Do the carbon and semi stainless of comparable size cut more or less the same?
Don't think I've ever posted a pic of my Heiji collection. Carbon in 270mm, 240mm, 210mm, 180mm. Semi stainless in 270mm, 220mm, 210mm.
I would love a 210mm nakiri, but Heiji said no
Heiji direct
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Variations from being hand made aside, yes.
Some of the bevels are wider than others after I've polished and corrected the grind, but all are killer performers with excellent food release.
The guy and his son do an awesome job with both types of steel.
Some of the bevels are wider than others after I've polished and corrected the grind, but all are killer performers with excellent food release.
The guy and his son do an awesome job with both types of steel.
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RockyBasel
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That is quite the impressive Heidi collection - getting my 270 mm Semi-stainless gyuto next month - which do you prefer, carbon or SS? Clearly you love their work as I do too.
Don't think I've ever posted a pic of my Heiji collection. Carbon in 270mm, 240mm, 210mm, 180mm. Semi stainless in 270mm, 220mm, 210mm.
I would love a 210mm nakiri, but Heiji said no
@RockyBasel , what did you think of the nakiri? Seems you didn't have it long, anything to do with the knife itself or just not a big fan of nakiris in general?
RockyBasel
KKF Sponsor
I liked the Nakiri - but as @nakiriknaifuwaifu said, the heel height was a bit short on mine - mine was close to 55 mm I believe - but donāt quite remember. I had a 210 Watanabe and a 210 Toyama - so between those two, the Heiji was not seeing much action - so I sold it.
But anything Heiji produce, is going to be good
Ok, fine, so the point is donāt ask him to make a knife thatās taller than usual, but heāll do shorter than usual.
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My Heiji 240mm semi-stainless gyuto is one of my absolute favorites. I bought it off BST from Matteo. I'm not sure if it was his originally but I know that it was a custom order where the customer requested a bit thinner than he usually makes his.
Fit and finish is also great. Not sure if previous owners tidied it up a bit or not. I feel pretty lucky and definitely jumped on this one because of Heiji's reputation.
Fit and finish is also great. Not sure if previous owners tidied it up a bit or not. I feel pretty lucky and definitely jumped on this one because of Heiji's reputation.
My preference will always be full carbon as I love to sharpen and polish.
However back when I worked in a professional environment it was hard to beat his semi stainless. The steel stays sharp enough for use in ingredients like tomato, pepper, etc for an extremely long time.
In the end it's a toss up as per your preferences - both steels are just excellent.
Heiji are some of my favorite knives, but like TF, sometimes one should expect a little Wabi Sabi with them.
deskjockey
Senior Member
Any idea what his semi-stainless is? He confirmed it is not SKD11 or D2 but, his English is a little rough so I may have missed part of his response.
I'm not a steel snob but, I also want an idea of what it is as I don't want a repeat of some of the steels I have had in the past. And yes, I realize heat treat matters most as I have had brittle ATS-34 that also tarnished easily (and unusually) and a 1095 knife that amazed me with rust resistance and edge holding (to the point I would have questioned if it was actually 1095 had I not known the maker).
I'm not a steel snob but, I also want an idea of what it is as I don't want a repeat of some of the steels I have had in the past. And yes, I realize heat treat matters most as I have had brittle ATS-34 that also tarnished easily (and unusually) and a 1095 knife that amazed me with rust resistance and edge holding (to the point I would have questioned if it was actually 1095 had I not known the maker).
RockyBasel
KKF Sponsor
One Heiji was flawless, and the other had some wabi-sabi. I think Toyama also ranks up there for me. Every time I use their knives, I am reminded of how good they can be - whether itās the blue Damascus or stainless clad Toyama. Heiji and Toyama are two of my top knives for sure, with fairly reasonable price-quality ratios
RockyBasel
KKF Sponsor
From what I read here on the forum, they keep the SS a bit of a secret, but I am sure others more learned than me on KKF would have some insights
nakiriknaifuwaifu
Senior Member
I heard rumors of SKD12, but clearly one doesn't need to know what one is talking about to make a post on this forum
In any case, I don't think I've heard a single negative thing about Heiji SS on here. Having sharpened it, it's actually very pleasant for a stainless (relative to carbon).
