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.

A good quality chefs knife for a cheap price

A few months ago I was reading through a food-themed message board and came across a post about a really cheap chef's knife the OP had found on Amazon.  At the time the Michlentic 8 Inch Professional Kitchen Chef Knife was selling for a mere $12.90 so it was an easy decision to add one to an order.  I've been using it for almost two months now and have been pretty happy with it's performance.

 The knife comes in a black gift box.

In the box the blade is nestled in to a form-fitting compartment with a cutout protecting the blade.  The box feel sturdy and should offer great protection when travelling with the knife.

With the cutout removed.  The knife has a hollow edge blade to help reduce surface tension when cutting through wet foods.

The knife weighs in at just under 186 grams, about 33 grams lighter than my Missen chefs knife I wrote about last year and 26 grams lighter than the Victorinox 8 Inch Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife.

The knife is balanced right at the bolster.

I've found the knife very nice to hold, the pakkawood handle is shaped to fit comfortably in your hand.  The knife was razor sharp right out of the box and I haven't really seen much dulling with use, however I do hone the edge before each use like I do with all my knives to keep them sharp.  I was able to quickly shred a head of cabbage with little difficulty and have used it for a variety of other tasks, although I still reach for one of my sturdier knives when a little more heft is called for.  

The price on this knife has been going up and down quite a bit, when I made my purchase it was $12.90, as of today it is up to $22.90.  It'll probably go up and down a bit more before the price stabilizes, but even at the current higher price I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this knife to someone who wants a good quality knife for a low cost.

It's Here!: Misen Chef's Knife Edition

My latest Kickstarter acquisition is the Misen Chef's Knife.  The stated goal of this Kickstarter campaign was to produce "An amazing knife at an honest price", they plan on selling the knife directly to consumers via the Misen web site for $65.  So how good is it?

 First off, the packaging is impressive.  Each knife comes in a box custom designed to keep it safe and secure for shipping or transporting.  In the photo to the left I've already removed the inner box from the outer sleeve.  Upon opening the box the first thing you see is a card showing care instructions, on the other side are pictograms of different types of cuts demonstrated on carrots.

Below the card is a plastic insert that snugly holds the knife in place.

 The Misen knife weighs in at 218.9 grams, about 33% lighter than my go-to Mac Professional 9 1/2" French Chef's Knife.

The balance point is just where it should be, right at the bolster where the handle meets the blade.  If a chef's knife isn't balanced properly you end up expending extra energy moving the blade which causes muscle fatigue.  The handle is made of molded thermoplastic and is very comfortable to hold.

 My knives arrived on a Saturday in the afternoon, I wasn't expecting them until Monday so I didn't really have anything planned.  I did have a new formulation of pizza dough in the refrigerator I saw on Chef Steps that I was going to use on Monday or Tuesday so I decided to pull it out early and make some pizza!  The Misen had no trouble cutting extremely thin slices of onion and I was able to quickly chiffonade basil (picked from the AeroGarden) for the top.  So far I'm very pleased with my new knife!

MMMM, pizza!