discontinued kitchen knives

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baja311

Joined
Dec 10, 1999
Messages
4
I notice on the Spyderco Web site, there is a line of discontinued Pro Culinaire knives. The original MSRPs are higher than Henckels and Wusthofs. Anyone know anything about them? Why was one line made with Wood/MBS-26 and the other half with Mycarta/AUS-8? (How is AUS-8 as a kitchen steel?) How well balanced are they? I called Spyderco and was told that the largest one (M300/KX02) has an 11-3/4" blade length. Holy Cow! Is that true?
 
Both MBS-26 and AUS-8 make excellent kitchen knives. They are both extremely fine-grained steels that take true razor edges. Typical kitchen stainless runs from 54-56 rockwell, even from premium manufacturers. AUS-8 kitchen knives I have tried tend to run in the 57-58 range. The Spyderco cutlery I have tried is a rockwell point or two higher.

AUS-8 is a little more likely to have the edge roll if overstressed (on the other hand I can usually fix that by steeling the blade on a smooth steel). Both MBS-26 and AUS-8 are easy to maintain, as good kitchen knives should be.

I'm glad you brought my attention to these discontinued knives. The current production line of Spyderco kitchen knives are MBS-26 with black rubberized plastic handles, very practical, but not real pretty. I would rate the discontinued line of wooden and micarta handled knives as some of the finest in the world. They are probably being continued because they cost too much to produce. If you're in the market for a gift for Christmas these discounted knives would be great. The MBS-26 blades are virtually unique to Spyderco and are truly superior.
 
Both of these sets are conventional chefs knives in the US/German tradition. We were testing makers and trying to break into the kitchen knife market. Tough to do for small new guys.

The micarta models are AUS-10. Error in printing (thanx for calling it to my attention).

The blade size for the large model is correct. They were produced with professionals in mind.

Not too many better knives IMO (None in production that I can think of)

Cost of manufacture is very high, but then again, the standards are very high as well.

These are priced as a close out and will not be available again.

sal
 
AUS-10, even more fun! I hope I get to try these knives, I just spent a pile of money replacing a car engine and I'm not supposed to buy any more knives for the rest of the month.
 
My discontinued kitchen knives arrived today. Here's my two cents. The blades are excellent. Better than any knives in my kitchen. They are a little bit slimmer than other knives in their class, and you can feel the weight difference. The shape and the finish are a little unusual, but in a very tasteful, attractive way to me. I think that somewhat better work could have been done on the handles. The rivets, the tang, and the wood are not perfectly matched, and so the handle doesn't feel quite as smooth as it should. In one case, the stain from the wood ran over onto the rivets. I don't mind these things -- it makes them feel more "handcrafted" to me -- but I imagine they might make some dealers hesitant. On the upside, they came in very nice boxes, excellent for presenting. In any case, I'm thrilled with my purchase.
 
Sal,

I am looking there now but can't find any reference to blade size. How big are they?
 
Chief - thanx for calling that to my attention. Blade shapes are about 12", 8" & 5".

sal
 
To be specific, they're
4-5/8"
9-1/2"
11-3/4"

Or at least that's what I was told on the phone when I called. I think the real lengths are metric -- 120 mm (or maybe 125?), 250 mm, 300 mm.
 
I also picked up the mid-sized KX03, 9 1/2" blade with micarta scales, and have been using it routinely since just before Christmas. I fully agree with baja311's comments: very nice design and finish, but the handle scales' fit is just slightly off. But it's great to use: well-balanced, rocks really nicely from tip to heel for "high-speed" chopping, and keeps a very fine edge as one might expect. I don't know if there is any significant real-use difference between MBS-26 and AUS-10, but my AUS-10 seems to be more than adequate.

I also want to support the sentiments expressed by James Mattis and others elsewhere: thin blades rule!

At 60% off retail (s&h included!), these kitchen knives are really an outstanding offer. As I understand it, once they're gone, they're gone. So if you're looking for a reliable kitchen knife, check these out.

Glen

------------------
Y2K complacent
 
Ewok, now that you mention it, mine also has the chisel grind.

I think Sal mentions Chisel grind on kitchen knives in the Sharpmaker Video.

Maybe you noticed, there is a great thread going on now in the General Forum, Blade Disc., topic is, Chisel Grinds. http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum32/HTML/002228.html

MC


[This message has been edited by mcfg (edited 01-04-2000).]
 
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