BillHanna
Gotta get ready for ARM
The weight is sooooo nice
Jack Clarke Mini Cleaver/Megakiri Passaround
- Thread starter Chang
- Start date
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Yeah, I love this thing. Really, REALLY fun. I usually don’t like stuff this length (225 is honestly about as short as I like) but with the weight it’s a funnnnn one. If this were 180x70 I’d really be totally in trouble and wanting one. Such a compact slayer that can still do a micro Brunoise no problem. These were my first cuts and I could really start moving when I got tue feel for it
BillHanna
Gotta get ready for ARM
How’s it going so far?
Dan-
Senior Member
It’s been, what, 3 weeks now? @Malcolm Johnson must be really enjoying this knife.
BillHanna
Gotta get ready for ARM
I mean.... I can't blame him.
Sorry guys, these past few weeks I’ve used it 3 times…. I’ve had a TON of stuff happening in life that just turned a lot of things upside down for my family and actually just popped on to ask for the next participants address. Love the knife and I’ll try and get some writing up soon.
hope everythin's good homie, hmu if ya need anythin
Dan-
Senior Member
I received this chonky nakiri a couple weeks ago. By now, @Jville should have it, or at least, it's on his front porch.
The first meal I made I julienned and pickled carrots and korean daikon for some bahn mis. I hadn't sharpened the knife at this point, and I hated it.
The second meal had to wait a few days. For this one, I eventually sharpened the knife using a SP1k--> SP2k --> j-nat progression and the knife came alive. The thiccness no longer mattered; I could execute horizontal onion cuts no problem. This knife is excellent for veggies for western and many eastern recipes. I posted some examples in the What's cooking thread.
The first meal I made I julienned and pickled carrots and korean daikon for some bahn mis. I hadn't sharpened the knife at this point, and I hated it.
The second meal had to wait a few days. For this one, I eventually sharpened the knife using a SP1k--> SP2k --> j-nat progression and the knife came alive. The thiccness no longer mattered; I could execute horizontal onion cuts no problem. This knife is excellent for veggies for western and many eastern recipes. I posted some examples in the What's cooking thread.
Gave it a maintenance thinning, cleaned up the finish. Will post my full thoughts later this week but I’ll have it on its way soon.
Jville
I used to work in a Mexican restaurant
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2018
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Thanks Chang for the opportunity to test drive this mini workhorse. I try not to read to many opinions usually before my turn, but I'd be surprised if added any revelation to the thread. That being said here is my 2 cents:
Substantial in hand- for a smaller knife the substantial feel gives it a workhorse characteristic that makes you want to attack a prep list.
Still light- event though it feels very substantial in hand because it's a smaller knife it doesn't feel very heavy if you compared it to some bigger knives, of course you don't have the blade length of say a small cleaver. This gives the knife a feel of the weight doing alot of the work but in a much smaller package most smaller nakiris don't have this feel to it. It has a somewhat similar feel as a shig ku nakiri, which I personally liked.
Stable- feels very stable on the board. You can be aggressive without babying it(within reason of course) I didn't take it through hard squash but would have like too. Doing things like tip draws are no worry.
Great overall cutter- I know Bill said he didn't like doing apples with it, but I did (I think) 8 quarts of apple wedges to be mascerated, and it was a pleasure. I really enjoyed the food release and found it to drop through without wedging. I cut alot of onions. It dropped through nicely, food release is not Takeda magic but it's a good workhorse release. Carrots a little brrraaap, but still enjoyable and easy. And very competent for detail work like bruniose. Celery it was nimble and stable doing draw cuts and the weight made it drop through with ease
Good steel- steel felt nice with a light sharpening. I did a quick down and dirty sharpening, but felt like steel had much more potential. I know grind helps with the stability on board, but still steel felt stable on the board. Seemed to have pretty good edge retention
Fun- it's a fun knife to use. It gives me a similar feel to my raquin kt that I used to have and miss. That feeling of overall toughness with good enough cutting ability to not be tedious by feeling like you are struggling through product. The weight makes it feel complete like you aren't using a little knife, but then it has a nimble feel to it still being such a small blade. Really great if you have a small board, tight space but alot of prep to do. It feels very versatile like it can attack just about whatever, within reason of course. It also has that nice rustic but refined feeling to it like my ex raquin that is very endearing and comforting in use.
