Foody, I like all the knives you suggested. Can you give me a breakdown of each one? Pros/cons, opinions on them.
I really like the way that ikazuchi looks. F&f look amazing.
I really like the way that ikazuchi looks. F&f look amazing.
Your thoughts on stainless clad carbon knives
- Thread starter Danzo
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@Danzo Oof, I'm going to have to get back to you on that one. Both from a my daily prep is usually not that long standpoint and I'd rather have the most recent impressions on them, and a I've been messing around with a totally different feeling knife the past few weeks (and another one before that) to try that out and continue developing my preferences and knowledge.
Are these K&S custom tanaka blue#2's any good?
They got the Damascus and a KU ironclad for a good price too.
They got the Damascus and a KU ironclad for a good price too.
chinacats
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Tanaka blue 2 damascus is an awesome knife, but the iron (damascus) cladding is some of the most reactive I've ever seen on a knife. I loved mine but eventually sold it for that reason. I currently have a ku blue 2 which is much less reactive (in use)...it's not the same exact grind but similar. The knife will cut well out of the box but a good thinning will make it an incredible deal on a great cutter...the grinds are fairly easy to follow on Tanaka when thinning/sharpening. K&S is definitely the way to go, the handles are a serious upgrade (Tanaka ho with plastic handle are horrible) and James eases the spine, choil. In the case of mine, the damascus was probably a mm or 2 taller at the heel, but my ku is still 53mm.
LifeByA1000Cuts
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Would the tadafusa even qualify as "cheap" or just as "great value for money"? Not a rhetorical question.
supersayan3
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I think there are no absolute rules.... a stainless cladded knife might be both less or more flexible than a monosteel, depends on the knives, might be more beautiful to your eyes(silver blade with dark edge) or the opposite( you might like more, patina on the whole blade). As for reactivity, all depends on the quality of the steel(not all carbons are made from the same steel).
Maintenance is the same, since in both cases you have to make the whole blade, or the exposed core dry.
When it comes to thinning, personally, I find it easier to thin a monosteel than a soft stainless cladding( as to why, I feel better respond on the monosteels and I manage to make better shinogi, but maybe that's just me)
A very fine, very cheap knife, to my opinion the most versatile knife out of all that I have is Masahiro Virgin Carbon metal bolster( I assume that everybody must be tired of myself suggesting this knife all the time), but it is just like white 2, at a much cheaper price, plus monosteel(with a tiny little flex-maybe you will not realize it)
Maintenance is the same, since in both cases you have to make the whole blade, or the exposed core dry.
When it comes to thinning, personally, I find it easier to thin a monosteel than a soft stainless cladding( as to why, I feel better respond on the monosteels and I manage to make better shinogi, but maybe that's just me)
A very fine, very cheap knife, to my opinion the most versatile knife out of all that I have is Masahiro Virgin Carbon metal bolster( I assume that everybody must be tired of myself suggesting this knife all the time), but it is just like white 2, at a much cheaper price, plus monosteel(with a tiny little flex-maybe you will not realize it)
Oh man I may pitch the stainless and go for the KU tanaka. Or maybe I'll buy both.
Can you live with "Good" value for money? It's a fairly established line sitting right in the middle of the price point that so many knives are trying to enter at. For the money it seems solid.
paulraphael
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I'll chime in and say I'm not a fan of cladding, for a few reasons. I don't believe there's really a maintenance advantage; the part where corrosion really matters is the cutting edge. I wipe my knives down right after cutting, but my slight preference for stainless (in a gyuto) is that I find acidic foods like onion and garlic have a noticeable effect on the carbon steels I've used. For slicing knives (for proteins) I slightly prefer carbon. The cladding makes no difference to edge corrosion, obviously.
I've also found generally that my monosteel knives have a livelier feel than clad knives. They're more resonant, they transmit more feel of the food and the cutting board to my hands. I don't believe this makes any difference in the quality of my cutting, but it makes the job more enjoyable. Kind of like commuting to work in a sports car ... you won't actually get there any faster than traffic allows, but you'll have some more memorable sensations. Some people believe this is nonsense; other people don't care about it. It's just something to consider.
Regarding sharpening, clad western-style knives aren't equivalent to kasumi single bevels. You're only going to be sharpening the cladding when it comes time to thin the knife. Whether or not the cladding is an advantage here is debatable; it's softer, but some people find that the stainless clogs their stones. I have no experience here; I got rid of my clad gyutos before I had to thin them.
I would consider a clad knife (carbon or stainless) if there was one that kicked ass by every other standard, and there was no comparable monosteel knife. But it's definitely not something I see as an advantage, except often in cost.
I've also found generally that my monosteel knives have a livelier feel than clad knives. They're more resonant, they transmit more feel of the food and the cutting board to my hands. I don't believe this makes any difference in the quality of my cutting, but it makes the job more enjoyable. Kind of like commuting to work in a sports car ... you won't actually get there any faster than traffic allows, but you'll have some more memorable sensations. Some people believe this is nonsense; other people don't care about it. It's just something to consider.
Regarding sharpening, clad western-style knives aren't equivalent to kasumi single bevels. You're only going to be sharpening the cladding when it comes time to thin the knife. Whether or not the cladding is an advantage here is debatable; it's softer, but some people find that the stainless clogs their stones. I have no experience here; I got rid of my clad gyutos before I had to thin them.
I would consider a clad knife (carbon or stainless) if there was one that kicked ass by every other standard, and there was no comparable monosteel knife. But it's definitely not something I see as an advantage, except often in cost.
Welcome paulraphael 
I would only say - I did thinning of a 225 san-mai gyuto and 155 monosteel petit gyuto. It took me less time to do the work on the san-mai. The cladding made a huge difference. It is also easier to re-finish the a clad-blade as it is easier to take out scratches from the soft cladding than from the hardened steel. Now how different knives feel in use depends on many factors and whether the knife is monosteel or san-mai is only one of them. And while most of us tend to prefer clad-knives it is absolutely fine if you feel otherwise.
Have fun around here
I would only say - I did thinning of a 225 san-mai gyuto and 155 monosteel petit gyuto. It took me less time to do the work on the san-mai. The cladding made a huge difference. It is also easier to re-finish the a clad-blade as it is easier to take out scratches from the soft cladding than from the hardened steel. Now how different knives feel in use depends on many factors and whether the knife is monosteel or san-mai is only one of them. And while most of us tend to prefer clad-knives it is absolutely fine if you feel otherwise.
Have fun around here
