WTS Hello everyone, I'm new here. I'd like to share my work with you all.

[bill_zeng]

Hello everyone, I am a blacksmith from Canton. A full time knifemaker. I work at a traditional forging knife workshop.
I specialize in forging various knives with a San Mai structure.
I'm delighted to become a sponsor of KKF.
My logo is ZEN. This "Zen" doesn't represent any philosophical meaning; it's actually the place of origin. Here, we call it Zen City.
I work at a traditional forging knife workshop.

https://zenforgedknife.com/
This is my shop; it's still very basic at the moment. I'm in the process of improving it.

 

[daveb]

Like!

 

[Jmast]

Welcome!! Can’t wait to see some more of your work

 

[bill_zeng]

Let me introduce my first piece of work posted on KKF.

A 210mm Bunka. It is hand-forged from raw materials, not made from pre-laminated steel sheets.
The hand-forged San Mai blade has more random and unique patterns compared to those made from pre-laminated steel.
The surface is stainless steel, with a carbon tool steel core that has a carbon content of 1.3%.
The composition is similar to the well-known White 1, There are some elemental differences, with a bit more CR and MN.
It has a hardness of 62 HRC and was quenched using water.

It has been hand-polished to a 12,000-grit finish using Shapton sharpening stones.
When it reaches your hands, it will have an excellent initial sharpness.

The blade thickness tapers from 2.8mm to 1mm, with most of the blade being around 2mm thick. However, since it is a handmade product, some parts of the blade may be slightly thicker or thinner than these measurements. I have carefully selected each knife, so the variations won't be significant.
When designing this Bunka knife, I incorporated my own understanding of this blade type, resulting in a wider blade than usual.

The transition from the spine to the edge is smoother, which reduces resistance when cutting items like onions and carrots. The 210mm length is longer than typical Bunka and Santoku knives, making it more effective for cutting meat.

The wider blade also makes it more convenient to transfer ingredients from the cutting board.

I have made 30 pieces in total.
I have priced it at $129, with free shipping to Europe and North America. However, for remote areas like Alaska or some regions in Canada, shipping costs will need to be recalculated. I strive to keep the shipping fees as low as possible. Generally, it should reach you within 10days.
Blade 210mm X56mm Stainless steel clad high-carbon steel.(T12A)
Neck 20mm x12mm
Handle Oak or bocote You can choose.
Spine: 2.8mm at the neck 2.3MM above the heel, 2mm at halfway, 0.8mm 1cm from the tip（Each one has some variation, but the differences are minor）
weight:146g with handle 190g(oak) 200(bocote) Each one has some variation, but the differences are mino
Grind:12000 grit
Asking 129USD FREE SHIPPING TO US AND CANADA AND EU

here to buy https://zenforgedknife.com/
This is the webpage I just created. If there are any issues, please let me know. Thank you very much.

If you like my work, please share it with your friends. It means a lot to me. Thank you very much.

Bill

 

[bill_zeng]

Welcome!! Can’t wait to see some more of your work

thank you~

 

[Patriot Blacksmithing]

Thanks for sharing , really like the shop pictures !

 

[pavlobee]

Hello and welcome, sent you a PM!

 

[romanjanos]

Welcome

 

[Uncle Danny]

Make 240 work horse gyutos

 

[M1k3]

Make 240 270 work horse gyutos

 

[bill_zeng]

Make 240 work horse gyutos

Make 240 work horse gyutos

Haha, I just made a few 240mm gyuto knives a few days ago, but they were just for testing the knife shape. The 240mm gyuto will be available soon. I'll also make a few 270mm ones.

 

[iimi]

How much would shipping to Australia be?

 

[bill_zeng]

运费到澳大利亚多少钱国

free

 

[iimi]

oh hell yeah

 

[ti.ssue]

I just want to let people know that I ordered a bunka from the site and specified a handle via pm here. Bill is super responsive and nice, even asked me if I wanted a thinner or thicker version of the blade. I'll try to post a review once I receive it!

Very few Chinese blacksmiths making Japanese kitchen knives and I'm happy to support more passionate people getting into the game.

