Zwilling Bob Kramer Carbon Damascus 8" Chefs Knife

[Lefty]

^ well that was pretty freaking cool.

 

[ejd53]

Yes, yes that was.

 

[Johnny.B.Good]

Mr. Balbach must have some sort of Google alert set up for his name. Pretty cool that he took the time to register and respond!

 

[Eamon Burke]

Settled, then.

 

[jmforge]

Thanks for the info, Markus. I have seen your steel used by Kevin Wilkins and some other friends of mine in Europe.

@*******,

I´m Markus Balbach from Germany.
My english is not the best, I hope you understand what I write!

It´s right, I supply company Böker since 01.2008 no longer with damascussteel.
But all the other companies in Solingen I supply with steel: Friedrich Hartkopf, Puma, Franz Güde, Eickhorn, Linder, Zwilling and several other companies, knifemakers and Jewelry Manufacturer in Germany and Europe.
If You klick "BALBACH-DAMAST®" on my webside, You can see, what steel I process for my different damascussteel.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Markus Balbach

 

[daddy yo yo]

had a chance to fondle one of these yesterday in a store... it was a bit of a heureka-experience. honestly - and i know that some of you might cheer out, "sinner, lynch him" :curse:irate1::viking::knife::knight::knifed::flame::guillotine: - i never liked bob kramer's knives. i always thought, those are chubby, and maybe even ugly. :butbutbut:eace: but i touched my first (zwilling) kramer yesterday, one of the 250 zwilling/kramer/balbach ones, and i must admit, that those chubby little bastards are pure pleasure in my hand...

so, i swore to myself, i am not going to buy this one, but maybe one of the cheaper zwilling-kramer knives!? :scratchhead: what so you guys think? there is 2 series, right, "euro carbon" made of 52100 in HRC61 with african blackwood handle, and "euro stainless" made of SG2 in HRC63 with micarta handle. i think i am drawn to the 52100 version... any thoughts?

 

[user 1925]

Looks like it. Never underestimate the power of lending one's name to a product.

M

Not really. Other than the so-called "damascus", they look like very different knives...

 

[gic]

I think the euroline Karmer is a great knife as well.

But I also think it needs a new name for its rather unique profile, it's not a gyuto, it is a nakari with a point - so a nyuto????

 

[daddy yo yo]

I think the euroline Karmer is a great knife as well.

But I also think it needs a new name for its rather unique profile, it's not a gyuto, it is a nakari with a point - so a nyuto????

Why is the zwilling kramer gyuto rather a nakiri?

 

[Lefty]

It has a cleaver feel at the heel, and the best tip you will ever see. They are great knives. I've owned one, made multiple pieces for them, and every time, I'm impressed.

 

[user 1925]

I think the euroline Karmer is a great knife as well.

But I also think it needs a new name for its rather unique profile, it's not a gyuto, it is a nakari with a point - so a nyuto????

???


How about "Chef's Knife"--seems rather obvious to me. :scratch head:


"Gyuto" is the Japanese term for a European chef's knife. Why would you call a European chef's knife a gyuto let alone a nakiri???

 

[user 1925]

It has a cleaver feel at the heel, and the best tip you will ever see. They are great knives. I've owned one, made multiple pieces for them, and every time, I'm impressed.

I held a regular 52100 carbon steel Kramer at a store once and was impressed. F&F, grind, etc. all seems top notch. I've even been contemplating picking one up "for fun", which is saying a lot for a minimalist like me.

 

[user 1925]

It has a cleaver feel at the heel, and the best tip you will ever see. They are great knives. I've owned one, made multiple pieces for them, and every time, I'm impressed.

Which size Chef's do you have?

 

[marc4pt0]

Go with the 52100. I have the slicer, 8"and 10" chef knives in carbon. Had an 8" Damascus but returned it. The carbon is just better in every way, and thinner with a finer distal taper towards the tip. I also have the parer in Damascus which I do like.

 

[gic]

But the profile is so different then any of my other chefs knives, and certainly nothing like any gyuto I own. it seems a unique profile to me but of course I haven't seen every profile :- ).

I use it like a nakari actually - for cutting veggies

 

[panda]

why does the handle curve downward?

 

[user 1925]

But the profile is so different then any of my other chefs knives, and certainly nothing like any gyuto I own. it seems a unique profile to me but of course I haven't seen every profile :- ).

I use it like a nakari actually - for cutting veggies

The profile is exactly the same as most German chef's knives.

Of course the steel and grind are a lot better, hence why they have good cutting properties, but the cutting profile (cutting edge) is the same.

Not sure what you mean when you say you use it like a nakari (sic). I use my chef's knife for cutting vegetables too

 

[gic]

Oh just that the blade was so darn wide, I just looked at it and it's wider than my Tojiro Nakari!

I hadn't thought about old fashioned german knives, haven't used one since I got turned on to j-knives

 

[Lefty]

I had the 10", but sold it because I have an addiction. It's a knife that I might buy again, if the price is right. The profile is very German. In fact, we have a Henckels chef's knife at the hall with the same profile and it's the knife I use when I don't feel like taking out my Harner.

The tip position is higher than a J-knife would typically have, but it works, and works wonderfully. Honestly, I could have live with only my ZKramer as my chef knife, and I wouldn't have felt lacking in any way. One thing to keep in mind, however, is the sticktion. A tall profile like this one has often results in sticktion. Meh...an easy trade off, in my mind.

 

[Benuser]

Lefty, please explain. I do understand that with a poor grinding there is more risk of sticking, and a taller profile combined with that poor grinding will only make things worse. On a narrower blade it won't be noticeable, fair enough.
But does it has to do with a higher or lower tip, and more or less belly?