I was wondering if there are some basic check lists (or advanced) that you guys go through before and when getting a knife before you decide to keep it, how you check for these, and what kind of issues short and long term each item would cause.
Things to check when/before buying a knife
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dafox
Senior Member
I've never seen any check lists like you are asking about, knife selection is pretty personal and quite subjective, you might be best served to fill out the what knife to buy questioner and then buy one of the knives recommended.
I'm sorry, I should clear up my question a bit - I kind of left it very general.
I've been reading some threads about overgrinds (not 100% sure what that does yet), Help fixing a screwed up Mazaki's, rounded tips, edges not being straight because of heat treat, pits from the kurouchi, etc.
And I realized I don't know how to check for these things apart from trusting that the seller is not selling me a lemon or "unconventionally repaired/tuned" knife and wanted to see if there are tell-tell signs I should look out for or at least ask.
I've been reading some threads about overgrinds (not 100% sure what that does yet), Help fixing a screwed up Mazaki's, rounded tips, edges not being straight because of heat treat, pits from the kurouchi, etc.
And I realized I don't know how to check for these things apart from trusting that the seller is not selling me a lemon or "unconventionally repaired/tuned" knife and wanted to see if there are tell-tell signs I should look out for or at least ask.
I recently got my first “real” Japanese knife (replacing a Shun) and here’s what I did before going to a local specialty retailer. I got out my Shun and Zwilling and really looked at them critically. I made a note of the relative weight, the balance points, where my pinch grip landed, the length of the neck (distance from handle bolster to choil), how the handle felt, and how tall at the heel they were. I also noted thickness at the spine, midway, and just behind the edge. I knew I liked the way the Shun felt in my hand, so that was my baseline.
Once I got to the store, they pulled out about a dozen gyutos for me to check out. It was actually a surprisingly fast process of elimination to narrow it down to just a few. Too heavy, too thick, bad balance, heel too low, neck too short, etc. Once I had a few final candidates I looked closely at fit and finish, examined the blade profile, etc. Those last few were all fine so my wife made the final call purely based on aesthetics (although now she’s complaining the handle is too plain). Oh, my up-front filters were 210mm, no VG10, and stainless Damascus-clad.
Anyway, that’s one noob’s process. The guys with more experience undoubtedly have much more nuanced criteria. To your point about actual knife defects, I just placed my trust in the store and there’s always the return policy to use.
Once I got to the store, they pulled out about a dozen gyutos for me to check out. It was actually a surprisingly fast process of elimination to narrow it down to just a few. Too heavy, too thick, bad balance, heel too low, neck too short, etc. Once I had a few final candidates I looked closely at fit and finish, examined the blade profile, etc. Those last few were all fine so my wife made the final call purely based on aesthetics (although now she’s complaining the handle is too plain). Oh, my up-front filters were 210mm, no VG10, and stainless Damascus-clad.
Anyway, that’s one noob’s process. The guys with more experience undoubtedly have much more nuanced criteria. To your point about actual knife defects, I just placed my trust in the store and there’s always the return policy to use.
Nice write up, but after all that, what knife did you end up buying?
spaceconvoy
Senior Member
I'd add to check the handle for any gaps but you've got most of the usual suspects, which are pretty easy to assess visually. Overgrinds are tricky, but you can see them by moving a straight edge like a chopstick up and down the blade. With the proper back lighting any low spots will show light under the straight edge. The hard part is knowing if they're a big deal or not. Almost every hand forged knife will have a few low spots, and they're only a problem if they're deeper than the center line of the knife, from spine to edge (assuming the blade is ground symmetrically and you're sharpening 50/50). Low spots deeper than the center line will turn into holes in the edge that won't make contact with the cutting board.
Shiro Kamo R2 damascus-clad! It was sharp out of the box but I touched it up lightly with a 4k stone and strop and used it tonight for the first time. I love it!
