300mm Damascus Suji. U.S. Pass-around

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well, I guess I'll be the first one to review as Will is buggin me about it.lol

I hope I can give you a good one as I only had an opportunity to use it for a day. Since I had such a limited time I tried to use it as an all arounder. It got a sixteen hour workout.
My initial impression upon unwrapping it was, Oh My God he sent me a katana! This thing is huge. When Will said it was a two hander he really meant it. The blade was quite impressive, it had a unique profile that I haven't seen in a suji before. I think that if the tip angle was a little more extreme it would be a lot more useful for fine work. The blade came polished and the Damascus pattern was almost invisible, which sorely disappointed me as i am a huge fan of Will's damascus and my petty is gorgeous. Will did however address this earlier when he mentioned that he accidentally mixed up his steel before he forged it yielding a very low contrast pattern. Now with that said, I feel that the polished blade may have caused some sticking issues especially with potatoes and some wedging issues with onions. This may not be too noticeable at home, but in a professional kitchen it can be annoying. I think once it develops a patina or Will gets the proper blend of steel those issues should go away. I used it to slice steaks and filets and it worked great.
Now, I have a relatively small line and this knife was a little on the large size, as a matter of fact I'm a little on the large size and the main issue I had was with the handle. It is massive, not heavy or fat, but long over half again as long as any of my knives. This is a problem as when I use it it keeps hitting me in the belly and knocking my cuts out of alignment. When I correct for this it changes my normal cutting stance and causes wrist fatigue. The emoto is really long and makes for a very strained pinch grip thus adding to the fatigue. I know Will feels that this length of handle adds to the over all asthetic of the knife and it does, it however is not very practiclal in a everyday professional kitchen setting. I think this knife has a very niche market in the sushi type restuarants were many chefs use oversized knifes.
Overall, this knife is very well made and very handsome. Fit and finish are really good. The handmade mokume gane is pretty damn cool. That redwood handle is gorgeous for a guy who hasn't made very many wa handles. With a few minor tweaks, modifications and a shorter handle I think Will would have a good suji. It's not bad for a first effort and I don't think I could do better considering Will never held a japanese Suji until he started this project. I know that he has already moved beyond this suji as I saw the 240 petty suji he made and it looks like it he has already made alot of improvements that this knife needs on his own.. He is learning and each knife he makes will get better and in a rather short time he will nail it. He has good potential. This knife may not be for me in my kitchen, but somebody will love it and that's all that matters.

P.s. I did defeat seven samurai on the way home with it though!:knife::surrendar:
 
Thanks Son, thats absolutely invaluable feedback. I had not realized the handle would get in the way from my own testing. Now I understand why it should be shorter and with a shorter emoto to ease the pinch grip. I can address this properly. I really appreciate you putting some time in with the knife and the honest review.:biggrin:
 
I appreciate the opportunity. I am in love with the petty by the way. I have never seen a patina stay so rainbowy blue for so long.
 
I am a little nervous about when this knife makes it's way to me.
What is a knife this size normally used to cut?

Sachem's comments helped me a bit so I can be prepared for when it arrives.
I have been watching old video clips of John Belushi in "Samari Delicatessan".

PS: I hope you don't mind me joking around. It has been a long day and I get a bit goofy when I am tired.
 
I'll have to google that. sounds like fun:D
Don't worry though once you start using it you'll see they are very versatile. A longer knife makes pull cutting thin slices of vegetables or meat a fun task, rock chopping bunches of stuff or use the tip for onion etc.
The last I heard of the knife Eamon was about to have a play with the finnish with his fingerstones.:D
 
Oooo hope there are some pics of the finger stone finish, would be interesting to see
 
I've got a few pieces, from maxim, I'll send you a little chunk with the book and stone you lent me.:biggrin:
 
raisedbybrocks said:
I'll have to google that. sounds like fun:D
Don't worry though once you start using it you'll see they are very versatile. A longer knife makes pull cutting thin slices of vegetables or meat a fun task, rock chopping bunches of stuff or use the tip for onion etc.
The last I heard of the knife Eamon was about to have a play with the finnish with his fingerstones.:D
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[video]http://youtu.be/OxZt4Kxj2cE[/video]
 
