Joel Black 220 Passaround

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PPIIBBSS

PPIIBBSS

KKF Supporting Member
Joined
May 17, 2023
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Location
Los Angeles
Hi all 😁

I'm hosting a Passaround for a Joel Black 220mm 135cr3 wrought clad dammy gyuto

This is the knife from @ashy2classy's recent post:

Thread 'Joel Black 220mm Gyuto' https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/joel-black-220mm-gyuto.71760/

When it arrived, it was pretty thick, so Ashy generously offered to pay for the work to thin it. I happen to live near JKI, so I took it over and had it professionally thinned by Jon. Now it's a fantastic cutter, with a fresh grind and fresh acid etch! I think this stands as a fantastic example of Joel's work, and I wanted to give folks a chance to try something top-notch of his.

I am potentially looking to sell or trade this knife after the passaround, so if you're interested, definitely let me know. I'll pass along Ashy's generosity, and value it at the same $525, even though it's a much better knife now. Of course, folks who participate in the PA will have priority. I just returned from Japan with 9 knives 😬, so I gotta let something go haha

Here are the new specs and photos:

218 x 52
198g

https://imgur.com/gallery/u4DXptq


Important side note:
There were some spots of what I think was delamination on the blade when I received it. I'm quite certain they were there from the moment it left Joel's shop. Jon was able to fix most of them during the thinning, but there is still one spot which needs to be watched for oxidization. There is a close up photo of that spot in the imgur link. I ask everyone to keep the blade oiled when not in use, and if it arrives to you with oxidization, please use something gentle like Simichrome or Flitz to remove it.

Usual rules:
- US only, to keep shipping reasonable

- Open to active, contributing members

- Please only strop/sharpen if truly necessary, and only if you are a very confident sharpener. It is currently fresh from the shop, with a killer edge.

- Each participant pays for shipping, with insurance on the full value of the blade ($525)

- 12 people total, 1 week each

- Each person should post photos when the blade arrives, and again before sending it out, to verify condition (and for my piece of mind haha)

- If you break it, or it breaks before it arrives to the next participant, you gotta buy it, so please do use the shipping insurance (Fedex is best), and pack it carefully.

- The only catch is that the final person may have to send the knife back to me at my new address, in Spain, as I'll be moving next month! But if the knife has a US buyer before the end of the PA, then it can be sent to the buyer instead 👍

- To enter, comment your favorite steel to sharpen, and your location for shipping

Cheers,
Sky
 
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Yes please! California desert.

My favorites on the stones are Doi’s blue 2 and Kuwabara’s white 1, with Y. Ikeda white 1? tied with the Kuwabara, and Lundbergs 26c3 completing the lead horses all inside a length.

What’s the wood of the handle? It’s (!)ing gorgeous.
 
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Dropping it off at the post during my lunch tomorrow. Honestly only got a couple test cuts with it - life has been absolutely crazy and I didn’t get to enjoy this nearly as much as I’d have liked.
 
Gshep91 said:
Dropping it off at the post during my lunch tomorrow. Honestly only got a couple test cuts with it - life has been absolutely crazy and I didn’t get to enjoy this nearly as much as I’d have liked.
Click to expand...
Ah too bad. Glad you got to at least try it a bit! Please post pics before you send it out to verify condition 👍
 
Gshep91 said:
Dropping it off at the post during my lunch tomorrow. Honestly only got a couple test cuts with it - life has been absolutely crazy and I didn’t get to enjoy this nearly as much as I’d have liked.
Click to expand...
Oh boy oh boy!

1719382248500.gif
 
And sent off to @Jbpruner!
I used the knife purely on soft veg: the mirepoix trinity (bought a mess of marrow bones and whipped up some broth, the shallot and parsley (but not the capers! I did not want to strip a well-established patina.) for some tartar sauce, and a russet for hand-cut fries.

Part 1 of my report is general observations.

Construction, fit& finish, and comfort are all 5/5. The handle is made of a truly gorgeous piece of figured wood with a black-dyed wood ferrule. The wide bevel, hybrid kuro/nashiji on the cladding, and the muted elegance of the Damascus combine with the perfectly rounded spine and choil give the package aesthetic integrity. First-class.

Although Playtex insists my hands are XL, I like a smaller handle like the one on this knife. My hand choked up on it (near the heel for regular cuts, midspine for paring) as if it and I had known each other for half a lifetime.

I did not grind, sharpen, strop or otherwise perform any edge tuning. It came and left capable of whispering through receipt paper from heel to tip.

The shipping box is something of a seasoned campaigner. I had no new box available, so I cut a bit of scrap ply as a stabilizer/stiffener.

I’ll follow up with the use report in a bit of time. Currently we are bracing for the queen mother of heat waves, and I expect to estivate.
 
This baddie is in the mail and off to FL! Great performing knife that is beautiful as well. I had a very busy week with the 4th of July throwing off everything but the couple times I did use it, on a few bunches of herbs (chive and parsley) and some peppers and zucchini, I was really impressed. The edge was super sharp and cut everything with ease. The only negative thing I could say about the knife as a whole was that there is a very small gap in the handle where furrel is.
 

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Jbpruner said:
This baddie is in the mail and off to FL! Great performing knife that is beautiful as well. I had a very busy week with the 4th of July throwing off everything but the couple times I did use it, on a few bunches of herbs (chive and parsley) and some peppers and zucchini, I was really impressed. The edge was super sharp and cut everything with ease. The only negative thing I could say about the knife as a whole was that there is a very small gap in the handle where furrel is.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing your review! The little hole in the handle is a weird one haha. When I got it, it wanted to suck up oil, but Jon sealed it up really well when he worked on the knife, so at this point I can say with certainty that it's a purely cosmetic issue
 
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