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- Dec 5, 2005
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Hello! This review covers the form and function of the Magnum santoku made by Boker. It has been on kitchen detail for a few weeks now, so a full review is in order.
This knife is designed to be a slicer in a purely cullinary context. As such I put it through two slicing tests, and then compared the results against my old stand-by; a well worn Old Hickory chefs knife.
The first test was fairly easy; I simply sliced a bannana. Bannanas are not dificult in the least. This first test was intended to test the form and ergonomics of the boker design:
As expected, the knife easily sliced the bannana with no resistence at all. The ergonomics on the knife are verry good. It is a pleasure to hold, and is quite comfortable. In a comercial setting, it would be the kind of knife you could use all day.
The second test was slicing an apple. The cuts were all done top-down, through the apples core. Apple cores and similar materials can be fairly tough, and may requie a little bit of effort if not using a good knife. This test focused on the knives ability to cut efficiently:
The Magnum did well. It cut through the core, and as you can see in the picture, cut the seeds cleanly in half. There was very little resistence.
After a delicious snack, I came back to the table to examine the knife. A close inspection of the edge revealed that it was still just as sharp as before, and had not developed any visible chips or whare spots on the blade.
Fit and finish: The knives molded plastic handle is very well trimmed; the mold lines do not protrude, and were not noticed by my hand. This knife has absolutely no blade play of any kind, no blade warping, and is perfectly centered in the grip. Overall the fit and finish of this knife is very clean and agreeable.
In comparison with the old stand-by:
* Edge sharpness: The 1095 used in the Old hickory is very easy to sharpen, and as a result has been honed to a finer edge than on the Boker. Even so the Boker was suffiiently sharp "out of the box" and has not lost a step in the last few weeks of use.
* Sharpenability: The Old Hickory is very easy to sharpen. The Boker is unsharpenable.
* Edge retention: I am a huge fan of high carbon steels. Even so I must recognise that the Boker Magnum santoku blows my Old Hickory chefs knife out of the water. The difference is undeniable. I would have had to sharpen the Old hickory at least once in the last two weeks. The Bokers edge is still pristiene. The rumors of ceramics superior edge retantion charateristics are indeed true.
* Overall finish: The Boker is expertly fited. The Old Hickory, while solid as a rock, does have a few cosmetic flaws: the scales have minor gaps against the tang, and the grind lines are not perfect. The Boker is closer to cosmetic perfection.
In summery I have found the Boker Magnum Santoku to be a very efficient and well constructed knife well suited to the cutting needs of any scale kitchen.
This knife is designed to be a slicer in a purely cullinary context. As such I put it through two slicing tests, and then compared the results against my old stand-by; a well worn Old Hickory chefs knife.
The first test was fairly easy; I simply sliced a bannana. Bannanas are not dificult in the least. This first test was intended to test the form and ergonomics of the boker design:
As expected, the knife easily sliced the bannana with no resistence at all. The ergonomics on the knife are verry good. It is a pleasure to hold, and is quite comfortable. In a comercial setting, it would be the kind of knife you could use all day.
The second test was slicing an apple. The cuts were all done top-down, through the apples core. Apple cores and similar materials can be fairly tough, and may requie a little bit of effort if not using a good knife. This test focused on the knives ability to cut efficiently:
The Magnum did well. It cut through the core, and as you can see in the picture, cut the seeds cleanly in half. There was very little resistence.
After a delicious snack, I came back to the table to examine the knife. A close inspection of the edge revealed that it was still just as sharp as before, and had not developed any visible chips or whare spots on the blade.
Fit and finish: The knives molded plastic handle is very well trimmed; the mold lines do not protrude, and were not noticed by my hand. This knife has absolutely no blade play of any kind, no blade warping, and is perfectly centered in the grip. Overall the fit and finish of this knife is very clean and agreeable.
In comparison with the old stand-by:
* Edge sharpness: The 1095 used in the Old hickory is very easy to sharpen, and as a result has been honed to a finer edge than on the Boker. Even so the Boker was suffiiently sharp "out of the box" and has not lost a step in the last few weeks of use.
* Sharpenability: The Old Hickory is very easy to sharpen. The Boker is unsharpenable.
* Edge retention: I am a huge fan of high carbon steels. Even so I must recognise that the Boker Magnum santoku blows my Old Hickory chefs knife out of the water. The difference is undeniable. I would have had to sharpen the Old hickory at least once in the last two weeks. The Bokers edge is still pristiene. The rumors of ceramics superior edge retantion charateristics are indeed true.
* Overall finish: The Boker is expertly fited. The Old Hickory, while solid as a rock, does have a few cosmetic flaws: the scales have minor gaps against the tang, and the grind lines are not perfect. The Boker is closer to cosmetic perfection.
In summery I have found the Boker Magnum Santoku to be a very efficient and well constructed knife well suited to the cutting needs of any scale kitchen.