kinmen knives

[elana]

Anybody have any Kinmen knives by maestro wu? I'll be going to Kinmen in the near future. I'm thinking it's a good place to get a Chinese style cleaver. I'm wondering if they're good quality or just a gimmick since they used to be made w/ artillery shells.

Any good places in Taipei for good quality good priced knives?

 

[Noodle Soup]

I don't buy the story for their stainless steel blades but they seem to be good quality cleavers otherwise.

 

[XooMG]

My first cooking knife was a Maestro Wu, and it was OK, but nothing particularly impressive. Mostly narrative sales gimmick. Common cheaper knives (a few Ximen shops have good cheap ones) perform as well or better, and there are some more visually appealing options in brands like Zhen.

 

[elana]

Thanks for your feedback. I was thinking a cleaver because it's not something I would use often and I've been wanting to get one anyway. I like picking up knives as I travel. Have a great santouku from Spain that's stainless and holds its edge really well, an awesome stainless gyuto from Tokyo (which replaced my santouku as my preferred knife), plus a couple other big brand knives which were cheaper in Tokyo, and recently got a custom bunka knife from a knife maker I know here (ok not travel, but still local).

My first cooking knife was a Maestro Wu, and it was OK, but nothing particularly impressive. Mostly narrative sales gimmick. Common cheaper knives (a few Ximen shops have good cheap ones) perform as well or better, and there are some more visually appealing options in brands like Zhen.

 

[XooMG]

Thanks for your feedback. I was thinking a cleaver because it's not something I would use often and I've been wanting to get one anyway. I like picking up knives as I travel. Have a great santouku from Spain that's stainless and holds its edge really well, an awesome stainless gyuto from Tokyo (which replaced my santouku as my preferred knife), plus a couple other big brand knives which were cheaper in Tokyo, and recently got a custom bunka knife from a knife maker I know here (ok not travel, but still local).

Nothing wrong with going with a big rectangle but it really depends on what you're after. There are smaller home cleavers about 17-18cm blade length, and "pro" lengths usually >20cm. There are also different thickness ranges depending on what you tend to cut. There's also a slightly pointier, curvier Taiwan style if you want more regionally specific, but it's not a big issue.

Many of the good practical thin cleavers like the Ximen pieces I mentioned have fairly crude finish. They are working knives and not really collector or gift stuff. I'm sure some of the Kinmen knives are an OK fit for tourist souvenirs, but I'd still take something like a Zhen over it. That's just my preference though.

 

[elana]

Where do I find the Zhen knives? I've never been to Taiwan before. What kinda pricing for the two in those photos? I would get more use out of a round style, but a meat cleaver which I think is the flat one, would be good since I don't have one, also good for opening a coconut, though I think machetes are preferable for that here. Aesthetics are somewhat important but I only buy cooking knives to actually use, even if I don't get daily use out of them.

Thanks

Nothing wrong with going with a big rectangle but it really depends on what you're after. There are smaller home cleavers about 17-18cm blade length, and "pro" lengths usually >20cm. There are also different thickness ranges depending on what you tend to cut. There's also a slightly pointier, curvier Taiwan style if you want more regionally specific, but it's not a big issue.

Many of the good practical thin cleavers like the Ximen pieces I mentioned have fairly crude finish. They are working knives and not really collector or gift stuff. I'm sure some of the Kinmen knives are an OK fit for tourist souvenirs, but I'd still take something like a Zhen over it. That's just my preference though.

 

[XooMG]

Where do I find the Zhen knives? I've never been to Taiwan before. What kinda pricing for the two in those photos? I would get more use out of a round style, but a meat cleaver which I think is the flat one, would be good since I don't have one, also good for opening a coconut, though I think machetes are preferable for that here. Aesthetics are somewhat important but I only buy cooking knives to actually use, even if I don't get daily use out of them.

Thanks

The rectangle one is actually a slicer and is the standard style of household knife. They make heavier chopping cleavers but the ones I posted are under 2mm at the spine.

Price wise they are somewhere in the range of 80-130usd and there are a few higher and lower price models.

I don't promote stores publicly and haven't dealt with that many personally since I don't live in Taipei, but if you toss me a private message with some info about what part of the city you'll be visiting, I can try to locate a store that might help.

 

[Michi]

You can find the Zhen cleaver on Amazon, and it also quite regularly comes up at drop.com.

 

[XooMG]

You can find the Zhen cleaver on Amazon, and it also quite regularly comes up at drop.com.

You can buy quite a lot of knives online. He/she is potentially buying as part of a tourist experience.

 

[elana]

You can buy quite a lot of knives online. He/she is potentially buying as part of a tourist experience.

I also can't get Amazon where I live without massive shipping fees and almost definitely being held by customs with a high import duty, so it's better to buy locally if I'm going somewhere.