- Hiromoto, Blue Steel
- Richmond, m390
- McCullen, 14C28N
- cKc, AEB-L
- Yamashin, White Steel
This review consists of :
Knives :
This review consists of : |
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McCullen Knives , basic specifications :
The knife also came with a very simple kydex case. It would not be called a sheath to be accurate as it :
but was mainly intended as an edge guard. Curiously it has found much more, or just as important use in a transport case as it allows easy carry for use in preparing meals outside (cooking at the beach, camping) and just assisting friends when invited over for meals.
The knife had :
The only issues are very minor aesthetic and would require very careful observation to detect :
On 3/8" hemp :
Before the knife was used extensively in the kitchen the edge was reset at an angle of 8-9 dps to take advantage of the high inherent edge stability of the steel.
In general makers who evaluate their knives have been always those that are consistent which high levels of performance. After Jeremy made this knife he used it for some simply work in the kitchen to ensure it had no gross issues and he was satisfied, at least on a basic level that it was ready to ship.
Now debate what you will about the use of the label, this is one of the many advantages to custom knives when the maker is trying to actually provide a superior blade and isn't simply copying designs but using essentially science (observation, testing and refinement) to ensure that performance is as required.
Jeremy has done a lot more work with his knives on other videos, the one on the right was just a quick check mainly on sharpness and general handling.
This steel, 14C28N, has a very high edge stability and thus it is trivial to obtain a very high sharpness and it easily cuts foods which require a high sharpness very easily :
It also can do such cutting without a draw and with simple rapid push cuts. This does require a fairly high polish and will start to be evident at finishes past 1200 DMT, Spyderco Fine for example or any fairly high waterstone, 4k or higher. This knife is usually used with a finish from a MXF DMT which gives a very nice combination of slicing aggression without reducing push cutting ability significantly.
On deep cuts through fairly soft materials :
the very wide blade makes it very easy to keep the blade stable in the cuts and make very clean and straight slices. This is one of the reasons that in general many fruit and vegetable knives are very wide and almost cleavers.
The same wide blade gives high stability in cuts on thicker vegetables as well :
However there is some sticking on starchier potato. This likely could be improved if the edge was flat ground to about 0.050" and then a light curvature was added to bring the edge down to 0.005" This curvature would aid to pop the food off of the bevel by making it attempt to wrap around a curve which is difficult for rigid vegetation.
On a small chicken, it worked very well though of course is not nearly as nimble as an actual boning knife and unless the work is done very coarsely as is common with Chinese cleaver style work a much smaller and more nimble knife would be preferred, unless you are Martin Yan.
On the positive, there was no effect on the edge from the light bone contacts :
and had no :
of the edge.
Ergonomics : the grip comfort is very high due to the full rounded :
It thus works very well in a forward pinch grip, grips against the heel and as well for palm strikes/pressure on the spine in heavy cuts which can be needed for very thick vegetables.
Security : the handle of the knife is smooth and thus the inherent stability in hand is fairly low even with the octagonal shape. It does index in hand exceptionally well giving high control however it would not be a grip which would be functional in extreme high stress cutting in slippery materials (fish processing). Of course it isn't made for that type of work and for use in a kitchen the very wide dropped blade is enough to keep the fingers safe from the edge.
Durability : the knife is made with stabilized Ebony which is a very hard wood and has a white G10 spacer. The only real concern in regards to durability would be repeated exposure to very high temperatures which may be able to loosen the epoxy bond to the tang. It would not be recommended to run this knife through the dishwasher repeatedly.
Construction :
This knife was made with an eastern style handle which means it does not have :
The heavy bolster is often needed to counter act the weight of the heavy steel tang. This knife has a completely enclosed hidden tang which not only keeps steel off of the grip it reduces the need for a bolster counter balance and thus reduces the over all weight necessary. However in this case as the blade was made extra wide as an experiment the handle had to be made over sized to ensure the balance was as required (neutral in a forward pinch grip).
14C28N has as one of its strength the ability to be sharpened to a very high polish and hold that very narrow apex at a very low edge angle. Due to this property, the inherent very high edge stability, it is very trivial to sharpen. As it has a low carbide volume it is also easy to grind even with basic stones. The combination of these two properties means it sharpens exceptionally easy and it is often approaching the finish needed to push cut newsprint just at the shaping stage.
The very high edge stability also means that there is very little needed in regards to burr removal or even minimization and none of the usual steps of :
are needed as the edge normally will form very clean without any specific attention/focus to make it do so simply because of the inherent edge stability of the steel.
On Cardboard it performs as a high Class II type steel as expected :
| # runs | Initial Sharpness | 15% | 10% | 5% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cardboard cut (m) | ||||
| 4 | 97+18(22) | 3.5+0.4(0.5) | 8.9+1.3(1.7) | 56+ 9(12) |
As important, or even more so than the fact that it is able to hold a high sharpness on this type of abrasive material for an extended period of time is the fact it takes very little damage in doing so. As noted in the image at the right which is at 50X linear magnification. After a cardboard run which is approximately 1000 foot long slices the edge has no :
It just slows slow and even wear. This shows the steel has a very nice balance of strength and toughness even on the microscopic scale and keeps the edge free of damage.
Beyond stock cutting, in the kitchen the edge retention is usually high enough that it keeps cutting until the edge just picks up enough random impacts from hard contacts (plates, pots and such) that it can be sharpened. This can take 1-3 months depending on how much care is used. As foods are not very abrasive, if desired, the edge can be restored at this point by simple use of a smooth steel.
The steel, 14C28N was designed by Sandvik :
Sandvik 14C28N is a martensitic stainless chromium steel with a chemistry optimized for high quality professional knife applications. The chemical composition provides a unique combination of properties including:Sandvik 14C28N is mainly recommended for knife applications which put very high demands on edge sharpness, edge stability and corrosion resistance. Examples are pocket knives, chefs knives, hunting knives and fishing knives.
- Excellent edge performance
- Very high hardness
- Good corrosion resistance
It has a maximum hardness range of 60-62 HRC and due to the mid-carbon content will form lathe martensite and is thus very tough (for a stainless) at a high hardness. As an example, a medium size chicken was cut up without proper technique which included :
This was done intentionally to check the edge durability when less than ideal technique was used.
As shown in the image on the right which is at 5X magnification, the only damage which resulted was a very small dent in the edge which is barely visible. Note as well that the edge here was ground at approximately eight degrees per side. This again shows the very high strength and toughness of the steel in small cross sections which would be expected as that is exactly how the steel was designed.
Overview :
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and/or the YouTube Playlist for Kitchen Knives.
Most of the pictures in the above are in the PhotoBucket
album.
| Last updated : | |
| Originally written: | 28/10/2013 |