I was fortunate enough to pick up one of Chris Andersons 240 XH AEB-L gyutos recently and since Im in Phoenix for work decided to head out to Buckeye and pay him a visit which he was generous enough to make time for. Chris wanted me see my unfinished blade (rough ground) and try some of his finished work (he even had a Gengetsu available that he was re-furbishing for another customer to compare with). Sorry about the crappy Iphone pic's really doesn't do these knives any justice ...
My blade is the one without the handle and was only just rough ground but man is it sweet. The finished blade (wearing Ironwood) is simply amazing and Chris let me play around with it cutting/chopping some potato, onion and tomatoes damn was it fun blade is very nimble, tip is super thin, balance was perfect / I was able to make horizontal slices through the potato without even thinking about it. Food release was stellar when slicing/dicing the potato. Used my unfinished blade and it is already better than many of my current knives so really looking forward to having it completed. Handle is very, very natural in the hand and it was great to actually be able to use one ...
Cant thank Mr. Anderson enough as he was very generous with his time and patiently answered all of my questions talked at length about what handle materials to use (the Dream Burls' HRB is the primary material for the handle) and his philosophy regarding his knife making/designs all of it made for a fantastic experience and was great to see the level of workmanship and dedication that goes into his blades.
Will follow up with a proper review when back in SD with my knife but Im certain there will be more CJA knives in my future Man that shorty gyuto was just so damn amazing I think my lovely bride "needs" a knife for Xmas :wink:
My blade is the one without the handle and was only just rough ground but man is it sweet. The finished blade (wearing Ironwood) is simply amazing and Chris let me play around with it cutting/chopping some potato, onion and tomatoes damn was it fun blade is very nimble, tip is super thin, balance was perfect / I was able to make horizontal slices through the potato without even thinking about it. Food release was stellar when slicing/dicing the potato. Used my unfinished blade and it is already better than many of my current knives so really looking forward to having it completed. Handle is very, very natural in the hand and it was great to actually be able to use one ...
Cant thank Mr. Anderson enough as he was very generous with his time and patiently answered all of my questions talked at length about what handle materials to use (the Dream Burls' HRB is the primary material for the handle) and his philosophy regarding his knife making/designs all of it made for a fantastic experience and was great to see the level of workmanship and dedication that goes into his blades.
Will follow up with a proper review when back in SD with my knife but Im certain there will be more CJA knives in my future Man that shorty gyuto was just so damn amazing I think my lovely bride "needs" a knife for Xmas :wink: