HSC3 pass around gyuto

[labor of love]

Just received this bad boy in the mail. Looks very nice and very thin.
Z-wear is the steel, German version of PD1, CPM-Cruwear.
More thoughts to come after I give it some use.
Photos happening soon.
I know there was a few guys before me that already tested this knife, feel free to chime in with your experience.
Visually speaking, I like it. I want one already lol.

 

[tgfencer]

Let's see some pictures.

 

[labor of love]

 

[Barmoley]

@Larrin wrote one of his excellent articles that includes history and properties of this steel https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/06/03/the-history-of-3v-cru-wear-and-z-tuff-steel/

I got interested in this class of steels after I tried a couple of gyutos that had PD1 core steel made by the great @DevinT. To me this class of steels might just be the perfect steel for a general purpose gyuto. It can get pretty hard ~63 HRC, it is as tough as 52100 at the same hardness, it is about 2.5 times more wear resistant than 52100 and it is significantly more corrosion resistant than 52100, what's not to like. The only potential negative might be that it is more difficult to sharpen.


Here's what @YG420 had to say after playing with this knife for a bit....

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So I wasnt able to use the knife as much as I wanted to, but I did manage to squeeze in a couple of meals.


My first impression is the knife just goes through product like butter. Very smooth and without much hesitation. I figure its due to the wide bevel construction? Food release was average, not bad but not amazing either so no complaints there. The knife came really sharp and after I was done it was still sharp, so I didn't hit the stones or anything. I didn't really have enough time to really test the edge retention though. Idk if the steel is stainless or not, but I didn't notice any patina forming. The edge profile is a little flatter than I like, but it wasn't a problem at all. I'm not a big fan of the nose style of the knife, but it didn't affect performance in any way, so its just aesthetics. The length of the knife is what gave me issues, if anything. As you know I like shorter length knives and this one I had to concentrate so I wouldn't tip it or hit something lol. But that's just my taste and what I'm used to. I'm not a big fan of the handle. Idk if if the shape or size, but it just didn't feel comfortable to me. Overall though, I feel the knife is pretty cool and wish I was able to give it more time.

 

[Barmoley]

I forgot to mention, that this knife was made to my specification, so length, height, profile, balance, handle size are my fault, but I like them. @HSC /// Knives delivered what I asked for with this knife.

 

[mise_en_place]

I'd love to try that knife. I've got a petty in Zwear from Harbeer that I love.

 

[daveb]

Wow, you cut that cheese really thin.......

 

[labor of love]

Well you know Dave, I’m in the middle of making Mac sauce and guys were demanding pics. This is what happens Larry.

 

[MrHiggins]

What's the handle made of? How's it feel? HSC3 is making me a knife and we're going back and forth on handles right now. I'm super excited.

 

[labor of love]

The handle has good size, weight and feel. I have no idea what it is. Single piece construction.

 

[Barmoley]

It is rosewood. I wanted the handle as light as possible to move balance forward, since we were limited by the thickness of the blade due to the thickness of available Z-wear blank. Rosewood was the lightest wood Harbeer had on hand. It worked out perfectly for my preference.

 

[AT5760]

I like that profile. How tall?

 

[Chuckles]

Wow, you cut that cheese really thin.......

Obviously you’re not a golfer.

 

[labor of love]

Just minced a dozen onions. Really enjoy the profile. Handle is really great in use. Grind has righty bias that a lefty like myself can feel.

 

[labor of love]

I like that profile. How tall?

Notice the photo above w 2 knives? For scale the HSC3 is laying next to my isasmedjan which is 53mm x 242mm. So it’s pretty tall.

 

[marc4pt0]

Dang, sorry I missed this pass around

 

[ian]

Ditto. Looks awesome! Nice work, @HSC /// Knives .

 

[MrHiggins]

It is rosewood. I wanted the handle as light as possible to move balance forward, since we were limited by the thickness of the blade due to the thickness of available Z-wear blank. Rosewood was the lightest wood Harbeer had on hand. It worked out perfectly for my preference.

Thanks! I asked for a very simple and light handle and Harbeer suggested either rosewood or wenge. We're leaning towards wenge at the moment. I want a wood that has a little texture and grip to it. How's the rosewood for grip?

 

[labor of love]

Thanks! I asked for a very simple and light handle and Harbeer suggested either rosewood or wenge. We're leaning towards wenge at the moment. I want a wood that has a little texture and grip to it. How's the rosewood for grip?

Catcheside wenge is really good too. This particular rosewood is softer than wenge. Wenge is most likely more textured, I don’t really know for sure though.

 

[ian]

Yea, the Catcheside wenge I tried was super textured. Not my favorite handle shape, but it was comfortable enough.

 

[Barmoley]

Thanks! I asked for a very simple and light handle and Harbeer suggested either rosewood or wenge. We're leaning towards wenge at the moment. I want a wood that has a little texture and grip to it. How's the rosewood for grip?

This rosewood, to me, feels softer and warmer than wenge I've tried. Wenge had more texture. Weightwise I don't know which would be lighter, I asked for the lightest possible wood. It is also pretty good when wet, but so is wenge.