Ok this one is moving on out of my care. I had to hold on to it so that a visiting forumite could see it too! I am too stoked about the patina to not post this:

2011-10-24%25252021.45.09.jpg


I was told I could leave a patina on it, and he would like if it was "a pretty blue patina". Ask and ye shall recieve! This thing takes a SA-WWEEEEET blue patina. That is from cutting up 2 roasted chickens.
 
johndoughy said:
Ok this one is moving on out of my care. I had to hold on to it so that a visiting forumite could see it too! I am too stoked about the patina to not post this:

2011-10-24%25252021.45.09.jpg


I was told I could leave a patina on it, and he would like if it was "a pretty blue patina". Ask and ye shall recieve! This thing takes a SA-WWEEEEET blue patina. That is from cutting up 2 roasted chickens.
Click to expand...

I have noticed that about Will's blades, they have the most beautiful electric rainbow blue patinas and they last.
 
Nice Eamon. This steel is quite hungry for patina, then it is quite stable, a nudge in the "blue" direction helps allot though.:D
TK is up next.:knife:
 
Lol I post on my phone. A proper review via swype would be tedious.
 
You youngsters can do anything you want on a phone these days. Don't think that excuse is gonna fly young man.
 
Yeah, cumon Guys, reviews, don't be shy, a vid would be good. Or i'll set Sally on you:D
 
sally benes said:
Yes. The two people that post all the time can't put up a review? ...
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You're not calling me out, are you? I just got this thing on Friday! We're supposed to get three days with it. Eamon (johndoughy) is the one you're after. He had it for like three weeks, lol!
 
Naughty naughty Eamon:pirate1:
I'm not sure why I was so mean with time on this now. I think it being my first pass-around I thought it would keep it short and to the point. I'm not so concerned with time now, and realize I should have allowed a bit more to start with, as long as no-one feels hard done by. Eamon, your obviously not allowed to feel hard done by on time:D Basically if your busy and need to keep it for a week to give it a fair test, thats fine by me.
 
lol, hope it doesn't take too long though, i'm still waiting to give it a go when it gets back to the UK :D
 
raisedbybrocks said:
Naughty naughty Eamon:pirate1:
I'm not sure why I was so mean with time on this now. I think it being my first pass-around I thought it would keep it short and to the point. I'm not so concerned with time now, and realize I should have allowed a bit more to start with, as long as no-one feels hard done by. Eamon, your obviously not allowed to feel hard done by on time:D Basically if your busy and need to keep it for a week to give it a fair test, thats fine by me.
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LOL! Not 3 weeks! But it was away from other people for like 2 weeks. It was because my stupid post office likes to invent holidays and close all the bloody time, lose things, and generally not work. If you wonder why the Postal Service is going under, come check out USPS North Richland Hills.

Plus I had to let Karring see it. He stopped by, I had to!
 
Lol, its cool dude, just yankin yer chain:tongue:
 
Catcheside 300mm Sujihiki Review

First off, I'd like to say that we can probably hit up my post office and get their thoughts on this knife, they had the thing long enough. Columbus does not deserve a holiday.

As always, I will be stating my opinion as fact.

-------------Aesthetics------------
This thing is big, yes. But it really isn't that big. I was not shocked when I got it, but then again, 300mm is not THAT big of a knife, especially a slicer. A lot of the magnitude of this thing comes from the fact that the handle is proportional to the blade as though it were about 210-225mm. Certainly looks nice on the wall.

The butt-cap and bolster are both REALLY nice touches. Very nice contrast in person. I mean, the handle was sticking out of my bag on the way to and from work, and I felt like I should be wearing a sport coat and drinking some scotch—I just felt like someone should notice what a badass I looked like. Karring saw the handle sticking out of my bag when I put my kid in my car, and noticed it for what it was from about 20 feet away.

