D. Martell Feedback, Pictures, Videos, whatever!

[Dave Martell]

Update:

I cut five Russet potatoes yesterday, another onion, some carrots, cucumbers and chives.

First, using about the front 1/4 to 1/3 of the blade, I experienced no sticking when cutting potatoes. I sliced up half of a potato (initially cut lengthwise, then sliced cross-wise), to see if this would cause any sticking. There was no sticking - in fact, the slices of potato stayed on the board, with only one slice disrupting the original shape of the half potato.

Second, there was less sticking when slicing very, very thin slices of white onion (see through thin). Because the knife is not thick and is stiff, I found it very comfortable to do this kind of cutting with the knife; it's the best knife I own for this. (Note: I don't own a laser so I don't have a point of reference with respect to using a laser knife for such cutting, but it's superior to my inexpensive carbon steel usuba, Hiromoto AS.)

Third, there was the same resistance when cutting carrots into lengthwise sticks and then into small chop. Again, the rear portion of the knife felt like it had less resistance than the tip when cutting carrots.

Fourth, it was very easy to do very delicate, fine cutting of chives. About half of the chives stuck to the knife, but I've yet to use a knife that chives did not stick to.

Fifth, some of the cucumbers stuck to the knife. I noticed less cucumbers sticking to the knife when the knife did not have a patina.

It certainly seems like there is a decrease in sticking after the patina started developing.

This is just what I need - follow up feedback. Yeah this helps a ton and is really starting to paint a clear picture for me.

Thanks Michael!

 

[tk59]

A while back, I had the opportunity to use JohnnyChance's 300 mm sujihiki. I've been lazy about writing a full blown review so I decided to keep it simple.

Fit and finish: A-. This knife was very well finished, in general. The only imperfection I found was an odd spacer that was ruptured/protruding from the bottom of the handle. I don't know how this happened and I have never seen such a thing before. It might be a construction flaw or maybe Johnny was trying to pry the spacer out with an ice pick, lol. I also don't like the feel of the hackberry handle. That's probably not Dave's fault but it is a bit synthetic looking and feeling.

Aesthetics: B. This is just personal preference but the bolster just doesn't do it for me.

Steel: A-. This flavor of O1 sharpens up nicely and easily. I had no problems whatsoever with burr removal, etc. I also thought it was pleasantly less reactive than I expected. The edge retention is nice but not amazing and it touches up nicely on a strop. I was also impressed with the toughness. I was not gentle with it and I did not observe significant chipping.

Cutting: B+. It performs very well for the most part. As a BBQ slicer, it is particularly nice since it has a little weight to it although again, I felt the edge could last a bit longer. I didn't get a chance to play with different edge finishes so I'm sure that could be improved somewhat. It is nice and tall so there is a lot of life in this knife but it also has poorer release than a lot of Japanese sujis. The release is not bad at all though. On some other harder objects, it cuts like it is a little chunky but I had no problem completing the cuts with a little adaptation.

Overall: B+/A-. I think it's a very nice knife overall and a bargain at this price. As a home cook, I'd like to see the cutting be more effortless as an all arounder. If I were going into battle in a pro kitchen, I would probably take this knife over a lot of others though. It's a sturdy knife and the kiritsuke type tip lends some extra strength there for people like Johnny that absolutely kill delicate knives.

I'm sure I left some things out but it's pretty clear to me that Dave's knives work and work well. :thumbsup: I've also tried out a couple of his gyutos briefly and they earn similar marks, I'm sure.

 

[Dave Martell]

Thanks for the review Tinh. hey, maybe you'll get to see gyuto #6 one day... LOL

 

[tk59]

My pleasure, Dave. It always nice to be able to post honest, positive comments on the performance of a custom knife.

#6... Ugh.

I thought for the sake of comparison, I would mention that I like the performace of this suji better than that of a Blazen 270 suji but a bit less than the Kon/Ashi/etc sujis although the Martell is a lot sturdier feeling esp compared to the wa versions; a nice middle ground.

 

[Bryan G.]

Dave I still owe a full review, just been focused on work as of late. I just wanted to drop a quick line here and let you know how much I am enjoying it. I still may think 260-270-280 is the best all around sizes for multi purpose stuff, but I am adjusting. I pretty much have been using it for everything. Mainly cutting fish. It's a fantastic slicer and the extra width at the heel makes it a superior chopper over other sujis. The weight I will say again is spot on. It's a perfect blend of thickness throughout the knife and great balance. Everyone in our kitchen loves it too.

Kind Regards

Bryan

 

[Dave Martell]

No worries about the full review Bryan, I'm happy knowing that you're enjoying the knife.

 

[Dave Martell]

I received one of my Martell knives (a sujihiki) for sharpening along with a note that read, "This baby really earned it's paycheck. I made 2500+ roast cuts with this knife in November and only did a touch up sharpening once. Occasionally used the glass rod for honing.....Best performing knife I'll ever own."

Considering that this feedback comes from a professional chef who has had/has more than his fair share of top knives I consider this to be good news. Of course he's a friend too but I trust him to be honest with me.