D. Martell 250mm Wa Gyuto For Sale!

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Dave Martell said:
Yup you've got it correct. Me making a knife to sell is a guess on what will sell. So if it doesn't suit anyone's tastes, and bank account, then it sits. Plus add in the fact that I'm (often) in a situation where I have to sell them fast so the price drops and drops until they're gone. It makes for a good deal for the buyer but a bad position for myself. This will change eventually....hopefully sooner than later. :)
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I'm kind in the boat of your bank account case here. I'm in the market for a quality knife from a custom knife maker. I don't want the hassle of custom ordering (and its too expensive anyways) so I just check everyday if there is a deal. You see I'm a canadian so 500 usd (650 cad + shipping) for a knife is too much for me so my only way to access a quality knife like you is by waiting for a deal or buying used from another user. 380-400 usd (around 500$ cad) is my maximum and those acrylic handle gyuto were my gateway to your fantastic work. Sadly, I was not fast enough and missed the deal. You are one of the few left custom maker with reasonable price. I guess that because as you say you don't have much press. As a maker this must be difficult to know that you make a knife of the same quality as another maker who sell for double or triple the price. I hope for the best for you, but I also hope to buy a knife from you before the price go up :)

Because if you keep the quality all people are praising, the price will definitely go up. Quality attracts buyers and its only a question of time
 
charlesquik said:
I'm kind in the boat of your bank account case here. I'm in the market for a quality knife from a custom knife maker. I don't want the hassle of custom ordering (and its too expensive anyways) so I just check everyday if there is a deal. You see I'm a canadian so 500 usd (650 cad + shipping) for a knife is too much for me so my only way to access a quality knife like you is by waiting for a deal or buying used from another user. 380-400 usd (around 500$ cad) is my maximum and those acrylic handle gyuto were my gateway to your fantastic work. Sadly, I was not fast enough and missed the deal. You are one of the few left custom maker with reasonable price. I guess that because as you say you don't have much press. As a maker this must be difficult to know that you make a knife of the same quality as another maker who sell for double or triple the price. I hope for the best for you, but I also hope to buy a knife from you before the price go up :)

Because if you keep the quality all people are praising, the price will definitely go up. Quality attracts buyers and its only a question of time
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Thanks for your thoughts Charles. I do hope you can score one of my knives.
 
I felt almost exactly the same way about the O1 gyuto I picked up a little while ago. The Mac was a paradigm shift from all the Western mass produced knives I had been using; the Gengetsu was another paradigm shift to hand-forged knives. I acquired a bunch of knives since then, and some were better than others for this or that task, but I had slipped into collecting them like Pokémon for the steel type, or the profile, or because someone said on a forum that they liked this one or that one, hoping to find something that performed a few percent better here or there.

Dave’s O1 imparted a similar paradigm shift in my perception of what a knife can do and what I can do with it. I hadn’t really intended to sell any of my knives until I got this one and wondered what I was really keeping some of these others around for — the others are perfectly good, some very good, but this one is better. I decided to buy another Martell and unload some of the ones I didn’t really need in my toolkit; by the time I made up my mind to get the 250 in this thread it had just sold but I got the 240 CPM-154 poly handle which I also am in love with.
 
GorillaGrunt said:
I felt almost exactly the same way about the O1 gyuto I picked up a little while ago. The Mac was a paradigm shift from all the Western mass produced knives I had been using; the Gengetsu was another paradigm shift to hand-forged knives. I acquired a bunch of knives since then, and some were better than others for this or that task, but I had slipped into collecting them like Pokémon for the steel type, or the profile, or because someone said on a forum that they liked this one or that one, hoping to find something that performed a few percent better here or there.

Dave’s O1 imparted a similar paradigm shift in my perception of what a knife can do and what I can do with it. I hadn’t really intended to sell any of my knives until I got this one and wondered what I was really keeping some of these others around for — the others are perfectly good, some very good, but this one is better. I decided to buy another Martell and unload some of the ones I didn’t really need in my toolkit; by the time I made up my mind to get the 250 in this thread it had just sold but I got the 240 CPM-154 poly handle which I also am in love with.
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That's so great to hear Thomas, thanks. :)
 
GorillaGrunt said:
I felt almost exactly the same way about the O1 gyuto I picked up a little while ago. The Mac was a paradigm shift from all the Western mass produced knives I had been using; the Gengetsu was another paradigm shift to hand-forged knives. I acquired a bunch of knives since then, and some were better than others for this or that task, but I had slipped into collecting them like Pokémon for the steel type, or the profile, or because someone said on a forum that they liked this one or that one, hoping to find something that performed a few percent better here or there.

Dave’s O1 imparted a similar paradigm shift in my perception of what a knife can do and what I can do with it. I hadn’t really intended to sell any of my knives until I got this one and wondered what I was really keeping some of these others around for — the others are perfectly good, some very good, but this one is better. I decided to buy another Martell and unload some of the ones I didn’t really need in my toolkit; by the time I made up my mind to get the 250 in this thread it had just sold but I got the 240 CPM-154 poly handle which I also am in love with.
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So, you have 2 Martell gyutos in 240mm, one in O1 and one in CPM-154. Can you please elaborate on the differences, and why do you prefer one over the other.
 
I don’t know that I prefer one over the other yet, I got them both within the last month or so. They are very similar in profile, the O1 is slightly flatter when overlaid though I don’t know if that’s by design or just normal variance in handmade items. The edge profile, though obviously not the spine, is almost exactly a match to that of the Masamoto KS. I didn’t necessarily know this at the time I bought them but the O1 is ground thinner, if not a proper laser then at least closer to that end of the spectrum, and the 154 is much heavier although still very thin behind the edge. Also, the O1 has an ironwood handle while the 154 has the poly like the one in this thread; this contributes to the 154 being balanced more towards the tip - feels similar to an Akebono. The 154 cuts like a Mazaki - not silent through a big carrot but the edges of the cut pieces are still smooth. The O1 cuts more like a KS. Both show significantly better edge retention at the end of the day than most of my other knives.