The pattern in the steel was very very fine, and the blade had been polished up, I noticed it matched 2000grit wet/dry. I thought, “Oh boy, this is gonna look even better if I change the finish on it, bring out the contrast some”. So I messaged Mr. Catcheside, and he thought I would be bothered by spending my time playing with a knife. Not so! So I started to rub it with some fingerstones and guess what? It looked like CRAP. Just blurry haze. None of my stones, papers, compounds or polishes could bring out more contrast than just a shiny finish like it had. I have no idea what the deal is with the steel used, but the best finish was the one he put on there. Surprising, and strange. I tried to take pics, but none of them came out, and there was nothing to see anyways.

After working with some roasted chicken, it VERY quickly developed the previously posted bad-arse blue patina. It is one of the most obvious blue patinas I've seen, you don't need to angle it in person, it looks blue from every angle. The way the patina contrasts with the handle, this is one of the most attractive knives I've had in my kitchen.

The kiritsuke-esque tip, always a cool plus. I think between that and the large handle, everyone I showed it to declared it a “small sword”. At work, I am often referred to as the “fruit ninja”, and they made jokes for a few days about this one. It would visually benefit from being less rounded, both on the shoulder of the tip and pointier at the tip. It looks a little unintentional.

IT NEEDS A MAKER'S MARK.

----------The Edge--------------
I didn't sharpen this one. Couple reasons.
One, I didn't get to use it enough to burn through the edge. I am not a butcher, and didn't get any shifts at the sushi bar(it is slow time after all).
Two, I didn't want to hold it any longer.
Three(the main reason), I couldn't risk ruining the awesome patina before someone else saw it.

-----------Design---------------
This is where the issues arise. Clearly, the skill is all there—this is a beautiful knife, and expertly constructed. But the hugest problem is the length and size of the handle. Karring said that it felt strangely light in his hand, which it does...but I think that is mostly because the balance point it RIGHT in front of the bolster, even behind the heel. This gets to be a huge problem about halfway through a large piece of meat—if the momentum of the cut stops, you are twisting your wrist and fighting to get the tip down, since the weight is centered in a spot that is always outside the food you are cutting, and the tip just wants to give up.

The blade is thin, though it could use to be thinner behind the edge. It's thin enough that I used it to cut large blocks of cheese, from softer jack cheese to a 2 year cheddar, and it actually did great. So great at that and big melons, in fact, that it made me realize how much I could use a big, thin suji on a daily basis. Great. Another purchase itch I don't need!

The faces need to be convexed more unless the spine is going to be thicker—it really sticks. Though on a knife as narrow as a suji sticking rarely equates to food staying on the blade, it makes it cut like it's a lot duller than it is. I split a deli-style turkey breast with it, and it wasn't awesome.

The knife, for whatever reason, gives good feedback. I like this in a slicer(says the guy who cuts beef strips with a yanagiba), because often you can hit bones or the knife gets stuck and you don't feel it, so you push a bit harder and you'll either slip on the knife or (worse yet) potentially damage the edge.

The profile was good—it's gotta stay as flat as it is for a knife this long, unless it's being used by an 8 foot man. The angled handle did well enough that clearance was not an issue—I even cut up rows of bell peppers with it for fun, and it actually did REALLY well...well enough that it quickly went from a funny joke to saving me some prep time.

---------Overall-----------

Beautiful knife, well executed, but lacking the practicality department. I would classify this one as a looker, but with a few tweaks to future versions, these would be worth pulling a hefty price tag. I can't stress enough how many compliments I got on the looks of this knife—from my wife(who likes Rader), to my coworkers(who like Rodrigue) to my boss(who likes Glestain).

I really appreciate the chance to use this thing, and I'm glad Mr. Catcheside is around. This is the right place for a guy like him, and it's nice to see that the UK has some skin in the kitchen knife game.
 
