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Spåre, Lars, Dao Vua, CCK 1303 and 1102
 
Shibata Tinker Tank Review

I got this guy in not long ago and only just recently had a chance to test it for a couple meals. I'm not sure quite how to categorize it, since it falls somewhere in between a cleaver and a gyuto. 189mm x 89mm

When you hold it, it feels like a cleaver due to the weight and thickness. It's about 370g with this handle, and spine goes from around 4.6mm to 4.0mm. Fit and finish, like all Shibata knives I've had, is excellent. Spine is nicely rounded and fully polished, and choil as well. I opted to put my own handle which I modified and cleaned up from my Takeda cleaver. I played around with different lengths for the neck, and preferred it to be set up closer to the choil, more like a Chinese cleaver rather than a typical gyuto. (Shibata gyuto handles I've had were all very well done, but I was personally not a big fan of the color scheme that typically comes with the Tank.)

The grind is relatively flat up to the shinogi. It's similar to a medium weight gyuto behind the edge, but of course thickens up quite a bit as you get to mid height on the blade. The profile is on the curvier side for a cleaver, but I do think it works well for this knife because it effectively adds additional edge length if you do like slicing motions.

Finally the most important part of this whole review is the actual performance. This is where the knife really made me happy, because it's such a unique experience. When using it like a cleaver, the mass just plows its way through stuff. It will crack carrots like nothing. Very authoritative blade. Food release is not bad, but the flat-ish grind can sometimes make wet stuff stick. But it's a tank and literally does not care. The interesting part about this knife is the tip, which is more like a bunka. It ghosts through dense stuff like onions and root veggies like a laser. So depending on which part of the blade you use, it's almost like two completely different knives.

I haven't used it enough to comment too much on the steel, other than it's aogami super and it feels really hard.

So that's all for now. Really fun knife. Here's some pics.
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Wow...just wow. I have one on order from them, and they told me it would be a year until delivery. That was about 3 months ago. I will wait patiently...
 
Taking advantages of double 11 sale on AliExpress I just bought this monster from Dengjia, a more well known manufacturer based in Chong Qing, their sale is more Sichuanese with thick T-spine. Of course I still don't advocate buying random stuff off AliExpress but this should be fine. Had a smaller one from them before, super rustic and rough but more fun than any stainless stuff I had, the steel is ok, better than the regular stuff you found on supermarket cleavers. Also got a stabby butcher knife from them to round out the order and for fun.
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