a knife I would consider. What are you interested in using it for?
Mostly I just like the K tip and saw this said carbon steel rather than "high carbon" and got interested. Would like to put a K tip in my collection sometime
Doubt it's "good". Probably serviceable, if there's no other options.

All knife steels, whether stainless or not, contain carbon. It's the main ingredient in being able to harden it. Otherwise it'd just be iron.
I saw it said "carbon steel" rather than "high carbon" so I wasn't sure. Mostly I just want a decent K tip lol
 
Mostly I just like the K tip and saw this said carbon steel rather than "high carbon" and got interested. Would like to put a K tip in my collection sometime

I saw it said "carbon steel" rather than "high carbon" so I wasn't sure. Mostly I just want a decent K tip lol
https://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/munetoshi-kurouchi-bunka-180mm/

https://www.**************.com/da52bu17.html

https://tokushuknife.com/products/kyohei-shindo-warikomi-blue-2-kurouchi-165mm-bunka-keyaki-handle
 
Thank you! I got setup to be notified when that second one is available. A little more in my price range. Plus I like how it's darker on top.
How do you find these? I search "K tip knives" and nothing good really pops up unless it's like a $1000 knife
First link is Chef Knives to Go .com

Bunka's are a cheaper option with that tip configuration. Otherwise search "gyuto kiritsuke" (make sure to check if it's single bevel, an actual Kiritsuke, or double bevel, gyuto with kiritsuke style tip) or "gyuto ktip".
 
First link is Chef Knives to Go .com

Bunka's are a cheaper option with that tip configuration. Otherwise search "gyuto kiritsuke" (make sure to check if it's single bevel, an actual Kiritsuke, or double bevel, gyuto with kiritsuke style tip) or "gyuto ktip".
That's a good tip. Err, good point.

Someone green lookin for a ktip ending up with an actual kiritsuke would be a catastrophe 😂
 
First link is Chef Knives to Go .com

Bunka's are a cheaper option with that tip configuration. Otherwise search "gyuto kiritsuke" (make sure to check if it's single bevel, an actual Kiritsuke, or double bevel, gyuto with kiritsuke style tip) or "gyuto ktip".
Thank you. I really appreciate it. Idk why, I just have a fascination with a ktip. I have to add one to my beginning collection lol
 
Thank you. I really appreciate it. Idk why, I just have a fascination with a ktip. I have to add one to my beginning collection lol

Buy as many knives as you want but stick to knives you have a use for and that are well designed for that use. It won't narrow your selection much. That Ace Hardware thing is an ergonomic disaster and I can't think of much of any job it would be good at besides maybe rock chopping garlic. So if you need to chop several heads of garlic a day, it might be the knife for you. Otherwise pick out one of the cool rustic k-tips from a Japanese artisan.
 
Buy as many knives as you want but stick to knives you have a use for and that are well designed for that use. It won't narrow your selection much. That Ace Hardware thing is an ergonomic disaster and I can't think of much of any job it would be good at besides maybe rock chopping garlic. So if you need to chop several heads of garlic a day, it might be the knife for you. Otherwise pick out one of the cool rustic k-tips from a Japanese artisan.
I really need to stop paying attention to these $30 knives I come across and like you said, look at the restaurant supply or these Japanese sites. Luckily I have a restaurant supply right down the street. To be honest, I don't have much need for a ktip besides I always thought they look really cool and want one haha
 
I really need to stop paying attention to these $30 knives I come across and like you said, look at the restaurant supply or these Japanese sites. Luckily I have a restaurant supply right down the street. To be honest, I don't have much need for a ktip besides I always thought they look really cool and want one haha
It's a bit counter-intuitive but especially in a low-budget situation you want to skip the junk that's just a waste of money... I wished I had done that because in the end all those junk knives added up to at least 1 good knife.

Furthermore, you have to be strategic about your purchases. Identify your needs and preferences, and if you don't have the knives to really make that assesment, try to see how you can adress that information gap without spending a fortune.

There's a ton of variety when it comes to profiles, lengths, grinds, spine thicknesses, weight/balance, steels and it's hard to really tell someone else what their preferences are; there's no real substitute for trying stuff.

Then you have more specialty knives, whether it's butchering, honesukis, trimming, filleting, etc. How deep you want to dive down that rabbit hole is up to you, but its worth remembering that if you don't do these things daily it's perfectly fine to get a utilitarian professional / restaurant supply store level knife for the job. The majority of meat and fish processing in the world is done with these kind of knives; they may not be sexy but they do the job just fine. Even if you do it daily in fact...
 
but its worth remembering that if you don't do these things daily it's perfectly fine to get a utilitarian professional / restaurant supply store level knife for the job. The majority of meat and fish processing in the world is done with these kind of knives; they may not be sexy but they do the job just fine. Even if you do it daily in fact...
That's why I was curious about that 1.4116 steel that wusthof and zwilling use. I've seen pro chefs use them and worked in a lot of restaurants that recommend them. Why are they so popular among chefs if it isn't good steel?
 
Mostly I just like the K tip and saw this said carbon steel rather than "high carbon" and got interested. Would like to put a K tip in my collection sometime

I saw it said "carbon steel" rather than "high carbon" so I wasn't sure. Mostly I just want a decent K tip lol

I believe the definition of steel is iron+carbon = steel. So all steel is “carbon steel”, which is kinda like saying “carbonated soda”. Although iron+carbon also equals iron, so what do I know?

