Japanese style chef

[happychicken1]

Hi all!
My name is mike I am a knife maker from Long Island NY.
I recent (today) posted one of my knives up for sale but it was suggested to me to do a pass around which I would love to do.
This knife is a 7.5 inch Japanese style chef knife with wa handle. It is AEB-L stainless steel at 61 hrc. Heat treat was done professionally. It is 2.5 high at the heel. Rounded spine and choil. Wa is mappa burl blue dye stabilized/g10 white/ bubinga pomelle stabilized.
I would really love to get my knives into peoples hands that really know and enjoy knives and cooking.

 

[T85]

Sign me up!

 

[happychicken1]

Awesome thank you!

 

[A.Malcolm.ations]

I am definitely willing to jump in!

 

[Gshep91]

Interested! Southern California

 

[A.Malcolm.ations]

Knife landed bit between work and my fiancé having some mental trouble I haven’t gone to the post to get it yet (doubles back to back to back…) but I’ll be getting it Monday since I’ll be off. I’ll post pics when I have it

 

[happychicken1]

Take your time. Hope it all works out for you!

 

[A.Malcolm.ations]

Take your time. Hope it all works out for you!
Looking up already! Just gotta get through these doubles!

 

[A.Malcolm.ations]

Finally got things figured out with my fiancé and her complete mental breakdown (it’s been an unbelievable week) but I finally have the knife with me. Excited to give it a whirl

 

[Gshep91]

Just got handed the knife in person by Malcolm and it’s in great shape.
First impressions, without using it yet, are that the Fit & finish is great. The knife is a good weight and the handle is very smooth and comfortable.
The space between the handle and the actual edge of the blade is just a little long for me personally but that is subjective to everyone.
Balance point on the knife is spot on.

Now to go put the baby to sleep and make some lunch!

 

[A.Malcolm.ations]

Glad I could pass it on in person. Unfortunately, I really didn’t get a chance to test the knife out with what I’ve been dealing with in my personal life… but it is a beautiful knife. Very comfortable and finished nicely. No gaps between handle materials and the steel was attractive.

 

[happychicken1]

Thanks Malcom for bringing that knife! I appreciate all the kind words.
Everyone has said the space between the heel and the handle is too big so I believe you are on to something there.
Next time out I will flatten the profile a bit

 

[Gshep91]

Thoughts from day 1.

The pros -
Aesthetically; the knife, blade and handle, are almost spot on. I think any real changes would be more personal preference than anything.

The knife is sharp, not sure if anyone touched it up before I got it but I was pretty happy with it. Stopped for a few passes and it had a pretty good bite & sharp edge.

The weight of the knife is nice for long use, and doesn’t seem like it would cause discomfort after a while (other than gap between handle & edge).

Had little issue cutting softer ingredients like tomato, bell pepper and zucchini. Potato was okay, not fantastic.

Food release, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of Stiction, it wasn’t perfect but it was much better than the knife I’m comparing to. (170mm Yoshikane bunka, only other knife I have in close enough size).

Cons & areas for improvement -

Wedging. Cutting things like large onions & carrots requires quite a bit of strength to push the knife through. And this is really my only gripe, with the knife.

Profile. It isn’t bad but it need a little more flat surface before curving upwards. Lots of kinky being able to cut with the back 1/3 of the knife to slice all the way through stuff was a little frustrating.

While I’m guessing the intention was more of a workhorse grind, I think the knife could be a bit thinner behind the edge without giving up that WH quality.

Along with thinning a bit, the knife could use a bit more distal taper to help with things like horizontal cuts while dicing onions.

I am not a professional and I do not have the knowledge that others on this forum have so I do apologize for that. These are just my thoughts after making 2 meals with a variety of common ingredients.

Final thoughts - I think this knife is very good, definitely better than average performance and arguably top notch F&F. I would be happy to own this knife, for the right price. I think the blade could be incredible with some small adjustments.

Thanks for letting me try it out & excited to see what else you create in the future.

PS. Zipper on case is broken, I have a smaller one that I think the knife will fit in if you’d like me to send it in that instead.

 

[happychicken1]

This is almost the exact same feedback I received from the first guy who is a professional so I think you’re on the money! He had stated that it fights the food going through. He also didn’t like the balance or the profile.
Thanks for taking the time to look at it and put it to work.
If you can tape the case closed that would be fine with me. I don’t want you to have to give me your case