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Scarfmace

Scarfmace

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Joined
Feb 4, 2019
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Belgium
Hey everybody,

I was talking to a friend last weekend who told me that he knew somebody who handmade kitchen knives and was asking around 800€ per knife.

I was intrigued by this and looked the guy up on the internet:

www.mknives.eu

Basically they are "handmade" from 1.1409 stainless steel with a lifetime warranty. The price for his Gyotu is 915€.

Does anybody know this type of steel / Knifemaker? My friend told me he makes about 400 a year and is looking to do 800 soon. What do you guys think?
 
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The steel is 1.4109 (not 1.1409). Steel specs that I randomly gleaned from a producers product PDF are;
C: 0.7% Cr: 13.5% Mo: 0.55% hardenable to 57 HRc

Zknives description rather unflattering, says it is German material number equivalent of 440A, but that website is not always 100% on the money about everything, so make your own conclusions;
http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/W-Nr/1.4109.shtml
 
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I do not recall him being mentioned around here. But I would hate to see this discussion to drift towards a 'Chelsea Miller' style one. Since he does not have an online shop it is hard to get an idea about the prices. The only way to really get an idea whether his knives are worth their price is to get one and use it.

But in general for a someone that is new to the high end knives I would recommend starting with Japanese knives to get an idea and only with some more experience start to look around for custom / western made knives.
 
Hey @Dan P. Good find on the steel!

Actually he does have a webshop, but you have to fiddle around on the website to find it
https://mknives.eu/webshop.html#!

I don't want to start anything, I was just wondering about the opinion of people that have a lot more experience with high end kitchen knives, I order to educate myself and help form my own opinion.
 
Matus said:
I do not recall him being mentioned around here. But I would hate to see this discussion to drift towards a 'Chelsea Miller' style one. Since he does not have an online shop it is hard to get an idea about the prices. The only way to really get an idea whether his knives are worth their price is to get one and use it.

But in general for a someone that is new to the high end knives I would recommend starting with Japanese knives to get an idea and only with some more experience start to look around for custom / western made knives.
Click to expand...

Wise words, Matus, as always.
 
I have looked at the two web sites. It is clear that the man with the mustache (as the maker referred to himself) has priced his wares equaling and beyond a number of well known/master smiths.

The gyuto profile is very similar to the kitchen knives designed by Ken Onion. With its large belly and even the spine /handle profile are reminiscent of Kens work with Shun. This is generally not a preferred profile here at KKF.

Mr Miesses' marketing photography/ copy is slick and professional.

It is possible that his wares could be seen by the broader community or by certain individuals, in time, to be worth the price tag he has placed. But, few knowledgable folks will spend honyaki money on an unknown quantity.
 
I've looked at his website in the past and thought some knives looked more appealing to me than others. As for pricing, I don't find it totally unreasonable for a non-necessity luxury item such as his knives. Whether it's worth it is up to the individual buyer. See Chelsea Miller, blah blah blah... ;)

From another angle: I was on social media commenting on another knifemaker's project, and he said that he had 60 to 80 hours invested in it so far and not yet done. If it takes 100 hours to complete the knife, 10€ per hour of labor doesn't sound too unreasonable to me. I just wouldn't be the patron interested in paying for that knife, just saying...
 
I'd hate to needlessly bring back a tread from the dead but as it turns out yesterday I actually had the please meeting the guy behind above mentioned brand during a knife sharpening course. I also had the change to hold one of is knives in my hand and I must say I was really impressed with the level of detail and quality he brings to a knife. The balance is excellent and the grip is like nothing I've held before, I was a bit skeptical about the price range but seeing the product first hand made me realize the amount of work that had gotten into the production he has won a couple of awards in Belgium over the course of 2019 and I can honestly say I get it.
 
Scarfmace said:
I'd hate to needlessly bring back a tread from the dead but as it turns out yesterday I actually had the please meeting the guy behind above mentioned brand during a knife sharpening course. I also had the change to hold one of is knives in my hand and I must say I was really impressed with the level of detail and quality he brings to a knife. The balance is excellent and the grip is like nothing I've held before, I was a bit skeptical about the price range but seeing the product first hand made me realize the amount of work that had gotten into the production he has won a couple of awards in Belgium over the course of 2019 and I can honestly say I get it.
Click to expand...

Did you try it?How does the knife cut?
 
Benuser said:
Why using a mediocre steel when so much work is involved?
Click to expand...

I would be more careful with such statements - the steel has somewhat similar composition to AEB-L plus 0.5% Mo. I fail to see the reason why it should not be able of 60+ HRC. I have no clue how does he HT this steel, but I would not knock it too soon. On top of that - he may be catering to less nerdy bunch than what we have around here and may need to provide blades that are a little more robust.
 
Agreed, these steels are hard to beat from a purely pragmatic standpoint.
Stainless, take a fine edge, tough, OK edge retention, but steelable even at high hardness.

His knives are hardened to 61-62 rc apparently. They do look kinda interesting, but a bit to expensive for me.
 
https://www.mknives.eu/product-page/demi-chef?lang=en
After reading this text, learning why a shorter blade — 210mm with 229g — is preferred in a pro environment, I know for sure: it's all about the looks. How to impress friends and neighbours.
Little sources of irritation: mentioning prices meant for a general public exclusive of VAT, which is simply illegal in his country. Testimonials by locally well-known people who have nothing to do with food or kitchen (two sportsmen and one Flemish nationalist politician).
Language choice between Dutch and English only, which is simply insulting to the half of his countrymen, i.e. those who speak French.
Using poor terminology in Dutch, obviously meant for an ignorant public: 'handvat' where is meant 'heft'.
If the maker wants to get known, I would suggest a pass around.
Asking more than €900 for a non-custom with an average steel is a bit curious.
 
When time allows I will drop by. It's close to my work. Let's see but my impression is exactly in line with Benuser.
 
We cant really judge the HT nor the Grind.

We can assume that they are not super thin behind the edge, since they are marketed at regular people (non knife nerds).

We can also see that there is no distal taper, so probably made from flat stock.

F&F seems to be ok.
Overall most likely way overpriced in comparison, since you can get some of the finest kitchen knives in the world for that kind of money. They might be better than a Tojiro DP though
 
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Let’s be honest here - many of us around here just can’t get around his flashy designs and his way of presenting himself - none of which gives us much idea about how his knives actually perform. So what about giving him at least a benefit of the doubt and wait until someone shares at least some meaningful first hand experience. Just a thought.
 
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