 

[M1k3]

I also used it. I was after @YG420 , before @labor of love. I was thought it was a very nice knife. Fit and finish was excellent. Choil and spine area were very comfortable. The handle was very comfortable also. Quite thin behind the edge. Food release was decent. Nothing to complain about, but, could be better (could be much worse also). No stiction though, which is great. This was a custom knife, so my opinion on the profile is subjective. I really liked the generous flat spot, but, I would of liked the tip to be 2-3mm higher. Sharpening it was relatively easy. A tiny bit more work than AS, but definitely easier than VG-10. I believe the steel is actually semi-stainless, but, I didn't see any patina formation. That all said, I enjoyed the knife very much.

Thanks @Barmoley and @HSC /// Knives for the opportunity.

 

[HSC /// Knives]

thanks for the feedback so far, I welcome it and it's appreciated.
I believe this one is 235x54...

About Z Wear PM - This is a powder metallurgy high alloy carbon tool steel. It has the added benefits of some increased corrosion resistance (7,5% chrome) and added toughness, and perhaps best of all, better edge holding.

what it looked when it was first completed.

Here's another one that a forum member has

and another one with Lacewood handle.

The steel is difficult to work with and costly.
I'm keeping the price down with a simple utilitarian handle.
a 3 pc frame handle, with different woods and a black G10 frame.

Ideally I want this steel in a laminated version (san mai) with softer stainless cladding.
I'm working on this...I did an initial trial of some laminated with another bladesmith.
The weld was good but we overheated the steel core so they were junk.

@YG420 I'm going to review the nose shape, it's something I'll be working on.

big thanks to @Barmoley for taking the leap of faith with me on the very first one.

 

[cheflife15]

thanks for the feedback so far, I welcome it and it's appreciated.
I believe this one is 235x54...

About Z Wear PM - This is a powder metallurgy high alloy carbon tool steel. It has the added benefits of some increased corrosion resistance (7,5% chrome) and added toughness, and perhaps best of all, better edge holding.

what it looked when it was first completed.

Here's another one that a forum member has

and another one with Lacewood handle.

The steel is difficult to work with and costly.
I'm keeping the price down with a simple utilitarian handle.
a 3 pc frame handle, with different woods and a black G10 frame.

Ideally I want this steel in a laminated version (san mai) with softer stainless cladding.
I'm working on this...I did an initial trial of some laminated with another bladesmith.
The weld was good but we overheated the steel core so they were junk.

@YG420 I'm going to review the nose shape, it's something I'll be working on.

big thanks to @Barmoley for taking the leap of faith with me on the very first one.

I have that knife in the middle. Absolutely amazing performer. Theres nothing the knife doesnt do very well. Thin tip perfect for detail work, distal taper, and the handle is insanely comfortable.

The steel is great. I've put it through some decent paces and its still sharp. Curious to see how it feels on the stones.

 

[YG420]

thanks for the feedback so far, I welcome it and it's appreciated.
I believe this one is 235x54...

About Z Wear PM - This is a powder metallurgy high alloy carbon tool steel. It has the added benefits of some increased corrosion resistance (7,5% chrome) and added toughness, and perhaps best of all, better edge holding.

what it looked when it was first completed.

Here's another one that a forum member has

and another one with Lacewood handle.

The steel is difficult to work with and costly.
I'm keeping the price down with a simple utilitarian handle.
a 3 pc frame handle, with different woods and a black G10 frame.

Ideally I want this steel in a laminated version (san mai) with softer stainless cladding.
I'm working on this...I did an initial trial of some laminated with another bladesmith.
The weld was good but we overheated the steel core so they were junk.

@YG420 I'm going to review the nose shape, it's something I'll be working on.

big thanks to @Barmoley for taking the leap of faith with me on the very first one.

No worries, i think its a very well made knife and i do like what ive seen from you so far, its just my preference to have a more upswept nose, but as @Barmoley said, you delivered to his specs perfectly. Im sure we’ll continue to see great things from you soon!

 

[M1k3]

Don't take any of my criticism to heart. You didn't make the knife to my liking. I'd definitely recommend you though.

 

[labor of love]

Well I took the knife to the stones today. I didn’t find it to be hard to sharpen really. Of course it helps if you use a shapton pro 1k like I do, that stone sharpens pretty quick. Actually raised a pretty nice sized burr. The steel definitely feels hard. The feeling on the stones reminded me of DT AEBL. Finished on rika 5k. Unfortunately I won’t hold on the knife to see how long it holds an edge which I’m guessing will be quite a while.
I dunno, I went into this thinking it might be hard to sharpen but it was fine. Also, the edge was really responsive to a felt strop.

 

[labor of love]

Just dropped the knife off at the post office.
In conclusion:
1) Really cool handle
2) steel sharpens fine, although not fast by any means
3)probably hold an edge for a really long time
4) HSC3 did a great job with profile customization, as cool as it looks in photos I couldn’t use something like this all the time. Low pointy delicate tip is just begging to be tipped with the way I cut food. I’d go with regular HSC3 profile instead.
5) As a lefty I feel like all the good convexing stuff was on the opposite side of the blade so it’s not really fair for me to comment. Too much food sticking for me, but shouldn’t be as much of an issue for right handed weirdos.
Thanks again @Barmoley !

 

[labor of love]

Also,
Some patina spots began to develop. Very light patina, the blade isn’t very reactive. But if you don’t wipe the blade down after cutting lemons or something like that it definitely patinas.

 

[Barmoley]

Thanks a lot for the feedback. The profile works for me because of the height of my counter and the way I cut. I am sure of the counter was a bit lower or if I was taller I would prefer a higher tip too.