Knife collector and cooking lover

[insidiousaudio]

Hi everyone great to still see forums around and especially this one as I'm a home cook from Louisiana and I'm also interested and will be collecting knives.

My first I would say **** at getting a relatively high-end knives is a shun Nagare 8" chef knife.

My second is a miyabi black 5000 mc66 rocking santoku 7"

Shortly I will be doing a review and leaving my personal experience and opinion on both.

I hope to lean a lot here and gather a great collection.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Welcome.

Please browse the forum sticky threads for useful information.

 

[pavhav]

Welcome.
Hadn't heard of a "Rocking Santoku" before, but the profile fits the moniker.

 

[insidiousaudio]

Welcome.
Hadn't heard of a "Rocking Santoku" before, but the profile fits the moniker.

I do both rock and forward. Some things like bell peppers that have a tough skin I find the forward chop dulls the blade along alot more of the edge than just rocking. I use forward chop on herbs like basil etc where I can highly predict the pressure(basically the weight of the blade) while things like onions depending how finly diced I might use a combination of both. I didn't like the Miyabi I actually returned it. Zdp 189 has no business in a knife it's just to brittle

 

[aporigine]

I do both rock and forward. Some things like bell peppers that have a tough skin I find the forward chop dulls the blade along alot more of the edge than just rocking. I use forward chop on herbs like basil etc where I can highly predict the pressure(basically the weight of the blade) while things like onions depending how finly diced I might use a combination of both. I didn't like the Miyabi I actually returned it. Zdp 189 has no business in a knife it's just to brittle

to the bolded: I have a Sukenari ZDP petty. Hasn’t chipped. So probably: it’s not the alloy. It’s the heat treat.

That’s why you won’t only find talk in this forum about [alloy], but whose [alloy].

From my ferrous harem, blue 2 from Itsuo Doi has that special something. Gets way sharp, holds a creditable edge — and tough enough to handle (nonabusive) prep of a wide variety of foods.

 

[insidiousaudio]

to the bolded: I have a Sukenari ZDP petty. Hasn’t chipped. So probably: it’s not the alloy. It’s the heat treat.

That’s why you won’t only find talk in this forum about [alloy], but whose [alloy].

From my ferrous harem, blue 2 from Itsuo Doi has that special something. Gets way sharp, holds a creditable edge — and tough enough to handle (nonabusive) prep of a wide variety of foods.

I won't question your experience I just know this Miyabi with a 12 degree edge feels very chippy. I'll take a sg2 long before that. Holds a finer edge and way tougher. Just my experience.

FYI I'm talking an 7-8" blade

 

[aporigine]

I won't question your experience I just know this Miyabi with a 12 degree edge feels very chippy. I'll take a sg2 long before that. Holds a finer edge and way tougher. Just my experience.

FYI I'm talking an 7-8" blade

If you search “Miyabi chipping” you’ll find that line in particular has given ZDP a bit of a black eye.

It’s why whose ZDP/AS/ 52100 etc. becomes an important part of the equation.

 

[insidiousaudio]

If you search “Miyabi chipping” you’ll find that line in particular has given ZDP a bit of a black eye.

It’s why whose ZDP/AS/ 52100 etc. becomes an important part of the equation.

Yea Ill be honest I don't know enough about blades it's and brands yet so I'm going on what seems to be reliable companies for now. I'd greatly appreciate any advice to good knives both custom and name brand you feel are superior knives.
I'm looking at vanax, k390 or even cmp 20cv for my next blade. Toughness isn't huge on my list edge retention is a bit higher.
For example my vg-10 isn't chippy at all and is rated a 4 on the toughness. Imo it's plenty tuff but edge retention is way to low. Id go with the 20cv which is slightly less though but has nearly 2x the edge retention.
Also vanax in a 62 or so looks to be ideal as well. K390 is badass but I'm worried about it's lower stainless properties. Although I take car of my knives. Might I add I'm a baby to sharpening. Lol

 

[aporigine]

Yea Ill be honest I don't know enough about blades it's and brands yet so I'm going on what seems to be reliable companies for now. I'd greatly appreciate any advice to good knives both custom and name brand you feel are superior knives.
I'm looking at vanax, k390 or even cmp 20cv for my next blade. Toughness isn't huge on my list edge retention is a bit higher.
For example my vg-10 isn't chippy at all and is rated a 4 on the toughness. Imo it's plenty tuff but edge retention is way to low. Id go with the 20cv which is slightly less though but has nearly 2x the edge retention.
Also vanax in a 62 or so looks to be ideal as well. K390 is badass but I'm worried about it's lower stainless properties. Although I take car of my knives. Might I add I'm a baby to sharpening. Lol

One consideration with extremely hard vanadium-forward alloys is that trying to sharpen them on an alumina stone is a recipe for frustration. Budget for a coupla vitrified-diamond stones.

Fwiw VG-10 is a famously variable beast with properties rather sensitive to the heat treat. So to say “it’s rated 4 for toughness” is pretty much contradicted by the fact that firm A’s VG-10 blades cannot be compared to maker B’s. Brittleness, hardness, edge properties of a given steel are not a point on a graph but a surface or volume, with all the complexities of forging, quenching, tempering, grinding etc. having a voice in the result and in the steel’s performance envelope. It’s why certain craftsmen command a premium: they consistently coax high performance out of their favorite alloys.

I am advising against settling for a simplistic algorithm of believing that specifying the knife steel determines the knife’s behavior.

I have white 2 blades from Chopper King, Yasuhiro Yauji, Masanobu Okada. They behave differently on the stones and on the board. They form patina differently. My AS from Tanaka and Takeda are apples&oranges.

In re reliable companies, Zwilling classic forged, Miyabi in various familiar steels concealed behind proprietary alphanumerics, their Kramer line etc. have reputations that are not congruent. I’m still a novice student of the handmade kitchen knife, and will never have a comprehensive overview. If only for the relentless fact that brilliant new makers, in Japan, the West and all over, are constantly changing the landscape.

 

[insidiousaudio]

One consideration with extremely hard vanadium-forward alloys is that trying to sharpen them on an alumina stone is a recipe for frustration. Budget for a coupla vitrified-diamond stones.

Fwiw VG-10 is a famously variable beast with properties rather sensitive to the heat treat. So to say “it’s rated 4 for toughness” is pretty much contradicted by the fact that firm A’s VG-10 blades cannot be compared to maker B’s. Brittleness, hardness, edge properties of a given steel are not a point on a graph but a surface or volume, with all the complexities of forging, quenching, tempering, grinding etc. having a voice in the result and in the steel’s performance envelope. It’s why certain craftsmen command a premium: they consistently coax high performance out of their favorite alloys.

I am advising against settling for a simplistic algorithm of believing that specifying the knife steel determines the knife’s behavior.

I have white 2 blades from Chopper King, Yasuhiro Yauji, Masanobu Okada. They behave differently on the stones and on the board. They form patina differently. My AS from Tanaka and Takeda are apples&oranges.

In re reliable companies, Zwilling classic forged, Miyabi in various familiar steels concealed behind proprietary alphanumerics, their Kramer line etc. have reputations that are not congruent. I’m still a novice student of the handmade kitchen knife, and will never have a comprehensive overview. If only for the relentless fact that brilliant new makers, in Japan, the West and all over, are constantly changing the landscape.

I'm looking for something to tes I guess you can say. I want a definite upgrade from vg10

 

[enrico]

@ethompson pics of the miyabi if you were interested

 

[insidiousaudio]

@ethompson pics of the miyabi if you were interested