Overall it's definitely a knife I liked alot and that fits me personally. Some knives jive better with some than it does with others, and this one fit me really nicely. It would be one that I would bust out, if I owned it. The overall composition attracts me and would have it's own unique place among my knives with its personalilty that it would probably not get designated to the drawer. And while most nakiris(I mean to me it's not a cleaver. It's still a nakiri although it begins to challenge the title) usually end up sold. I think this one might escape bst, but idk I thought I would not sell some other small nakiris and sold them. But I think this one would tug at my heart enough to keep. Buuuuut...
Substantial in hand- for a smaller knife the substantial feel gives it a workhorse characteristic that makes you want to attack a prep list.
Still light- event though it feels very substantial in hand because it's a smaller knife it doesn't feel very heavy if you compared it to some bigger knives, of course you don't have the blade length of say a small cleaver. This gives the knife a feel of the weight doing alot of the work but in a much smaller package most smaller nakiris don't have this feel to it. It has a somewhat similar feel as a shig ku nakiri, which I personally liked.
Stable- feels very stable on the board. You can be aggressive without babying it(within reason of course) I didn't take it through hard squash but would have like too. Doing things like tip draws are no worry.
Great overall cutter- I know Bill said he didn't like doing apples with it, but I did (I think) 8 quarts of apple wedges to be mascerated, and it was a pleasure. I really enjoyed the food release and found it to drop through without wedging. I cut alot of onions. It dropped through nicely, food release is not Takeda magic but it's a good workhorse release. Carrots a little brrraaap, but still enjoyable and easy. And very competent for detail work like bruniose. Celery it was nimble and stable doing draw cuts and the weight made it drop through with ease
Good steel- steel felt nice with a light sharpening. I did a quick down and dirty sharpening, but felt like steel had much more potential. I know grind helps with the stability on board, but still steel felt stable on the board. Seemed to have pretty good edge retention
Fun- it's a fun knife to use. It gives me a similar feel to my raquin kt that I used to have and miss. That feeling of overall toughness with good enough cutting ability to not be tedious by feeling like you are struggling through product. The weight makes it feel complete like you aren't using a little knife, but then it has a nimble feel to it still being such a small blade. Really great if you have a small board, tight space but alot of prep to do. It feels very versatile like it can attack just about whatever, within reason of course. It also has that nice rustic but refined feeling to it like my ex raquin that is very endearing and comforting in use.
Overall it's definitely a knife I liked alot and that fits me personally. Some knives jive better with some than it does with others, and this one fit me really nicely. It would be one that I would bust out, if I owned it. The overall composition attracts me and would have it's own unique place among my knives with its personalilty that it would probably not get designated to the drawer. And while most nakiris(I mean to me it's not a cleaver. It's still a nakiri although it begins to challenge the title) usually end up sold. I think this one might escape bst, but idk I thought I would not sell some other small nakiris and sold them. But I think this one would tug at my heart enough to keep. Buuuuut...
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Appreciate ya takin' the time to do the write up.
I'm not a nakiri and/or a cleaver guy at all and this also tugged at my heart strings...thus starting off this entire passaround to instill such carnal and kawaii feelings into other knife whores like me.
Also, that feeling when you get a knife from a newer/"who are ya" (sorry Jack if ya reading this) maker and it performs at this level.... really makes ya shed a tear ya know
OK! let's get this moving! here's the updated passaround order list:
hmu if y'all have any questions. don't care what carrier y'all use, just please insure the package for $500.
