To reply to my own post, Shuns are not a great value in that you can
easily get a better knife for less money, not that there is something
wrong with them. They do have a reputation for being "chippy",
partially because they are quite brittle at least until the steel at
the edge is removed by sharpening a couple times and because all
Rockwell C 62 and harder knives are significantly more brittle than
the usual run of stainless steel or carbon steel knives, which are
usually around RC 56.
Use great care with them not to "rock chop" while walking the blade,
if you twist it in contact with a cutting board they are VERY likely
to chip out along the edge. This is true of most Japanese knives.
You may need to pay attention to your knife handling for a bit to
adapt -- they are better at "push cutting" than rocking, and have a
flatter profile, too.
As far as ceramic knives go, they will stay sharp for a long time, but
are brittle and can shatter if you drop them on hard flooring, and
home sharpening isn't really possible, in general wet diamond power
tools are necessary to avoid crumbling the edge. I know people who
love them and people who won't have them in the house, suit yourself.
Chicago Cutlery with the style numbers stamped in the handles are US
made, probably 440 Stainless if not carbon steel, and pretty decent
knives. I have been having to sharpen them more than I would like,
but that may be due to their condition when I got them used -- the
edge was beaten pretty flat. Might hold an edge better with the
battered steel ground off after a few more times on the stones.
Another knife to keep an eye out for is Forgecraft, long out of
manufacture. These are unremarkable looking carbon steel -- watch out
for rust! -- but run quite hard, RC 60 or 61 isn't uncommon. They
take and hold an incredible edge with minimal work.
Peter
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