I figured I ought to have a stainless knife just in case of ... something? Although I mainly use carbon and semistainless steels. I think with these two the steel type isn’t necessarily terribly important, but I ended up with one lighter, thinner blade and one more workhorse-type one so I’ve got one for prep and one for service, or one for lunch and one for dinner, or whatever. Also I once saw a bumper sticker on a Porsche that read, “My other car is also a Porsche” so now I can say, “My other knife is also a Martell.”
 
Hey Thomas, you're spot on in your description as that's what I'd have expected to here when comparing the two knives you have. The largest reason for this is that my O1 steel supplier made a mix up the last time I ordered and I got just a slight bit thinner stock than expected and this wasn't found out until after the blanks had been cut. I still used them because the difference was so slight however there is a difference and if one was to compare them back to back (as you have here) you can see this. But the O1 is almost all gone now so it's something to worry about it the future as the 52100 is of the exact thickness I ordered so it'll be the same as the CPM154 is currently. Does that make sense?
 
Makes sense to me, although it’s nice that they’re not exactly alike and I do like the thinness of the O1 as it is. That one sits in my hand and feels like an extension, a long, sharp finger if you will, whereas the other feels more like directing a machine that does the work on its own.
 
GorillaGrunt said:
I don’t know that I prefer one over the other yet, I got them both within the last month or so. They are very similar in profile, the O1 is slightly flatter when overlaid though I don’t know if that’s by design or just normal variance in handmade items. The edge profile, though obviously not the spine, is almost exactly a match to that of the Masamoto KS. I didn’t necessarily know this at the time I bought them but the O1 is ground thinner, if not a proper laser then at least closer to that end of the spectrum, and the 154 is much heavier although still very thin behind the edge. Also, the O1 has an ironwood handle while the 154 has the poly like the one in this thread; this contributes to the 154 being balanced more towards the tip - feels similar to an Akebono. The 154 cuts like a Mazaki - not silent through a big carrot but the edges of the cut pieces are still smooth. The O1 cuts more like a KS. Both show significantly better edge retention at the end of the day than most of my other knives.

I figured I ought to have a stainless knife just in case of ... something? Although I mainly use carbon and semistainless steels. I think with these two the steel type isn’t necessarily terribly important, but I ended up with one lighter, thinner blade and one more workhorse-type one so I’ve got one for prep and one for service, or one for lunch and one for dinner, or whatever. Also I once saw a bumper sticker on a Porsche that read, “My other car is also a Porsche” so now I can say, “My other knife is also a Martell.”
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Thank you so much. I am waiting for my 240 CPM-154... Dave, again, take your time, I am not in a hurry. It is vital to me that you feel good and relaxed doing my knife, don't feel hurried, not necessary, I have 1 or 2 gyutos which I can use in the meantime... :rofl2:
 
Dave Martell said:
Hey Thomas, you're spot on in your description as that's what I'd have expected to here when comparing the two knives you have. The largest reason for this is that my O1 steel supplier made a mix up the last time I ordered and I got just a slight bit thinner stock than expected and this wasn't found out until after the blanks had been cut. I still used them because the difference was so slight however there is a difference and if one was to compare them back to back (as you have here) you can see this. But the O1 is almost all gone now so it's something to worry about it the future as the 52100 is of the exact thickness I ordered so it'll be the same as the CPM154 is currently. Does that make sense?
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How would you compare cpm154 and 52100 ?
 
GorillaGrunt said:
Makes sense to me, although it’s nice that they’re not exactly alike and I do like the thinness of the O1 as it is. That one sits in my hand and feels like an extension, a long, sharp finger if you will, whereas the other feels more like directing a machine that does the work on its own.
Click to expand...


Again your description is so spot on! I would describe it pretty much the same. :)
 
daddy yo yo said:
Thank you so much. I am waiting for my 240 CPM-154... Dave, again, take your time, I am not in a hurry. It is vital to me that you feel good and relaxed doing my knife, don't feel hurried, not necessary, I have 1 or 2 gyutos which I can use in the meantime... :rofl2:
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Your knife won't be much longer at all and I can't wait to do this one. Being honest though, I've been a bit apprehensive of it for some time now, but I've got a lot more confidence in being able to pull it off now. :)
 
charlesquik said:
How would you compare cpm154 and 52100 ?
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I haven't tested 52100 yet so this is all just speculation. Comparing it to O1 is easier than CPM154 as I'm expecting to see a possible, very slight increase in edge holding over O1 with (I hope) as good of a time in sharpening/deburring yet with (maybe) a slight increase in reactivity. As to how it'll compare to CPM154, well, I'm unsure but I can tell what I hope for and that's near equals in performance/edge holding/sharpening with the major differences being stain resistance. :dontknow:
 
Dave Martell said:
I haven't tested 52100 yet so this is all just speculation. Comparing it to O1 is easier than CPM154 as I'm expecting to see a possible, very slight increase in edge holding over O1 with (I hope) as good of a time in sharpening/deburring yet with (maybe) a slight increase in reactivity. As to how it'll compare to CPM154, well, I'm unsure but I can tell what I hope for and that's near equals in performance/edge holding/sharpening with the major differences being stain resistance. :dontknow:
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CPM154 is less resistant to stain or are we talking about 52100
 
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