- @BillHanna
- @Malcolm Johnson
- @Dan-
- @Jville
- @ethompson
- @SolidSnake03
- @mrmoves92
- @Matt Jacobs
- @PPIIBBSS
- @Gshep91
the knife is thicccc, but please, still pack it well and ready to abused (as usual). not required, but cleaning up and sharpening the cleaver for the next patron is good etiquette, but of course, only if you feel comfortable doing so. if you ferk the cleaver up, you owe me a mountain of kisses, just warning ya now!
I really appreciate everyone being so patient with me. the past month has been insane for me.
thank y'all, thank y'all, THANK Y'ALL
Also gonna try to update the order list:
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Jville
I used to work in a Mexican restaurant
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2018
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- 2,648
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- 3,187
Ya, it was definitely cool to experience Jack Clarke's work. I had never heard of him and it is easy to see he is doing quality stuff and has his own style. Thanks!Appreciate ya takin' the time to do the write up.
I'm not a nakiri and/or a cleaver guy at all and this also tugged at my heart strings...thus starting off this entire passaround to instill such carnal and kawaii feelings into other knife whores like me.
Also, that feeling when you get a knife from a newer/"who are ya" (sorry Jack if ya reading this) maker and it performs at this level.... really makes ya shed a tear ya know
SolidSnake03
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2014
- Messages
- 1,796
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Knife has landed with me! Boy she is thick, the spine coming out of the handle is absurd in the best possible way. Can’t wait to get to using it 
The knife arrived earlier today in great condition, and I used it to make dinner. I am going to use it more before I give any thoughts. I noticed that the spine is a bit wavy, but the edge looks nice and straight.
Matt Jacobs
Senior Member
I plan on shipping this out Monday. What a fun knife, cuts way better than I expected. Il post a writ up soon
Matt Jacobs
Senior Member
Thank you for getting me in on this one. I loved this knife, it was a blast to use.
First off, this is not a carrot knife, it will crack carrots like crazy. This guy is thick. I didnt think I would like it very much between the heft and thickness from the spine to top of the bevel. My first couple of cuts were carrots and a sweet potato, I was not very impressed. Then I decided to use this as my only knife for a few meals and really fell in love. For any short or softer ingredients this guy is amazing. I made a few different types of salsa and it really slays onion, peppers, cilantro etc. You almost dont have to try to cut things like that just based on the weight. The more I used it the more I loved it. Tomatoes worked particularly well for me, I cut them like an onion and loved it. After a few uses I reached out to Jack and plan on purchasing a custom from him, not sure what yet but we will figure it out. He was also really fun to chat with, he commented on all my Instagram posts and was grateful for my feedback.
My only real negative is the handle. It works for this knife being so rustic but I am not a fan of the transitions between wood types. It felt unfinished to me, I would prefer either an heirloom treatment or to have it sanded flush.
Full disclosure, I am not a huge fan of Joel's work (Jack's teacher) the two I have tried felt like a good blacksmith making knives but not necessarily testing them on food. Almost like close to being really good but too thick behind the edge and kind of lifeless. I am not knocking Joel, they just didnt jive with me.
It was the opposite with Jack's work. This one is very thin at the edge and felt like it had "soul" I also don't love 26c3, it looses toothiness to quickly for my like Shirogami, but this one had a great edge and still felt fantastic after a week of daily use. I dont know what else to say other than this is just a really fun knife and I am glad @Chang let me try it out. I will come up with something cool from Jack and hopefully share here soon. Thank you and enjoy.
First off, this is not a carrot knife, it will crack carrots like crazy. This guy is thick. I didnt think I would like it very much between the heft and thickness from the spine to top of the bevel. My first couple of cuts were carrots and a sweet potato, I was not very impressed. Then I decided to use this as my only knife for a few meals and really fell in love. For any short or softer ingredients this guy is amazing. I made a few different types of salsa and it really slays onion, peppers, cilantro etc. You almost dont have to try to cut things like that just based on the weight. The more I used it the more I loved it. Tomatoes worked particularly well for me, I cut them like an onion and loved it. After a few uses I reached out to Jack and plan on purchasing a custom from him, not sure what yet but we will figure it out. He was also really fun to chat with, he commented on all my Instagram posts and was grateful for my feedback.
