Zwilling Kramer Essential

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deanb

deanb

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Got the 10" chef's knife and 4" parer a couple days ago. The chef's knife came with a very small burr but was easily sharpened. Took a very nice edge. We'll see how long it lasts. F&F is flawless. The chef's knife weighs in at 285 grams so it's a little lighter than the ZK 52100 at 302 grams. Zk2.jpgZk3.jpgZk5.jpg

For comparison, from top to bottom: Bob Kramer 9" chef's, ZK Damascus 10" chef's, ZK 52100 10" chef's, and ZK Essential 10" chefs.
 
I forgot to mention that the chef's knife came with bevels set at slightly less than 10 degrees per side.
 
what is the grind like on the zk and is it generally the same across the line?
 
I must admit I'm intrigued. How does it perform so far?
 
jer said:
what is the grind like on the zk and is it generally the same across the line?
Click to expand...

The chef's grind is slightly convex near the spine and edge and fairly flat in between. Don't know about the whole line.
 
wisew said:
I must admit I'm intrigued. How does it perform so far?
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I've only had it for a few days but I'm impressed. At this price point ($250) I think it's a steal. It performs as well or better than any other knife I own.
 
I like Salty's Kramer it looks more Sab like.
 
I went to check out the essential line today and they had a clearance on the carbon steel line (they are discontinuing it in stores and only selling it online, with a higher price tag) . I ended up buying the 8 inch carbon chef for $150, couldn't pass up the deal. I did think for a while though and compared the 2 blades. The essential line is the same profile, but is a much thinner thine and grind. As expected, the essential is quite a bit lighter. The choil looked really really good, and I could just tell that it was a great cutter. BUT I chose the more robust workhorse of the two. I figured I could always go back and get the essential in the future :D
 
Thanks guys just what I need, another knife, :biggrin: went to that store and bought the Kramer Z 10" chef 52100 F and F average but my gosh brought it home cleaned it up 10k diamond stone and then on the strop with red polish :Ooooh: thing is very very very sharp now, waved it over a green pepper and the pepper fell apart in a uniform chop.

Yes I got it on clearance, wow!
 
Marc, they were half off the original sale price. I'm waiting for the Santoku and an 8" chefs knife. I'm fond of the profile as I already have a 6" WS Shun SG2 Meiji.

Got both knifes for $300. Good deal right?
 
Holy ****. That's a smoking deal! In store only?
 
So what I did was I started systematically calling Sur La Tables until I found one that had what I wanted that they were discontinuing, they took my credit card and will ship them to me. Your mileage may vary but I think it may be worth calling a couple of them: 1/2 price is pretty awesome
 
I called around various Sur La Tab stores in the Northeast. Found one and I bought the 8" 52100 for $149. Shipped free. Could not resist trying a zk Kramer for that price! Could not find a 10" and I called a bunch of stores. They are selling their display knives for the discounted price. Apparently the rest of the stock knives will be sold on their website only and at full price.
 
I called only two stores, both had some ZK knives left. I ended up ordering a paring, utility, and 10" gyuto. Looking forward to trying them out and comparing them to my Shig, Devin ITK, and Takagi knives.

For anyone interested, the Providence Place (RI) store has a 6" gyuto and a 9" slicer (sujikiki?) in stock.
 
If anyone can track one down for me, let me know....
 
I stopped by one of the local SLTs on the way home from work. They had one 10 inch carbon gyuto left.
It had a small overgrind at the heel, which the manager saw as well. He gave me an additional 20 percent off.
$139 later, I'm walking out with the knife.
 
kiefer said:
I stopped by one of the local SLTs on the way home from work. They had one 10 inch carbon gyuto left.
It had a small overgrind at the heel, which the manager saw as well. He gave me an additional 20 percent off.
$139 later, I'm walking out with the knife.
Click to expand...

Overgrind on the heel is better than undergrind. What a deal!
 
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