Bob Kramer sharpening question

[Benatx]

So I recently was given an 8” Kramer by Zwilling, my first carbon steel chef’s knife, and there was a problem with a rivet sticking out on the handle. I ended up in touch with Kramer knives directly, and sent it to them for a fix.

Received the knife yesterday, and the handle is fixed and it certainly is sharp, however the cutting edge at the heel seems to be much larger relative to the rest of the blade than it was stock, and larger than I have seen on any other used examples.

This is true on both sides, however it is noticeably more pronounced on the outside heel. To me it seems to almost transform the profile of the cutting edge at the heel.

Is this anything to worry about? On one hand the heel is super sharp, but it seems like this might round out the heel over time, or maybe the thinness might make the heel more delicate.

Probably NBD but since it is visibly different than any examples I had seen, and more pronounced on one side than the other I thought this community might have an answer for me. Thanks for your time.

 

[esoo]

You can send a Zwilling Kramer to Kramer Knives and have Bob himself will sharpen it? That sounds intriguing.

 

[Codered]

Bob is probably chilling on an island at his beach house or on a yacht. I doubt he sharpened that knife ). They have people doing that and by the looks of that bevel, not too skilled either. That knife is screaming for a thinning.
Oh and the heel is ok. The grind looks more pronounced there because it is thicker at the heel so more steel had to be removed to make it even.

 

[Tim Rowland]

1. Bob did not sharpen that knife
2. Crap factory grind and thicker at the heel so more material was removed to have an even BTE thickness
3. It will look much different once properly thinned anyway, so nothing to worry about
4. Welcome to the forums

 

[inferno]

i'm sure bob sharpens all the knives himself.

 

[WildBoar]

Bob's a normal guy, and a business owner. He is very hands-on. He does sharpen knives (and for those who may not know, he was a sharpener before he started knifemaking). He pretty much does whatever needs doing. Did he sharpen this one? Maybe, maybe not, as he does have employees. But he is not 'above' doing work on knives.

 

[spaceconvoy]

yes, Bob Kramer ™ really did sharpen your knife, since corporations are people now

 

[Benatx]

yes, Bob Kramer ™ really did sharpen your knife, since corporations are people now

Good one thanks for the help

 

[kayman67]

It's nothing to worry about, but definitely could have looked better. I would never give such a knife back unless perfect.

 

[Kawa]

I don't think it does any harm performance wise. It just looks...bad...

And to be honest: as a costumer when you buy a brand new Kramer knife (or any other quality / expensive knife) you expect a good knife. We all know there are differences between individual copies of the same knife, but that you had to send it back for repair and they returned it like this? I can imagine you are in doubt about what to do.

Kramer (company) should know better: people dont only buy their knives for the pure performance, but also as a piece of art, as a piece to hang on the wall and to be proud of.

They shouldnt have repaired if like this, but just sent you a new one. 'yeah, but that heel was way too thick, it needed to be done anyway' Then their knife has a bad geometry and they acknowledge it by grinding all that heel away when you sent if for repairs...

I'm absoletely not the Karen type of guy, but in this case they didnt respect the aesthetic part of their products for their costumers.

 

[WildBoar]

It's a Zwilling, not an actual Kramer. But if Kramer did a poor job with it, by all means contact them and request they rework the knife for you. But I would not expect Kramer to give him a new Zwilling.

 

[Codered]

It's a Zwilling, not an actual Kramer. But if Kramer did a poor job with it, by all means contact them and request they rework the knife for you. But I would not expect Kramer to give him a new Zwilling.

Maybe they will give him a new Kramer )

 

[Codered]

The knife is quite ok. Since zwilling is making these for mass usage ( professional and idiots also) they have to make sure that when non-professionals are cutting some frozen turkey or opening a can with it, it is sturdy enough not to break. So they make it german style : robust and thicker at the edge( but not very thick). This way they avoid lawsuits from all idiots
This can be easily thinned. Either at a local sharpner or at home on your 400 grit or 240 and then 800 or 1000 followed by sanding paper in the 1000 grit to polish the estetics.
The knives are not crap they are quite good. Just made to fit everybody and nobody in particular. They are “woke”

 

[Hz_zzzzzz]

It's just heel thicker than rest of the knife. It's also possible that the heel is twisted toward right side a little bit (happened to mine), but it shouldn't affect the performance of the knife if the rest part is straight.

 

[Codered]

Oh and one more thing, if you ask someone like Jon to thin it for you, this knife with its perfect heat treat (52100 at 62HRC and machine ht cycles, so no room for human error) with its finish and perfect handle and that profile, will beat all japanase knives you have and most custom knife makers into a pulp. It is just like owning a Kramer Once Jon finishes it.

 

[Matt Jacobs]

If it didnt look like that when you sent it in I would at least point it out to customer service. You never know what they may do for you.