My only real negative is the handle. It works for this knife being so rustic but I am not a fan of the transitions between wood types. It felt unfinished to me, I would prefer either an heirloom treatment or to have it sanded flush.
Full disclosure, I am not a huge fan of Joel's work (Jack's teacher) the two I have tried felt like a good blacksmith making knives but not necessarily testing them on food. Almost like close to being really good but too thick behind the edge and kind of lifeless. I am not knocking Joel, they just didnt jive with me.
It was the opposite with Jack's work. This one is very thin at the edge and felt like it had "soul" I also don't love 26c3, it looses toothiness to quickly for my like Shirogami, but this one had a great edge and still felt fantastic after a week of daily use. I dont know what else to say other than this is just a really fun knife and I am glad @Chang let me try it out. I will come up with something cool from Jack and hopefully share here soon. Thank you and enjoy.
Matt Jacobs
Senior Member
Sorry for my late response. I agree with a lot that has been said already. I have some thoughts, but I didn’t use it as much as I would have liked to and most of the cooking that I did required similar prep/cutting to each other, so I don’t have a ton to say.
My Preferences:
Using this knife was fun, but it might not perfectly suit my preferences. Despite liking flatter profiles, I have avoided nakiri because of their lack of narrow tips. I found myself missing the tip at times, but I really liked the flat profile. I generally like 240mm-270mm gyutos that are very thin at/behind the edge but with enough weight to allow very easy cutting. Initially, I wanted to try this knife because it was so heavy for its length (which would give it more power during a cut and an easier cutting feel, like my general preferences), and it has a forged hollow for better food release (which I have been exploring a bit recently).
Fit and Finish:
Good, overall. The blade looks great, with a nice kurouchi and beautiful cladding (I am sure the polish from @ethompson helped here too). The handle was okay, and I didn’t notice it in use, which is good, but I probably would have preferred a simpler design with fewer pieces. I could feel slight steps at each transition. When feeling the spine and choil rounding by themselves, the corners still felt a bit sharp, but I never noticed any discomfort during use.
Cutting Performance/Ease:
This knife is nice and thin at/just behind the edge, but it thickens up quick enough to not be ideal for me with non-soft ingredients. I loved this knife for slicing green onions and garlic, but even on large onions, I felt like I wanted a thinner knife. Unfortunately, I didn’t cut up any carrots, or anything else really dense during that week to test wedgyness, but I did cut some somewhat thin slices of potato for potato au gratin. Those went well, but the knife still required a bit more input/effort compared to other thinner knives, but it still did really well. Overall, the cutting performance/ease of this knife reminded me of my Takeda because they both generally cut well, have forged hollows behind the bevels, and can wedge in denser foods. I tend to grab my Takeda for very specific tasks that it excels at, and I would probably do the same with this knife if I owned it.
Food Release:
The food release was great. As long as ingredients were large enough, they would either not stick to the blade or fall off predictably after 1-2 cuts. I really dislike when food sticks to a knife and builds enough on the blade to reach your hand, which is part of the reason that I tend to like longer knives. The food release of this knife prevented this from happening excessively on such a short blade, which was really nice. The weight did help a lot to overcome the wedgier grind and make cutting feel much easier.
Comparisons to Other Knives:
As I was on the fence about this knife, I wanted to compare it to other knives in my collection that have similarities to this knife (pictured below): Takeda medium gyuto (similar grind), Merion Forge gyuto (similar weight: 330g), and Hardent Knives hollow-forged gyuto (similar grind). I only compared their performance/food release while slicing potatoes. Let me know if this section is not cool to include in a pass around thread, and I will remove it, but I thought that it could be helpful.
