Jovidah
Vocal amateur
Figured I'd write my impressions after using these for a while. Robert Herder isn't mentioned a whole lot here but I figured I'd write down a few things, even if only so that people can stumble upon it while googling. Not a super elaborate review, but just what stood out to me. I just ripped some photos from the RH website so you know what knife I'm talking about... I don't think my mediocre photography skills with my cheap phone camera would add much, but feel free to ask if you're curious about anything.
Main points regarding the K5
-As expected from Robert Herder, knife comes sharp and proper thin behind the edge. Basically German laser.
-Although they advertised with convex-ish grind I cannot say I particularly noticed much of this in practise. It's still a sticky laser. Could be that this is due to a relatively high level of polish on the blade.
-Spine isn't absurdly thin though so it doesn't feel flimsy. No flex.
-Other than the stickage, it does cut awesome... Think Robert Herder paring knife performance in a larger package.
-It's advertised as a 182 mm. That's blade length, not edge length... although the difference is small due to how close to the heel the edge starts.
-About 155 gram.
-Balance is at the bolster... if it had one. It's basically where the handle starts.
-Profile is sort of an inbetween between a 180 gyuto and a santoku. Rather personal whether that's your cup of tea of nor. My main gripe with it is that it's simply on the short side. If you want larger, the K Chef is an option (it's 225), but it's also a lot more expensive.
-I have the carbon version which is rated at 61,5 rockwell. I've heard mention that it's supposedly 1.2519 - which is supposed to be similarish to blue steel - but don't take that statement as gospel; I'm not 100% sure on it. In practise I've had no issues with chipping, it sharpens pretty easily, holds an edge pretty well, but I haven't exactly done a scientific study or comparison on it. What stood out is that it isn't particularly reactive. The cheapo C75 Herders can discolor onions a bit at the start. Had no such issues with these... They were remarkable unreactive. Never any smells, no discoloration, and it got to the point where it felt like they were kinda slow to take a patina.
-It's a monosteel.
-Good for anything vegetable that isn't too large... not so good for bigger vegetables and large pieces of meat due to lack of length (duh). Fun blade to use but wouldn't want it as my only blade; just becomes clumsy due to lack of length.
Now for the bad stuff:
-Spine and choil are not rounded. Normally I don't mind - I'm a home user so I rarely hold a knife for hours on and, but these were more unpleasant than usual.
-The is no bolster at all. This also means that there isn't really anything protecting the scales of the knife when you're washing it. Since the handle is so close to the heel of the knife this means it's almost impossible to prevent contact with water and soap while cleaning the knife. In my case this has already resulted in the little handle protrusion starting to come away from the handle a little bit. And this is only after a few months of usage. As a result I now basically baby the handle to avoid this inevitable deterioration of hte knife. Note that this happened after I treated the handles by soaking them in a jar of mineral oil for at least a full day. I think it's just a design flaw; the smallish protrusion is just asking for trouble. I checked before purchase to make sure I got good handles and they were perfect when I bought them.
General verdict on the K5
-For this reason I'd be extremely reluctant to recommend this knife to anyone. The price is also a lot higher these days (around 150 euros, though I got it for half on a sale), and at that price you don't want handles that start to come apart after a few months even though you babied them. There is an option for a POM handle, but only on the stainless model. Rehandling it might be an option (shouldn't be too difficult, it is a full tang knife), but it's silly if you almost have to calculate that in when buying. WIth the wood handles I would really not recommend them for a professional environment.
It's a shame, because otherwise the handle is well done and feels nice and polished.
Main points regarding the K6
-Almost everything above applies... same issue with the handles. Well, mine hasn't started to come apart yet, but I expect it will eventually; it has the exact same design.
-Same level of fit & finish... nice polished handle that looks nice (but will probably not last), but again lack of rounded spine. Since there's no choil (due to the profile of the knife) and you use and hold this knife differently I found it less annoying on this knife.
-Bolsterless design with lack of any neck to the knife is again a design flaw... it's just asking for trouble in the long run from both a hygienic and handle-durability perspective.
-Again, while really thin at the edge, spine isn't super thin. Only a tiny negligible amount of flex. It's stiffer than you'd expect from the weight, profile and name ('ham & filetting knife').
-Only 100 gram. SUPER nimble.
-Balances ~0.5cm in front of the handle.
-I have the carbon version. Same experience; I basically had to leave this knife dirty for it to start getting a decent patina. Monosteel again.
-The advertised 230mm length is applicable to both edge and blade due to the profile / desing.
-The profile is really unique... only 2 cm high along the entire length... no real heel to the knife. It's basically the lovechild of a fillet knife and a sujihiki... without the flex.
-Due to the lack of heel it's not that great as a slicer for finished meats. It'll work, but since you have no knuckle clearance something taller is more practical. Still works if you pull up at the end or place your product close enough to the cutting board edge that your handle comes off the board.
-What this thing REALLY shines at though is raw meat trimming, cleaning, etc. Because it's so light and low it's like using a 230 petty. The length doesn't really get in the way as much as I expected to, probably since it's so light. But it makes it very comfortable to trim larger pieces of silverskin in 1 go, is still large enough to slice well, while still being as nimble as a smaller petty.
It's not perfect - I wished the tip was a bit thinner to poke it in easier while trimming silverskin, but other than that it still works so incredibly nice.
-Easy as pie to sharpen too with this flattish profile and lack of tip.
General verdict on the K6
-On this one a very... mixed impression. The handle makes me reluctant to recommend it, while at the same time the unique profile made me fall in love with it straight away. If you're a vegetarian, there is no point buying this. If you look for something to cut roasts or whatever post cooking, again, I'd say get a suji. But if you find yourself processing bigger chunks of boneless meat that need trimming and cleaning up at least every now and then it's worthy of consideration, even with the handle issues. I found it uniquely useful in that role.
