Anybody used Dalstrong?

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daveb said:
Unless it involves calipers or hardness testers, everything on here is anecdotal. Most here offering opinions have a wide breadth of experience with many, many knives. Most here cite the basis of their opinion when offering it. You are free to do with those opinions as you will. To disparage those opinions is bad form.
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Not trying to disparage anyones opinion but the knowledge i seek is purely from hands on experience with this brand. That's very clear from the wording of the post.
I'v worked in busy kitchens for ten years and have spent thousands of hour's working with knives in a utilitarian sense. I have many knives that have been used as tools. They're scratched and not the best lookers but i keep them honed to razors edge.
I can see that there is much with Dalstrong that rings alarm bells for experienced Edge heads. I can see them too. But to be honest I thought this knife would look quite nice on my rack at home. But i also want to work with it from time to time too.
A 30 quid Vic Fibrox can be all the knife a Chef will need so why not a 85quid knife even if it is made in China.
So sorry to anyone who feels i shot down there opinions, I just really want to hear practical feedback (not amazon reviews) on this knife or brand negative or positive.
 
shownomarci said:
Since you're in the UK, the options are a bit limited, unless you don't mind paying hefty import tax / VAT.
Similar knives to the ones you've asked about (VG-10 core steel @60HRC, damascus clad)
- Tsuki (You can find them at Nisbets.)
- Eden Damascus (You can find them at knivesandtools.)
What i would do (and have done a bit more than 4 years ago), have a look at the Tojiro DP (VG-10 core steel @60HRC, but without the bling, but at least it's been made in Japan.). My go to knives ever since i have bought them. You can get a 240mm gyuto for 70 quid.
If you really want a damascus clad knife what performs well, then you have to shell out more money than the Dalstrong cost. (There are a few good European vendors, if you want to do so.)
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Thanks for your advice. I'm looking into the Tojiro DP's to replace the knives I work mostly with.
 
chefs-edge said:
Not trying to disparage anyones opinion but the knowledge i seek is purely from hands on experience with this brand. That's very clear from the wording of the post.
I'v worked in busy kitchens for ten years and have spent thousands of hour's working with knives in a utilitarian sense. I have many knives that have been used as tools. They're scratched and not the best lookers but i keep them honed to razors edge.
I can see that there is much with Dalstrong that rings alarm bells for experienced Edge heads. I can see them too. But to be honest I thought this knife would look quite nice on my rack at home. But i also want to work with it from time to time too.
A 30 quid Vic Fibrox can be all the knife a Chef will need so why not a 85quid knife even if it is made in China.
So sorry to anyone who feels i shot down there opinions, I just really want to hear practical feedback (not amazon reviews) on this knife or brand negative or positive.
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Then maybe you should have taken 5 minutes to review the forum before posting. You would have then found that we are enthusiasts and that brands like dalstrong are just mass produced run of the mill and have no interest to us.

If you want one get one. It will be like any mass produced knife.
 
malexthekid said:
Then maybe you should have taken 5 minutes to review the forum before posting. You would have then found that we are enthusiasts and that brands like dalstrong are just mass produced run of the mill and have no interest to us.

If you want one get one. It will be like any mass produced knife.
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Wow i feel like that commis chef, who came to my kitchen with a set of Kitchen Devils the other week!

I saw "Kitchen Knife Forums". I thought it's a kitchen knife. Maybe somebody here can tell me what i want to know.
I'm reading the forums and learning lots now ;-)
 
If somebody reads the published specs and voices an opinion based on them, due to that somebody either having experience with something that is of similar spec, or remembers that something of similar spec was already discussed here and what experiences were described, that is still an opinion based on experience, isn't it? Read only the opinions that are qualified by the poster saying "I have this knife." if they only interest YOU - but if I am not completely mistaken the concept of owning a thread you opened is delightfully loose and soft on this forum :)
 
I'm posting this with some trepidation as I am not an expert nor do I have experience with high end Japanese knives. I own a hammered finish Dalstrong Shogun Gyuto. The bottom line is that I generally like it. The big plus, and the reason I bought the knife to begin with, is the hammered finish. I was having problems with another knife and slicing potatoes. The potato slices would stick to the knife like glue. This is not the case with the Dalstrong.

The edge holding is astonishingly good compared to the AEB-L knife it replaced. The original Dalstrong knife edge had some minor chipping and I "reprofiled" it to 15dps. The chipping has virtually disappeared and I've noticed no reduction in its ability to cut.

I do find the belly excessive for, to me, a relatively short knife. When I rock the knife there isn't a huge area that's doing the cutting. I still haven't perfected how to efficiently use the knife and because of the past chipping I hesitate to "chop" too much.

The knife is, subjectively, heavy. However, I personally like the feel.

And to be perfectly honest, for a home chef, the price made it hard to ignore.

