How good are Richmond knives?

bh49

bh49

Joined
Dec 27, 2005
Messages
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Recently I became interested in AEB-L steel. It looks like kitchen knives is the great application. Customs are out of my price range, but I found Richmond knives with AEB-L quite affordable. Does anybody have experience with them?
 
Hi bh49,

I can't comment on the Richmond knives in general having never used one. However, AEB-L is widely regarded as an excellent stainless steel for chef knives if it's heat treated correctly.
[video]https://youtu.be/6AcRzsvYtUc[/video]
They seem to be getting good reviews on chefknivestogo.com.
 
I have a Richmond Artifex 210 mm gyuto in AEB-L steel. It's a decent knife and I use it regularly in the kitchen. Takes a good edge on my Shapton water stones.

The blade is a little thicker behind the edge than some kitchen knives so you might need to thin it out some. I left it like it was and just refined the factory bevel a bit. If you are looking for a laser, that particular knife is not it. I wanted something a bit more robust so it's ideal for me. I have other, thinner knives I can use when I need them.

It is the house brand for Mark Richmond of CKTG. He has them made for him. I don't know who made mine. It has no country of origin marked on it.

They are not "lookers" but seem to be pretty well made. Handles are micarta.
 
The only real problem that I have heard of was a manufacturing problem with some of the last knives that came from Lamson before they went through their bankruptcy reorganization. IIRC, I also heard that Mark Richmond sent that batch back and switched manufacturers.
 
Gents,

Thank you very much for info. Per CKTG Lamson still making several knives.
 
Richmond knives made by Lamson are complete crap. Terrible heat treatment, chunky grinds, poor ergonomics, you name it. Some Richmond knives were made by Konosuke, of which the blades were good, but the handles left a lot be desired (and I don't even go for fancy handles).

I always recommend Japanese Knife Imports over CCKG wherever possible. Check out the Gesshin Uraku line.
 
bh49 said:
Gents,

Thank you very much for info. Per CKTG Lamson still making several knives.
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I can highly recommend Tojiro knives. I have a number of them. They are VG10 and the heat treatment is excellent, the price is great and mine are all worth more than they cost. I have the 180 Gyoto, 210 Western Deba (a beast that will go through chicken bones and lobster tails like butter), and a boning knife. Tojiros are great knives.
I also have a Northwoods petty in XHP. It is made by Lamson for KSF, and excellent. I am no expert, but the knife keeps a sharp edge after hitting bone, and is very useful in the kitchen. I don't need more kitchen knives, but if I did, these would be in the running. THe XHP models come with Blackwood Handle's.
I also have some Warthers in S35V. The steel is good, but the fit of the handles to the blades is not perfect and requires some sealers. I have a number of Warthers and they are all good blades in the kitchen. I use their 5 1/2" boning knife more than the others that I have.
Tojiro hardens VG10 to about 60 and it holds an edge for a long time, is easy to sharpen, and has never chipped on me. The Tojioros are a best buy. I use my knives hard, but take good care of them and use a maple board.
 
Fanglekai said:
I like my Tojiro gyuto in VG-10. That's another one to consider.
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Tojiro makes a number of lines of knives. Some are R2 steel, some are carbon, and some have fancy Damascus laminated blades.
Mine are the DP models. They use a VG10 core with softer stainless clad on the outside. This is an excellent balance of toughness and edge holding.
 
Japanese stainless steel choice for "mid range" knives is kind of interesting. A lot of folks use stuff like VG10, but Misono uses "Swedish steel" which apparently is code for AEB-L/13C26 for their UX-10 premium line. Some folks will tell you that not all VG10 knives are created equal. I had one of the Hattori "forum" knives and they did a nice job on the HT on those. But is was not cheap.
 
I have couple VG10 knives on my kitchen. 6" Spyderco Yang (utility) and 8" Kanetsune gyuto (Damascus with VG10 core). Kanetsune is totally outstanding. The only reason why I was interested in Richmonds because they are inexpensive AEB-L blades.
 
Inexpensive AEB-L is not a good thing. It's one of those steels that, if you have it, you want it done right. By this, I mean proper heat treatment. That will command higher prices. The type of steel alone is not enough reason to get a knife. The quality of heat treatment, blade geometry, attention to detail, and overall value for the money is. Richmond may be cheap, but it's not a good value compared to Tojiro DP / Gesshin Uraku / etc.
 
They are soso IMHO. They are a little thick for my taste when you get them . They seem to hold an adequate edge but nothing to get excited about . The balance could be a little better . I don't regret buying mine. However I'm going to shop around before I buy another .

Marks customer service is awesome though. I've bought a lot of stones from him and they have always taken care of me and stood behind their products . So even if might not buy a Richmond knife again CKTG is a great dealer
 
Not to beat a dead horse in my stance against CCKG, but I am of the opinion that good customer service starts with quality control of any product being sold, especially if it's got the owner's name on it. Spot checks for bad grinds, poor heat treat, fit and finish issues-- this is the level of quality you get from a store with real customer service.
 
bh49 said:
I have couple VG10 knives on my kitchen. 6" Spyderco Yang (utility) and 8" Kanetsune gyuto (Damascus with VG10 core). Kanetsune is totally outstanding. The only reason why I was interested in Richmonds because they are inexpensive AEB-L blades.
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What kind of knife do you want? I have the Yang also, and Tojiro DP Gyotos are thinner and slice better, at least mine does. Tojiro does an excellent job with VG10. I wouldn't go near R2 for the kitchen, but it is really all in the heat treatment and blade geometry.
 
I like my Tojiro so much I haven't bothered trying out anything else. I can't believe it was under $60, considering how much I've paid for folders.
 
I just picked up a Richmond 210mm in 52100. I got it because I wanted to try 52100 and I need a longer chef knife. It came pretty sharp and the edge bevel was ground well. I put my edge on it and a patina.

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