Anyway, Kyohei Shindo and Shiro Kamo make decent bunkas and k-tips for very reasonable money.
 
I believe the definition of steel is iron+carbon = steel. So all steel is “carbon steel”, which is kinda like saying “carbonated soda”. Although iron+carbon also equals iron, so what do I know?

Anyway, Kyohei Shindo and Shiro Kamo make decent bunkas and k-tips for very reasonable money.
Thank you. I know with pans you have stainless pans, cast iron pans carbon steel pans etc so I get confused with knives. All those pans are very different and have different qualities so I assumed the same is true in knives but a lot of others have been saying the same as you do you're probably right. Just another marketing term for knives
 
That's why I was curious about that 1.4116 steel that wusthof and zwilling use. I've seen pro chefs use them and worked in a lot of restaurants that recommend them. Why are they so popular among chefs if it isn't good steel?
Because it's not as bad as people make it out to be. It's perfectly functional. It's also very cheap, very resistant to dishwashers, works reasonably well in combination with a steel, and like others probably mentioned before: most chefs arent that obsessive about their tools anyway. It's also the kind of stuff they still get recommended or forced to buy when going to culinary school.
Up until relatively history few decades ago Japanese steels and knives were unheard of in the west anyway. It wasn't that long ago that the 'halo knife from Japan' was a Global or a Mac.
 
Thank you. I know with pans you have stainless pans, cast iron pans carbon steel pans etc so I get confused with knives. All those pans are very different and have different qualities so I assumed the same is true in knives but a lot of others have been saying the same as you do you're probably right. Just another marketing term for knives
To confuse you further. Cast iron and carbon steel pans both contain carbon. Cast iron actually more than carbon steel. A lot of these kind of 'category names' don't necessarily make a ton of sense. It's not even necessarily the fault of any marketting departments; a lot of these terms just pop up in common language and they stick.
 
To confuse you further. Cast iron and carbon steel pans both contain carbon. Cast iron actually more than carbon steel. A lot of these kind of 'category names' don't necessarily make a ton of sense. It's not even necessarily the fault of any marketting departments; a lot of these terms just pop up in common language and they stick.
If I remember right, carbon steel is 98% carbon and cast iron is 99%
I don't get it I just know they have different qualities. When I read "carbon steel" on the knife description I thought that's what it would be. I thought that's what these great Japanese knives are made of. Hard carbon steel.
So if a knife says "high carbon" or "carbon steel" it means nothing? Just a marketing tactic?
 
If I remember right, carbon steel is 98% carbon and cast iron is 99%
I don't get it I just know they have different qualities. When I read "carbon steel" on the knife description I thought that's what it would be. I thought that's what these great Japanese knives are made of. Hard carbon steel.
So if a knife says "high carbon" or "carbon steel" it means nothing? Just a marketing tactic?
Most carbon steel pans tend to be 1% carbon (very similar to a lot of knife steels actually) whereas cast iron tends to be around 3% from what I've read. But I don't think there's really a definition on either of them that says they have to be a specific percentage of carbon content so there can be quite some variation.

Honestly in actual usage the materials behave very similar actually. Only reason you see a difference with cast iron vs carbon steel is that most cast iron pans are thicker than most carbon steel pans and have a rougher finish. But once you make them the same thickness and finish them the same they behave very similar.

Carbon steel isnt legally defined so even when it's used in the way we normally use it here (indicating a non-stainless knife) that still doesn't say much since the carbon content can still differ wildly, easily from 0,5% to 1,5%. Only way to really find out is to know what steel the knife is made of and what the specs of the steel are. Even in Japan you can find knives in a wide variety of steels that behave quite similar.

So yes, high carbon or carbon steel are all very hollow terms simply because they aren't officially defined in any manner. If you really want to start understanding steels and its impact on edges I suggest you go read Larrin Thomas's blog. But that rabbit whole runs pretty deep... ;)
 
... If you really want to start understanding steels and its impact on edges I suggest you go read Larrin Thomas's blog. But that rabbit whole runs pretty deep... ;)
Better yet, buy Larrin's book - Knife Engineering.
 
Most carbon steel pans tend to be 1% carbon (very similar to a lot of knife steels actually) whereas cast iron tends to be around 3% from what I've read. But I don't think there's really a definition on either of them that says they have to be a specific percentage of carbon content so there can be quite some variation.

Honestly in actual usage the materials behave very similar actually. Only reason you see a difference with cast iron vs carbon steel is that most cast iron pans are thicker than most carbon steel pans and have a rougher finish. But once you make them the same thickness and finish them the same they behave very similar.

Carbon steel isnt legally defined so even when it's used in the way we normally use it here (indicating a non-stainless knife) that still doesn't say much since the carbon content can still differ wildly, easily from 0,5% to 1,5%. Only way to really find out is to know what steel the knife is made of and what the specs of the steel are. Even in Japan you can find knives in a wide variety of steels that behave quite similar.

So yes, high carbon or carbon steel are all very hollow terms simply because they aren't officially defined in any manner. If you really want to start understanding steels and its impact on edges I suggest you go read Larrin Thomas's blog. But that rabbit whole runs pretty deep... ;)
I will have to learn more about steels soon. I'm still obsessed with getting my sharpening down haha.
Thank you. I'm learning to never trust what a knife says. It doesn't mean much. Too bad it's not known more so regular people looking for a carbon steel knife like the good Japanese kind didn't get fooled
 
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