All knives:
Jack Clarke:
Hardent
Takeda
Merion:
The Merion Forge gyuto felt like it had the best performance/cutting ease because it was really heavy but with a higher grind. The Hardent and Takeda gyutos felt like they had the best food release. The Takeda can steer a bit at times (I didn’t notice this issue with the Jack Clarke nakiri). While the Jack Clarke nakiri didn’t come out on top in either category, it has a nice balance of excellent food realease with good cutting performance, especially on softer ingredients. Also, the conclusions that can be drawn from this comparison are very limited because it only includes one technique and one ingredient, so take this with a grain of salt.
Conclusion:
Thank you @Chang for allowing me to join this pass around! I had fun and learned stuff about my preferences while using the knife. Due to the rectangular shape and thicker/lower/wedgier grind, I don’t think that this knife is for me, but I could definitely see myself ordering a knife from Jack Clarke in the future - probably something longer, thinner (but still with forged hollow hiras), and with a tip. Sorry for my disorganized, rambling thoughts.
My Preferences:
Using this knife was fun, but it might not perfectly suit my preferences. Despite liking flatter profiles, I have avoided nakiri because of their lack of narrow tips. I found myself missing the tip at times, but I really liked the flat profile. I generally like 240mm-270mm gyutos that are very thin at/behind the edge but with enough weight to allow very easy cutting. Initially, I wanted to try this knife because it was so heavy for its length (which would give it more power during a cut and an easier cutting feel, like my general preferences), and it has a forged hollow for better food release (which I have been exploring a bit recently).
Fit and Finish:
Good, overall. The blade looks great, with a nice kurouchi and beautiful cladding (I am sure the polish from @ethompson helped here too). The handle was okay, and I didn’t notice it in use, which is good, but I probably would have preferred a simpler design with fewer pieces. I could feel slight steps at each transition. When feeling the spine and choil rounding by themselves, the corners still felt a bit sharp, but I never noticed any discomfort during use.
Cutting Performance/Ease:
This knife is nice and thin at/just behind the edge, but it thickens up quick enough to not be ideal for me with non-soft ingredients. I loved this knife for slicing green onions and garlic, but even on large onions, I felt like I wanted a thinner knife. Unfortunately, I didn’t cut up any carrots, or anything else really dense during that week to test wedgyness, but I did cut some somewhat thin slices of potato for potato au gratin. Those went well, but the knife still required a bit more input/effort compared to other thinner knives, but it still did really well. Overall, the cutting performance/ease of this knife reminded me of my Takeda because they both generally cut well, have forged hollows behind the bevels, and can wedge in denser foods. I tend to grab my Takeda for very specific tasks that it excels at, and I would probably do the same with this knife if I owned it.
Food Release:
The food release was great. As long as ingredients were large enough, they would either not stick to the blade or fall off predictably after 1-2 cuts. I really dislike when food sticks to a knife and builds enough on the blade to reach your hand, which is part of the reason that I tend to like longer knives. The food release of this knife prevented this from happening excessively on such a short blade, which was really nice. The weight did help a lot to overcome the wedgier grind and make cutting feel much easier.
Comparisons to Other Knives:
As I was on the fence about this knife, I wanted to compare it to other knives in my collection that have similarities to this knife (pictured below): Takeda medium gyuto (similar grind), Merion Forge gyuto (similar weight: 330g), and Hardent Knives hollow-forged gyuto (similar grind). I only compared their performance/food release while slicing potatoes. Let me know if this section is not cool to include in a pass around thread, and I will remove it, but I thought that it could be helpful.
All knives:
Jack Clarke:
Hardent
Takeda
Merion:
The Merion Forge gyuto felt like it had the best performance/cutting ease because it was really heavy but with a higher grind. The Hardent and Takeda gyutos felt like they had the best food release. The Takeda can steer a bit at times (I didn’t notice this issue with the Jack Clarke nakiri). While the Jack Clarke nakiri didn’t come out on top in either category, it has a nice balance of excellent food realease with good cutting performance, especially on softer ingredients. Also, the conclusions that can be drawn from this comparison are very limited because it only includes one technique and one ingredient, so take this with a grain of salt.