Japan-Messer-Shop.de says itās SKD12
deskjockey
Senior Member
Isn't SKD12 an A2 equivalent?
I get many Japanese bladesmiths and some manufacturers being evasive and secretive about their sem-stainless and full stainless steel. There are a lot of amateur metallurgists that buy a knife with a steel they can't maintain or one that costs a lot and will not benefit them (I'm thinking of modern powdered steel options here for home cooks without any reasonable tool to main the edge).
Then there are those that suffer some bad reputation from bad heat treat. AEBL is one that carries a bad impression from myself due to an improperly heat-treated knife (Gyuto) that was overly soft. AUS-6/8 also are two I avoid due to smearing on the stones with knives of questionable heat treat quality. VG-10 is generally a better steel but, I also think it suffers less from bad heat treats for various reasons so, that combined with a better material composition mix has a really good reputation.
I get many Japanese bladesmiths and some manufacturers being evasive and secretive about their sem-stainless and full stainless steel. There are a lot of amateur metallurgists that buy a knife with a steel they can't maintain or one that costs a lot and will not benefit them (I'm thinking of modern powdered steel options here for home cooks without any reasonable tool to main the edge).
Then there are those that suffer some bad reputation from bad heat treat. AEBL is one that carries a bad impression from myself due to an improperly heat-treated knife (Gyuto) that was overly soft. AUS-6/8 also are two I avoid due to smearing on the stones with knives of questionable heat treat quality. VG-10 is generally a better steel but, I also think it suffers less from bad heat treats for various reasons so, that combined with a better material composition mix has a really good reputation.
Jovidah
I'll make you a sponsor offer you can't refuse...
Try some Chinese VG-10 and you'll change your mind on that...
deskjockey
Senior Member
Try some Chinese VG-10 and you'll change your mind on that...
Generally, I try to avoid Chinese brands and products however, I have tried a few pocket knives from China that were recommended to me. The knives in question though were not VG-10.
Chinese origin products can be very high quality IF the company they are being produced for enforces adequate Quality Control.
If you want cheap Chinese cr@$, you get what you pay for. For more reasonably priced items, their knock-off stamped steel knives are certainly competitive though, the Japanese versions that cost ~5X as much are better finished and are higher quality. Or, perhaps I got lucky and won the Chinese product lottery.
Jovidah
I'll make you a sponsor offer you can't refuse...
Yeah you got lucky. On some of the stuff I bought (all from the same series) the lack of consistency was the main problem... A handful were decent, most others were crap in one way or another. Huge variency both in grind & heat treat. I just wished they'd have given me the crap one first instead of the good one so I wouldn't have been tempted to buy the rest.
nakiriknaifuwaifu
Senior Member
A quick Google says so.
A2 is air hardening, so if you think about it in a sanmai...
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I believe he uses some variant of A2/SKD12 or very similar. Acts like it with patina and sharpening.
Yoshikane uses it with san-mai without issue.
San-mai doesn't matter.
nakiriknaifuwaifu
Senior Member
My 240 SS arrived today. It's a 249 gram beast. 250mm*52mm. The bevel of the front half is taller while it gets lower nearing the heel.
Oooh, it looks so nice, I shouldāve asked for KU on my semistainless. The handle is cool too with the streaks. And it looks extra tall. Did this cost the same as a regular 240mm?
And these heiji handles are really nice and affordable with perfect weight. 38 gram for 210 and 48 gram for 240. Will make the WH type of knives a little more balanced than with Ho wood but still decently forward balanced.
Itās 52 mm tall so not sure if itās extra tall. Just paid the regular rate.
A tall migaki 240 iwasaki carbon suji landed earlier this week. Big utility.
deskjockey
Senior Member
That high bevel looks like it will make the tip a "Super Slicer"!
The knife itself looks really nice. Congrats!
