Cutting Performance Videos

[Marko Tsourkan]

This is a workhorse geometry. The knife is this geometry is thicker in cross-section and heavier than in S grind. 240mm, 53mm tall at the heel and will weigh appropriately 245-260g.

[video]https://youtu.be/x3Jq1eNi1UQ[/video]

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

This is also a convex grind, and also a work horse - 53mm tall, 245-260g. The difference between this grind (aka Carter grind) and Mizuno grind is that convex on this knife is from the spine to the edge, while on the Mizuno grind, the convex is about 2/3 up from the edge. Performance-wise they are not that different.

This is a roughly polished blade, during the final polishing I will further thin it and bring the edge to a zero.

[video]https://youtu.be/laoFL2HHiDA[/video]

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

What do you guys think? Keep in mind that the last two are workhorse knives made of 3.45mm sock. The same geometry in thinner stock will show improved dense food penetration. Up to now, I have mostly made knives in S grind, and that geometry is equally suitable for dense and soft foods, but I am using convex geometry at home and think it's a good geometry for my Pro/Entry Level line of knives.


Thanks,
Marko

PS: In the next couple of weeks I will produce knives in sword grind (aka Heiji) and S grind -2 (aka Kochi)

 

[wbusby1]

Trying to follow here, what's the advantage of the convex? The S (aka Shig) is as thick as the others at the heel right? It definitely seems to outperform the 2 convex in your videos.

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Trying to follow here, what's the advantage of the convex? The S (aka Shig) is as thick as the others at the heel right? It definitely seems to outperform the 2 convex in your videos.

On the spine, the S grind is the same as convex, but in cross-section, it's thinner and overall the blade is lighter and though plenty rigid, less rigid that the convex. I will do the next convex blade (for video) thinner in cross-section, and besides, these convex workhorses will be thinner overall, by the time I am done polishing and hand-tuning them and that will directly translate in the performance.

I think both these geometries have a place in a pro kitchen. Convex is a great prep knife, where knife rigidity and weight works to its advantage, while S grind is more of a precise cutter detail knife. For a home cook, S grind has been my recommendation for many years now.

I plan on offering both these geometries. Convex is easier to produce and I can price it competitively (entry level/pro line knives). S grind is much more labor intensive, it is essentially two geometries in one and I have to price it accordingly. I also think that there is not a lot of advantage of S grind on narrower knives, like long sujis or scimitars.

 

[SolidSnake03]

Interesting video's, not sure if it's just perception but the Carter style convex looked to do fairly well overall as did the S-grind. Mizuno grind seemed to have a few stutters.

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Interesting video's, not sure if it's just perception but the Carter style convex looked to do fairly well overall as did the S-grind. Mizuno grind seemed to have a few stutters.

They perform similarly, though Mizuno separates food slightly better from my observation. That can be explained that Mizuno has a (blended) shinogi line, while Carter is a full convex.

I will make another video with the same convex knives polished and hand-thinned behind the edge. I think the next video will do a better justice to these geometries. Thickness (or thinness for that matter) just above the edge should not be underestimated, as in cut initiation in dense foods it plays a significant role.

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Just cut some leftover vegetables with a thinner Mizuno convex, and it did perform better on dense root vegetables initiating a cut and food separation was pretty good. Out of things to cut, once replenish, will make a new video, with the workhorses featured in the previous videos, as well as with a thinner gyuto.

 

[Matus]

Interesting videos. I 110% agree with the importance of thickness behind the edge. I have a knife that I thinned myself (only worked the blade up to some 5mm from the edge) and the difference before (cca 0.35mm behind the edge) and after (about 0.15mm) was night and day. And indeed - to get a grind closer to what Carter does the blade needs to be rathe thin over all - more like 2.5 - 3.0 at the spine.

 

[Dinsdale]

Marko, sorry to hear about your dog. I've had dogs all 55 of my years on this rock. You never really get over losing them, they're so much a part of your family. Time to puppy shop and start some new memories.