Conclusion:
Thank you @Chang for allowing me to join this pass around! I had fun and learned stuff about my preferences while using the knife. Due to the rectangular shape and thicker/lower/wedgier grind, I don’t think that this knife is for me, but I could definitely see myself ordering a knife from Jack Clarke in the future - probably something longer, thinner (but still with forged hollow hiras), and with a tip. Sorry for my disorganized, rambling thoughts.
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Hey all,
I just sent the knife off to @Gshep91
I've attached a video to show its current condition. I cooked two meals with it (only veg), and I removed some patina, because I was a bit worried about one spot maybe becoming rust. I'll do a separate comment breaking down my thoughts on this thicc boi soon!
Thanks for hosting this @Chang!
I just sent the knife off to @Gshep91
I've attached a video to show its current condition. I cooked two meals with it (only veg), and I removed some patina, because I was a bit worried about one spot maybe becoming rust. I'll do a separate comment breaking down my thoughts on this thicc boi soon!
Thanks for hosting this @Chang!
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Overall thoughts:
This knife is thick. Thick behind the edge, thick at the bevel, and insanely thick at the spine. So go into it with that expectation, and you will be pleasantly surprised at how much personality a thick knife can have. I will admit that when I first used it, push-cutting an onion, I was a bit disappointed, but I quickly realized the issue was my technique. I had gotten so used to nimble lasers that I had forgotten entirely how to cut food with an axe!
As soon as I started pull-cutting, this baby came alive! I was able to thin-slice onions to caramelize, and when faced with a potato, this baby absolutely sings! Of course there was a good amount of cracking in carrots, but who cares? If I wanted a clean thin slice of carrot, I've got other blades for that. Don't treat it like a soft iron laser. She's a mean biiitch. I would love to try it fresh off a stone, but I don't yet have the sharpening skills to go at another man's knife. So while I can't comment on the way the steel feels against a stone, I can say the reactivity seemed somewhat similar to a Blue 2. Basic proper work-flow is all that's required.
Pros:
- Lots of personality
- Great food release on starches
- Absolutely wicked pull-cuts
- Authoritative and tough feel
Cons:
- Simply too thick for my tastes
- The S-grind seemed to not add much functionality, in my limited time with the knife
This knife is thick. Thick behind the edge, thick at the bevel, and insanely thick at the spine. So go into it with that expectation, and you will be pleasantly surprised at how much personality a thick knife can have. I will admit that when I first used it, push-cutting an onion, I was a bit disappointed, but I quickly realized the issue was my technique. I had gotten so used to nimble lasers that I had forgotten entirely how to cut food with an axe!
As soon as I started pull-cutting, this baby came alive! I was able to thin-slice onions to caramelize, and when faced with a potato, this baby absolutely sings! Of course there was a good amount of cracking in carrots, but who cares? If I wanted a clean thin slice of carrot, I've got other blades for that. Don't treat it like a soft iron laser. She's a mean biiitch. I would love to try it fresh off a stone, but I don't yet have the sharpening skills to go at another man's knife. So while I can't comment on the way the steel feels against a stone, I can say the reactivity seemed somewhat similar to a Blue 2. Basic proper work-flow is all that's required.
Pros:
- Lots of personality
- Great food release on starches
- Absolutely wicked pull-cuts
- Authoritative and tough feel
Cons:
- Simply too thick for my tastes
- The S-grind seemed to not add much functionality, in my limited time with the knife
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Arrived safely. Initial impression is that I’ll need to mess with it to find what’s comfortable. The neck is a touch long in my opinion and if I do a pinch it’s about an 1.5inches up the knife.
Seems like it’ll be fun to use though after figuring out how to hold it lol
Seems like it’ll be fun to use though after figuring out how to hold it lol
