Does anyone have any input on these knives?
They seem ok, but im not really very sure about the quality of the steel.
I was going to buy the Shun's but i just couldnt spend that much cash at the moment.
Any info would be great, thanks.
Billyp
edit for spelling of Calphalon
I just recently bought and 8" chefs and a 6" utility.
pros: 1. they look, cool 2. that have good core steel (VG-1, the kershaw shuns have VG-10 steel, I don't know what the difference is but I heard that there are many kinds of VG steel.) 3. the 6" utility when you can get it very sharp is quite useful having a belly like a chef knife (I don't know how many other utility knifes have bellies, but I have a henckels that doesn't although the blade on it is very thin which is perfect for tomatoes) but it is shallower than a 6" chefs you can actually do fine dicing with this. I like using it for tomatoes, onions, slicing thinly chicken breast and beef.
cons: 1.handles are way to heavy and somewhat short, that's fine for me because I have medium small hands but if you have big hands it will greatly effect your control of the knife. 2. factory edge is to obtuse (I resharpened mine to a much more acute angle and now it is very sharp)3. Since the core steel is harder than most they are extremely hard to sharpen, especially if you don't have sharpening experience. There is plenty of information on sharpening on the net so it won't take long to learn. It took me several tries and hours to get the edge I want on my 8" chef. 3. The curve on the tip of the 8" is to acute to have a good chopping action. 4. the blade meets at the bolster at a angle instead of straight like most knives, this makes it hard get the knife through larger items that require the length of the blade which effectively shortens the usable blade length.
Alas I won a 10" Shun Steel Classic Chefs of Ebay for about $30 off otherwise I would have bought some knifes off
www.japanesechefsknife.com they have a broad selection, but most japanese knives use harder steels than german so they will be harder to sharper but maintain a more acute angle longer. So if you don't have the means or desire to sharpen it yourself try to find softer steel. Another thing about japanese steel is that most of it is not stainless including any damasus (layered) style blade, meaning do not keep these blades wet for longer than 5 minutes I've heard testimony of people leaving this exact knife in the sink for a couple hours and coming back having a rusty knife(that's just stupid to do that anyway). Also, just by use and inspection of the katanas is I don't think the blade is hammered which hardens the steel even more by aligning the molecules, I believe true japanese forged damascus blades are hammered. As far as German knives Wustof are by far the most popular among chefs for a long time, but I think now with the whole Iron Chef show chefs are turning to japanese steel. Compared to Henckels the wustofs look like the steel is more plyable but thicker blades. I like the range of sizes and styles henckels has, they even just came out with a japanese damascus style line (I think the handles are rubbery for grip), but they want like $180 for a 10" chefs which I think you could easily find a true japanese blade for cheaper. Another Company to consider is global, they have several knifes that are full length steel with very thin and sharp blades. And they are very reasonably priced ($85 for 8" chef $110 for 10") this is about the same prices as the katanas but i believe they have much more pros than the katanas. I know my wording is severly fragmented, but I hope it is useful.