Thanks Eamon, that was a great read and lots for me to think about. I'm beginning to feel for myself in food that more convexity gives better cutting performance. But the balance/tip weight thing I would never have got. I just make them so they feel great in the hand balance wise, the tip lacking weight at the end of the cut is something i'll take on board on a Suji. I'll have to try some long cuts now to see what you mean.:D
 
tk59 said:
You're not calling me out, are you? I just got this thing on Friday! We're supposed to get three days with it. Eamon (johndoughy) is the one you're after. He had it for like three weeks, lol!
Click to expand...

She might have been referring to me. I posted pictures previously and emailed William but never posted my thoughts here. So here it goes.

As we all know, it's a big knife. The edge length isn't the problem, and the handle doesn't really get in your way or anything, but it doesn't HAVE to be that big, so making it smaller would help. It might get a bit more maneuverable, fit in more bags, and move the balance point a little. The balance isn't bad, but I like my long slicers blade heavy, let them do some of the work for you. The only part that really needs to get shorter is the gap between the handle and heel. It's too big, makes pinch gripping uncomfortable, and making the blade feel longer and more cumbersome than it actually is.

I agree with Eamon, some more convexity would improve performance. I cut some sweet potato and butternut squash with it, it did pretty well. A large onion was okay, it did get sluggish part way through the cuts. But I disagree with him about the profile. I think it is way way too flat. You can see how flat it is compared to the Hiromoto and the Martell. I like curve in the profile of long slicers, makes them more useful for a wider variety of tasks. If you need to use it as a gyuto, you can put the tip on the board and rock with it. It is cumbersome to push cut with because of the large gap between the handle and heel, and the long very flat blade, it just puts a lot of blade out in front of you to control. If you are using it just as a protein slicer, I guess the flat doesn't really hurt you there, but the curve doesnt either, so you might as well have one to make it more useful overall.
 
The reason I don't like any more belly on a knife this long is that I have trouble reaching the tip with it, unless the counter is really low. I probably should have specified that! On slicers shorter than 300, I like the tip to have belly leading up to it, it really helps to make that last little nudge when needed and lets you get more cutting done on the push stroke for big pieces of beef and fish.

Also, as far as my vote for where the balance should be, just shorten the space between the bolster and heel, and cut the handle by like 20-25%, and it'll probably be just where I like it--but on a slicer, it's gotta be at least past the heel.
 
Johnny and Eamon covered just about everything I wanted to say so I'll just emphasize a few points.

I liked the fit and finish, the nice, even grind and the excellent thinness near the edge. I also appreciated the extra length (310 mm on the edge). It is a very nice slicer and the patina is a beautiful blue. I cut quite a bit of London broil this weekend and the blue that Eamon started is deepening and spreading further up the blade. I'll have to post a pic, later. I also thought I should note that I think damascus, in general looks over-the-top fancy. I'd feel like I'm walking around my kitchen with a big hat sporting fancy plumage or something. I very much prefer this less, conspicuous type of combination. I also like the dimensions and taper on the handle. I thought it was particularly well done.

I didn't like the length of the machi (cut 10 mm or so) or the handle (cut about 25 mm). My block will easily accomodate any other 310 suji. This one is almost 10 mm too long. I would also imagine that it is partly responsible for the clumsier feel of the knife when doing anything other than slicing. The tip just feels difficult to control, maybe more than necessary. It is handle heavy so all the force for slicing is applied from that front part of your hand which might not be nice after a few hundred slices. Luckily, the blade was long enough and the slices small enough where that force was minimal, in my case. There is also a dead flat portion to the middle of the blade and causes it to uh... thu-thunk on the board when doing all-around work but that's not really important for this particular knife since I wouldn't normally use it that way. It does need more curve to maximize cutting edge length and to help reach the tip, the handle needs to not be tilted up. That exacerbates the issue. The geometry really needs to be more convex, esp. toward the tip. Slices just don't fall away as nicely as they could and tend to get deformed more than necessary trying to "follow" the blade. The extra metal would help with the balance, too.

Another thing I noticed but I'm not sure is anything, really, is one of the welds seems particularly "textured." I wonder if it is a defect.
 
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