Cheapo monosteels

[chinacats]

Left to right starting with partially shown: Sakai ichimonji cleaver, Toyama(taped up), masashi kobo, masahiro, heavily thinned KU Tanaka, and the handle of mazaki (baseball bat)

That Tanaka is looking good, how's performance after all that thinning?

 

[Danzo]

It’s a lot better than where it was, but still needs work. It went unused after a few other knives rolled in. That tip was just useless. I’ll post some pictures again after I keep thinning in a distal taper

 

[minibatataman]

Not to jack the thread but how do you guys think the carbonext compares to the masahiro and misono?

 

[Jovidah]

Well... for one... the CN is semi-stainless while the others are full carbon.

 

[Benuser]

Why would one prefer a carbonext over a carbon blade?

 

[HRC_64]

Why would one prefer a carbonext over a carbon blade?

There was a time when semi-stainless was a trendy thing (TKC and Kono HD, A-type, etc)

 

[Jovidah]

Why would one prefer a carbonext over a carbon blade?

-No reactivity on any kind of food, ever
-No need to wipe the blade
-You can leave it sitting dirty for a while without issues
-Girlfriend proof if you leave it sitting for a few hours
-Still sharpens like carbon

Basically it has all the advantages of carbon when it comes to sharpening, while offering all the lazy-forgivingness of stainless (to some extent). That makes it great for people who are just starting out, great for people who don't want to bother too much with keeping the knife clean straight away, and most of all... it's pretty damn girlfriend-proof. The only thing you're really missing out on is a good-looking patina. But when it comes to pure functionality it takes the cake IMO. I honestly don't understand why semi-stainless knives aren't more popular; it's the best of both worlds.

 

[Benuser]

As I understand from Carbonext users, leaving the edge dirty will dull it, just as with carbons, to a lesser degree, though. But much more likely to dull with acidic food than stainless.
IMHO no edge -- stainless or not -- should be left dirty.

 

[Jovidah]

This Carbonext user never had any issues. Admittedly I do try to keep it clean anyway, but it's nice to not have to obsess over it. It's a nice mid-way compromise.
And the fact that things shouldn't be left dirty, doesn't mean it won't happen. Especially when a significant other often shares my kitchen...

 

[labor of love]

Carbonext was just a gateway knife for people who weren’t sure if they were ready for carbon 😀

 

[Jovidah]

Carbonext was just a gateway knife for people who weren’t sure they were ready for carbon 😀

Haha that was actually part of the equation for my first Carbonext as well. It's like a carbon-light you can use for potty training! But honestly I really like them. They don't look like much but they're extremely practical.

 

[minibatataman]

Yes I know it's semi stainless
I mean from a purely performance angle, how does it compare ?

 

[panda]

One I had was junk

 

[Jovidah]

My Carbonext's were decent and didn't look very dissimilar from the Misono's (in grind and profile); that's also what Koki says; at the most Misono has slightly better f&f. The Masahiro is a bit more asymmetrical (you can use google to find some more comparisons between Masahiros and Misonos on this forum) and at least in the 210 slightly taller than the others (both Misono and Carbonext 210s are rather lacking in blade height). Carbonext used to come without any edge (you might find some people mentioning that) but that isn't the case anymore.

In the end all of them are cheapish 'entry-knives'. They work decent out of the box, but all of them will have some upwards room for improvement by thinning behind the edge. Throw a bit more money at it and you'll get knives that come perfectly thin behind the edge out of the box. None of these knives will be pure lasers, nor will any of them come with super fancy magic food release grinds.

The main advantage of all these 'cheaper' knives is that they are somewhat softer than the usual white & blue carbon steel knives. I haven't ever heard of anyone who chipped a Masahiro, Misono or Carbonext even when rock chopping. They're definitly better at taking a beating.

The major difference between the Carbonext and the others is that it's semi-stainless (and pretty much the only lower-priced semi-stainless knife that I know of). Whether you care about that or not depends largely upon user preference.

 

[K813zra]

I still like my Dragon best out of all of the cheaper mono carbon options. I like the Fujiwara FKH, for a gyuto more so than other options, as a beater too. Takes a hell of a beating. Mine has slew dozens of rabbit spines and chopped the tops off of loads of drumsticks.