Finally…two new Japanese kitchen knives.

[Blackhorse]

Combining Anniversary, Birthday & Christmas gift “coupons” from my wife & kids I was able to order two new kitchen knives I’ve been lusting after.

Shun Classic Blonde 8" Kiritsuke




Enso Hizashi 7" Bunka Knife

 

[Timbo]

Lovely looking knives, hope they cut as good as they look.

 

[Blackhorse]

Lovely looking knives, hope they cut as good as they look.

Yeah…well you kinda need to get used to ‘em.

 

[D.L.Ruth]

Very nice, I bought my little brother a three knife set of Shun knives when he started cooking, they are great knives

 

[Timbo]

Japanese steel is excellent. Got some Japanese chisels recently and they are brilliant.

 

[Blackhorse]

Japanese steel is excellent. Got some Japanese chisels recently and they are brilliant.

Total steel freak here. One of the most fascinating substances of all. I’ve made (assembled) many knives and have a decent collection of kitchen, EDC and field knives plus tools. There are regional differences like between Nordic, Western European and Japanese. There are big differences in performance based on heat treatment, etc. Sources run the gamut from files and leaf springs to lab created powder steels. For these knives I chose knives that are VG-MAX Core with over 60 layers of Damascus Stainless Steel Cladding. I prefer it as it’s fairly forgiving and not prone to chipping like the typical Japanese alternative steel SG-2. Anyway…I’ve been using the ENSO and it just glides through roast beef, raw chicken, broccoli, carrots, acorn squash…etc.

Most of my other knives are 10 - 20 years old. In good condition but don’t generally don’t perform on the same level as these.

 

[MLBbreton]

We have a set of Shuns and a set of Wusthofs. But I have to admit I hardly ever use them. Scared of chipping the Shuns. For butchering work I have sets of Victorinox commercial plastic handled knives.
I use a cleaver for everything else. It's been tweaked over time. Bevel is on one side and the front is thinner than the back. I'm a lefty so I ground the bevel to slice left handed. I have righty one for visitors.
One knife to rule them all and in the darkness find them.