It would probably do filleting fish reasonably well too but I haven't really tried; I prefer to leave the skin on.
Main points regarding the K5
-As expected from Robert Herder, knife comes sharp and proper thin behind the edge. Basically German laser.
-Although they advertised with convex-ish grind I cannot say I particularly noticed much of this in practise. It's still a sticky laser. Could be that this is due to a relatively high level of polish on the blade.
-Spine isn't absurdly thin though so it doesn't feel flimsy. No flex.
-Other than the stickage, it does cut awesome... Think Robert Herder paring knife performance in a larger package.
-It's advertised as a 182 mm. That's blade length, not edge length... although the difference is small due to how close to the heel the edge starts.
-About 155 gram.
-Balance is at the bolster... if it had one. It's basically where the handle starts.
-Profile is sort of an inbetween between a 180 gyuto and a santoku. Rather personal whether that's your cup of tea of nor. My main gripe with it is that it's simply on the short side. If you want larger, the K Chef is an option (it's 225), but it's also a lot more expensive.
-I have the carbon version which is rated at 61,5 rockwell. I've heard mention that it's supposedly 1.2519 - which is supposed to be similarish to blue steel - but don't take that statement as gospel; I'm not 100% sure on it. In practise I've had no issues with chipping, it sharpens pretty easily, holds an edge pretty well, but I haven't exactly done a scientific study or comparison on it. What stood out is that it isn't particularly reactive. The cheapo C75 Herders can discolor onions a bit at the start. Had no such issues with these... They were remarkable unreactive. Never any smells, no discoloration, and it got to the point where it felt like they were kinda slow to take a patina.
-It's a monosteel.
-Good for anything vegetable that isn't too large... not so good for bigger vegetables and large pieces of meat due to lack of length (duh). Fun blade to use but wouldn't want it as my only blade; just becomes clumsy due to lack of length.
Now for the bad stuff:
-Spine and choil are not rounded. Normally I don't mind - I'm a home user so I rarely hold a knife for hours on and, but these were more unpleasant than usual.
-The is no bolster at all. This also means that there isn't really anything protecting the scales of the knife when you're washing it. Since the handle is so close to the heel of the knife this means it's almost impossible to prevent contact with water and soap while cleaning the knife. In my case this has already resulted in the little handle protrusion starting to come away from the handle a little bit. And this is only after a few months of usage. As a result I now basically baby the handle to avoid this inevitable deterioration of hte knife. Note that this happened after I treated the handles by soaking them in a jar of mineral oil for at least a full day. I think it's just a design flaw; the smallish protrusion is just asking for trouble. I checked before purchase to make sure I got good handles and they were perfect when I bought them.
General verdict on the K5
-For this reason I'd be extremely reluctant to recommend this knife to anyone. The price is also a lot higher these days (around 150 euros, though I got it for half on a sale), and at that price you don't want handles that start to come apart after a few months even though you babied them. There is an option for a POM handle, but only on the stainless model. Rehandling it might be an option (shouldn't be too difficult, it is a full tang knife), but it's silly if you almost have to calculate that in when buying. WIth the wood handles I would really not recommend them for a professional environment.
It's a shame, because otherwise the handle is well done and feels nice and polished.
Main points regarding the K6
-Almost everything above applies... same issue with the handles. Well, mine hasn't started to come apart yet, but I expect it will eventually; it has the exact same design.
-Same level of fit & finish... nice polished handle that looks nice (but will probably not last), but again lack of rounded spine. Since there's no choil (due to the profile of the knife) and you use and hold this knife differently I found it less annoying on this knife.
-Bolsterless design with lack of any neck to the knife is again a design flaw... it's just asking for trouble in the long run from both a hygienic and handle-durability perspective.
-Again, while really thin at the edge, spine isn't super thin. Only a tiny negligible amount of flex. It's stiffer than you'd expect from the weight, profile and name ('ham & filetting knife').
-Only 100 gram. SUPER nimble.
-Balances ~0.5cm in front of the handle.
-I have the carbon version. Same experience; I basically had to leave this knife dirty for it to start getting a decent patina. Monosteel again.
-The advertised 230mm length is applicable to both edge and blade due to the profile / desing.
-The profile is really unique... only 2 cm high along the entire length... no real heel to the knife. It's basically the lovechild of a fillet knife and a sujihiki... without the flex.
-Due to the lack of heel it's not that great as a slicer for finished meats. It'll work, but since you have no knuckle clearance something taller is more practical. Still works if you pull up at the end or place your product close enough to the cutting board edge that your handle comes off the board.
-What this thing REALLY shines at though is raw meat trimming, cleaning, etc. Because it's so light and low it's like using a 230 petty. The length doesn't really get in the way as much as I expected to, probably since it's so light. But it makes it very comfortable to trim larger pieces of silverskin in 1 go, is still large enough to slice well, while still being as nimble as a smaller petty.
It's not perfect - I wished the tip was a bit thinner to poke it in easier while trimming silverskin, but other than that it still works so incredibly nice.
-Easy as pie to sharpen too with this flattish profile and lack of tip.
General verdict on the K6
-On this one a very... mixed impression. The handle makes me reluctant to recommend it, while at the same time the unique profile made me fall in love with it straight away. If you're a vegetarian, there is no point buying this. If you look for something to cut roasts or whatever post cooking, again, I'd say get a suji. But if you find yourself processing bigger chunks of boneless meat that need trimming and cleaning up at least every now and then it's worthy of consideration, even with the handle issues. I found it uniquely useful in that role.
It would probably do filleting fish reasonably well too but I haven't really tried; I prefer to leave the skin on.
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The results look smooth and durable.