Hope that this was of some value.
 
@malexthekid never found a true "no interest in mass produced" bias here - but a lot of skepticism and "if mass produced, exceptional value for money is expected" bias :)
 
gbguy71 said:
I'm posting this with some trepidation as I am not an expert nor do I have experience with high end Japanese knives. I own a hammered finish Dalstrong Shogun Gyuto. The bottom line is that I generally like it. The big plus, and the reason I bought the knife to begin with, is the hammered finish. I was having problems with another knife and slicing potatoes. The potato slices would stick to the knife like glue. This is not the case with the Dalstrong.

The edge holding is astonishingly good compared to the AEB-L knife it replaced. The original Dalstrong knife edge had some minor chipping and I "reprofiled" it to 15dps. The chipping has virtually disappeared and I've noticed no reduction in its ability to cut.

I do find the belly excessive for, to me, a relatively short knife. When I rock the knife there isn't a huge area that's doing the cutting. I still haven't perfected how to efficiently use the knife and because of the past chipping I hesitate to "chop" too much.

The knife is, subjectively, heavy. However, I personally like the feel.

And to be perfectly honest, for a home chef, the price made it hard to ignore.

Hope that this was of some value.
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Thanks thats very helpful.
 
"And to be perfectly honest, for a home chef, the price made it hard to ignore."

It costs more than an "entry level" Tojiro VG10, and that's what it needs to compete with, performance wise, IMHO - damascus be damned :)
 
An update on my hammered finish Dalstrong. I sent a note to Dalstrong telling them that I just didn't like the shape of the knife and would like to return it in exchange for their 9.5" (241mm) Chef's knife (gyuto). I said that I'd pay the return postage. They said to keep the knife and they'd send me the Chef's knife, which they promptly did. I absolutely love the Chef's knife and I cannot express how good their customer service is.

I have no experience with the Tojiro DP knives but for "looks" and customer service I find the Dalstrongs hard to beat.
 
Go on Alibaba and look at their offerings in kitchen knives. You'll find stuff that looks awfully similar to the glut of made in China knives masquerading as Japanese knives that appear all over Amazon.

You can pick a damascus pattern, pick a handle, put on a custom logo, get your ah-nuh-may watching friend to choose some Japanese word they think has deep meaning and is badass and you've got yourself an Amazon ready brand.

Optional step: Make up a story about how you wanted to redesign the kitchen knife, chose only the best premium and exotic materials, personally visited multiple suppliers, and have finally chosen a high quality factory in China to partner exclusively with and now you're also ready to pre-launch on Kickstarter.
 
TurboScooter said:
Go on Alibaba and look at their offerings in kitchen knives. You'll find stuff that looks awfully similar to the glut of made in China knives masquerading as Japanese knives that appear all over Amazon.

You can pick a damascus pattern, pick a handle, put on a custom logo, get your ah-nuh-may watching friend to choose some Japanese word they think has deep meaning and is badass and you've got yourself an Amazon ready brand.

Optional step: Make up a story about how you wanted to redesign the kitchen knife, chose only the best premium and exotic materials, personally visited multiple suppliers, and have finally chosen a high quality factory in China to partner exclusively with and now you're also ready to pre-launch on Kickstarter.
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:rofl2:
 
gbguy71 said:
An update on my hammered finish Dalstrong. I sent a note to Dalstrong telling them that I just didn't like the shape of the knife and would like to return it in exchange for their 9.5" (241mm) Chef's knife (gyuto). I said that I'd pay the return postage. They said to keep the knife and they'd send me the Chef's knife, which they promptly did. I absolutely love the Chef's knife and I cannot express how good their customer service is.

I have no experience with the Tojiro DP knives but for "looks" and customer service I find the Dalstrongs hard to beat.
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Makes me wonder about there mark up if they rather let you keep a knife and send you a new one because you don't like the first.
 
chefs-edge said:
Makes me wonder about there mark up if they rather let you keep a knife and send you a new one because you don't like the first.
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Indeed, it seems like great customer service, but is the knife completely worthless to them?

Can decent hard steel knives be mass produced?
I guess that no experienced forum member has found that they can.
Is it that no one has done a fair long term comparison of one against a traditionally made J knife, or is it simply that the heating and tempering process are too difficult to do properly (for a hard steel) in a mass produced environment? Or something else?
 
TurboScooter said:
Go on Alibaba and look at their offerings in kitchen knives. You'll find stuff that looks awfully similar to the glut of made in China knives masquerading as Japanese knives that appear all over Amazon.

You can pick a damascus pattern, pick a handle, put on a custom logo, get your ah-nuh-may watching friend to choose some Japanese word they think has deep meaning and is badass and you've got yourself an Amazon ready brand.