 

[tostadas]

Welcome. Your work looks great! Will be sending you a message shortly

 

[Baungaard3003]

Welcome to the forum beautiful work

 

[pavlobee]

I'm another that has purchased a knife from Bill, in this case one of the Bunka's highlighted above, I believe I was the first.

We ran into a few problems as Bill had only just got his webstore up and running, and it required a few changes before I was able to successfully make my purchase. Bill was very helpful, polite and selected a knife from the batch based on what I said I preferred. Bill sent me photos of it all carefully prepared and packed ready for shipping, for when the webstore changes kicked in. My purchase worked a little later, Bill kept me informed about the shipping etc and I got tracking info via email.

I'm looking forward to getting a good knife, but especially something that's been individually crafted by Bill with his own personal process. I will post my feedback in due course!

 

[chiffonodd]

Bill, welcome and nice looking work. The bunka looks great. Can you also explain a bit about the gyutos on your website? Looks like all three models are same d2 core but with different finishes? From the pictures I'm guessing "dark edge" model = etched core with stainless cladding, "flash" model = no etch with same stainless cladding and uniform horizontal brushed finish, and "black" model = d2 core and stainless cladding with ku finish? Everything looks cleanly executed and the grinds look nice too. Just looking for some more info, thank you!

 

[bill_zeng]

Bill, welcome and nice looking work. The bunka looks great. Can you also explain a bit about the gyutos on your website? Looks like all three models are same d2 core but with different finishes? From the pictures I'm guessing "dark edge" model = etched core with stainless cladding, "flash" model = no etch with same stainless cladding and uniform horizontal brushed finish, and "black" model = d2 core and stainless cladding with ku finish? Everything looks cleanly executed and the grinds look nice too. Just looking for some more info, thank you!

Hello, let me first share the backstory behind the development of that Gyuto knife.

I have some friends who work in restaurants. They need to do a lot of food cutting every day. Some vegetables, like peppers, onions, lemons, and tomatoes, can cause carbon steel blades to corrode and rust quickly.


They really like using the stainless steel-clad carbon steel knives I make because they offer the excellent cutting feel of carbon steel. The stainless steel layer solves most of the rust issues. However, they still need to frequently wipe the carbon steel edge to ensure it doesn't rust, so it doesn't affect the taste of the food.

Based on their needs, I developed this D2 Gyuto and performed appropriate heat treatment according to their requirements.
The main feature of this knife is that ：
1) it only needs to be sharpened to a grit of 1000 to 2000 to achieve the best cutting performance.
However, it's difficult to sharpen this knife to the level where it can effortlessly slice through a hair with a light touch. But such sharpness would be lost after just a few cuts. This drawback doesn't affect friends working in the kitchen.

2 )Although it's not completely rustproof. As long as it's not left covered in food juices all day, it won't rust.
Just wipe the knife dry at the end of each day's work, and it'll be fine.

3) It's a strong enough edge. I have friends who accidentally cut into a stainless steel bowl, slicing it open, but the blade only showed minor white lines without any chips.

For your question
When I first provided them with the knives, I didn't decorate the surface in any way. I just did a uniform horizontal brushed finish.
When they're working, they just see the knife as a tool and don't really appreciate its appearance.

But as a bladesmith, I need to cater to the preferences of other customers. So, I've created two other appearances as you mentioned: one through acid etching, and the other is a KU finish.

They are all based on the same type of blade. Customers can choose the appearance they prefer based on their own preferences.

Bunka now and in the future will also offer a variety of surface treatment options. I've just started selling my products. I will gradually improve the product descriptions.

I plan to introduce three series this year: a carbon steel series, a semi-stainless steel series (D2), and a super steel series (powder steel CPM-S35VN).

If I have enough time, I will also try to publicly sell some honyaki knives.


I hope I can successfully complete these endeavors.

Have a good day
Bill

 

[bill_zeng]

I'm another that has purchased a knife from Bill, in this case one of the Bunka's highlighted above, I believe I was the first.

