A couple of new knives

I've been trying to build by collection of good quality knives lately and have added a few more.

The first is a ZHEN Japanese VG-10 67-Layer Damascus Steel Vegetable Usuba/Nakiri Hollow Ground 6.5 inch Knife/Cleaver.  This is the same manufacturer that made the Damascus vegetable cleaver I bought last year that I liked so much.

This is a pretty light knife with a thin blade.  It has a full tang, is well balanced and the handle is comfortable to hold.  The handle is made of Pakkawood, which is an engineered wood/plastic composite material.  The blade has a very slight curvature to it so it is better for a chopping motion than a rocking one.  I've found that it is excellent for tasks like slicing onions and other soft vegetable prep.  It is exceedingly sharp and the hollow edge helps the cut food fall off the knife rather than sticking to it.  If you're in the market for a Nakiri style knife this is one you may want to consider.






The second new addition to my collection is a DALSTRONG Kiritsuke Chef Knife - Shogun Series - AUS-10V - 8.5" (216 mm) - Sheath.  This was kind of an impulse buy on Prime Day last month.

 Like the Zhen nakiri and vegetable cleaver this knife is made of Damascus steel, I'm a fan of the patterns created by the layering of the steel.  This knife is much heavier than the nakiri and has more of a curvature to the blade so it can be used in a rocking or chopping motion.  Like the others it has a full tang with a triple riveted handle.  The handle itself is made of G-10, which is a glass based epoxy resin laminate.  It's also well balanced and the heft of the knife makes it easier to get through harder vegetables.  The blade on this knife is ground to an 8-12° bevel so it is stunningly sharp, I dropped a plum tomato on the blade from ~ 9" above and it sliced it in two by gravity alone!  I've kind of run out of space in my knife blocks so this will probably be my last acquisition for a while, if I see something else I want to get I'll have to first put some of my other, less used knives in storage or get rid of the altogether.  It's still good to have some cheaper knives on hand for people who don't tend to take care of nice knives properly.