Optional step: Make up a story about how you wanted to redesign the kitchen knife, chose only the best premium and exotic materials, personally visited multiple suppliers, and have finally chosen a high quality factory in China to partner exclusively with and now you're also ready to pre-launch on Kickstarter.
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Baller
 
TurboScooter said:
Go on Alibaba and look at their offerings in kitchen knives. You'll find stuff that looks awfully similar to the glut of made in China knives masquerading as Japanese knives that appear all over Amazon.

You can pick a damascus pattern, pick a handle, put on a custom logo, get your ah-nuh-may watching friend to choose some Japanese word they think has deep meaning and is badass and you've got yourself an Amazon ready brand.

Optional step: Make up a story about how you wanted to redesign the kitchen knife, chose only the best premium and exotic materials, personally visited multiple suppliers, and have finally chosen a high quality factory in China to partner exclusively with and now you're also ready to pre-launch on Kickstarter.
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Your spot on.
I had a look on Alibaba, found exactly the same template. Exact same handle, centre pin etc.
$25 a piece on orders of 300.
 
OK, flack jacket on: Is routinely taking a used knife (that has no great resale value used - not a handmade/artisan knife) that isn't defective back good customer service, or pandering to ignorant users at the cost of knowledgeable ones and creating substantial waste?
 
K813zra said:
what is 45-3 cents?? I don't know what the dash three is but 45 cents can't be the right price, can it?
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It's not 45-3 cents, it's $0.45-3, so I think it means 45 cents to 3 dollars. Price per unit probably varying depending on the conditions of your specific order.
 
Want to try a [insert Amazon brand here] knife?

2)What is your delivery time?

A: sample: 3-5 working day; bulk order: 5-25 working day.

3)Can I get 1 sample?

A: Samples are free. some expensive samples'll be paid before testing, but all sample cost'll be returned when bulk order. So, samples are free finally.
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I wonder how much a sample costs direct from the factory? :idea:

Don't actually do that, ya jerks.

Do it the honest way and start a Youtube review channel. You'll probably get a free one to review soon enough.
 
K813zra said:
what is 45-3 cents?? I don't know what the dash three is but 45 cents can't be the right price, can it?
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TurboScooter said:
It's not 45-3 cents, it's $0.45-3, so I think it means 45 cents to 3 dollars. Price per unit probably varying depending on the conditions of your specific order.
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Indeed it is between $0.45 and $3, but that doesn't seem right. Another knife from the same range (available for £120 on Amazon) is between $20.65 and $21.98:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...7166.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.49.IJQER4
or the same knife between $1 and $3 here:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...3.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.1.IJQER4&s=p

Now $20 I could believe. I can see how it's made for that, then sold for 5 times the price. But $1? No, I can't see how they made it for $1, so I assume the price isn't right.
 
foody518 said:
If you account for the differences in labor costs...
Plus retail markup...
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And the price of materials, and machinery etc? No, I still can't see how those knives can be made for $1.

If they are, I want some - let's get a group purchase going. People are paying over £100 for them here (and they're happy with them), they're going to be better than the knives friends buy in the shops for for £20, I can give them out as xmas gifts. I'd also like a few as beater knives, useful for guests etc. I can practice sharpening on them too. I'll have one in the shed for garden use.
 
overall they seem ok.. I will say that for the first time in my life i had a blade chip out (badly).. was making a nice winter stew and it did not sound right.. looked at the blade and have a nice chunk missing.. i have used henckels, chicago cutlery, shun, etc and never experienced a failure. I would say the chunk missing is about 6mm. NO.. was not trying my hand at carving granite, and not wailing away, only thing i think it could have hit was at most a bone or olive pit.

i have a picture of the blade but do not see an option to post it here.
 
Coincidentally, I think my Mom (still not sure who yet), sent me an 8" Frostfire series today. I was pretty bewildered, and came here to see if anybody has heard of them. I just got a Takamura the other day, and I'm trying to amass better quality knives, so i'm not sure yet if I'm going to break this out. If I do I'll let you know, but I can't imagine it equaling even the baseline quality knives/steel people recommend here.
 
Received a different set of "Shun Lite" a few years ago.

Regifted them so fast... And the new recipient liked them - granted they were better than anything else she had used.
 
daveb said:
Received a different set of "Shun Lite" a few years ago.

Regifted them so fast... And the new recipient liked them - granted they were better than anything else she had used.
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That’s the thing with shun & dalstrong and what not. Better than grocery store junk? Sure. Better than a lot of the stuff in here? No.

I hate that they’re so expensive for what they are but most average people would be happy with them though.
 
Former employee of mine who seemed to like his dalstrong a good bit was saddened the day it fell off his cutting board and broke into 2 pieces. Does this happen a lot? Usually with a dropped knife I’d expect to deal with a chipped tip, but the blade broke into 2 pieces, the break was right above the heel.
 
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