We ran into a few problems as Bill had only just got his webstore up and running, and it required a few changes before I was able to successfully make my purchase. Bill was very helpful, polite and selected a knife from the batch based on what I said I preferred. Bill sent me photos of it all carefully prepared and packed ready for shipping, for when the webstore changes kicked in. My purchase worked a little later, Bill kept me informed about the shipping etc and I got tracking info via email.

I'm looking forward to getting a good knife, but especially something that's been individually crafted by Bill with his own personal process. I will post my feedback in due course!

Hi my friend
There was a minor issue with the shipping. But it has been resolved.
The courier company I initially used said they could ship knives. However, when the knives arrived at their warehouse, they told me the knives were too long; they could only deliver knives under 210mm.
I had to drive there to retrieve the knives. Then I visited 5 courier companies until I found one. They classified kitchen knives as hazardous items, requiring a specialized carrier. So, your current tracking number is actually invalid. I'll inform you when I get a new tracking number. Don't worry; everything has been sorted out. I'm sorry for my mistake, which caused a slight delay.
Have a good day
Bill

 

[pavlobee]

Hi my friend
There was a minor issue with the shipping. But it has been resolved.
The courier company I initially used said they could ship knives. However, when the knives arrived at their warehouse, they told me the knives were too long; they could only deliver knives under 210mm.
I had to drive there to retrieve the knives. Then I visited 5 courier companies until I found one. They classified kitchen knives as hazardous items, requiring a specialized carrier. So, your current tracking number is actually invalid. I'll inform you when I get a new tracking number. Don't worry; everything has been sorted out. I'm sorry for my mistake, which caused a slight delay.
Have a good day
Bill

No issues at all.

 

[chiffonodd]

I plan to introduce three series this year: a carbon steel series, a semi-stainless steel series (D2), and a super steel series (powder steel CPM-S35VN).

Bill, thanks for the response and additional info. When you say that you intend to introduce a carbon steel series, are you talking about a carbon core instead of the "semi-stainless" D2 tool steel core, but with the same stainless cladding? Or do you mean an iron clad or even mono-carbon blade?

S35vn is also interesting of course! I've seen it used in quite a few pocket knives (spyderco, benchmade, etc) but not very many chef knives.

 

[bill_zeng]

Bill, thanks for the response and additional info. When you say that you intend to introduce a carbon steel series, are you talking about a carbon core instead of the "semi-stainless" D2 tool steel core, but with the same stainless cladding? Or do you mean an iron clad or even mono-carbon blade?

S35vn is also interesting of course! I've seen it used in quite a few pocket knives (spyderco, benchmade, etc) but not very many chef knives.

HI my friend
The carbon steel series currently uses the same San Mai stainless steel-clad high carbon steel structure as the Zen Bunka.
The products I currently have, as well as those in my plans, all feature a San Mai structure with a stainless steel exterior.
Of course, the planned Honyaki knives will definitely be made entirely of carbon steel.


I have already made test samples of the CPM-S35VN San Mai structure knives. The heat treatment hardness is controlled at 60 HRC, which provides excellent impact resistance and wear resistance. It's a very balanced material, suitable for a workhorse knife. The steel price is also acceptable, and the final product price will be similar to my current products. The only issue is that the minimum order quantity for the steel is too large for me. I need to determine whether I have the capacity to sell that many kitchen knives.

Bill

 

[jaydee]

Ordered a small D2 gyuto 190x45mm with bocote handle after selling my last stainless knife.
Really looking forward to it.

 

[bill_zeng]

Ordered a small D2 gyuto 190x45mm with bocote handle after selling my last stainless knife.
Really looking forward to it.

thank you

 

[blokey]

Always glad to see more individual Chinese makers on site! I bought quite few stuff from Xinguo 新国 and some from Ma Kaida 马凯达, it's great more people are making high quality handmade stuff

 

[Jville]

Do you make any Chinese cleavers?

 

[bill_zeng]

Do you make any Chinese cleavers?

Of course, that was the most important part of my master's examination. Among all the knives, the ones I make best are Chinese cleavers.

 

[BillHanna]

Pics or it didn’t happen