I thought my kitchen set was complete...but then suddenly...

T

timbit

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Jul 21, 2011
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I found the Richmond Artifex in M390.

*Sigh* I already have a gyuto...but it's only a Fujiwara stainless steel jobby. Gets sharp enough...but it certainly isn't made from a super steel. This knife looks like a BARGAIN at that price. I just finished telling my wife I didn't think I needed to get more kitchen knives...I mean I have a gyuto, a nakiri, a deba, a pairing knife and a petty. What else could I need... right? RIGHT? Well I'm going to grab this in a month or so when I have a bit of knife money put aside.

I'm so not impressed with CKTG now... :D

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I have one and it is awesome! M390 at that price is nearly impossible to pass up. I think I'll get his Ultimatum in M390 as well.
 
capid1 said:
I have one and it is awesome! M390 at that price is nearly impossible to pass up. I think I'll get his Ultimatum in M390 as well.
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I have heard that the heat treat on M390 is critical, if it is done well, it is an incredible steel...if the HT isn't the best then the knife is garbage.

Can you sharpen M390 on J-stones or do I need to get out my diamond plates?
 
The edge that it came with was none existent. I set the bevel with my XC DMT and used my 500, 1k and 6K Shapton GlassStones. I'm very new to free handing and I don't have answer for you on the J-stones.
 
It was shipped with no edge? How much work did you put into it before it was sharp? Would it be worth paying the extra $$ for the sharpening service? I'm a bit peevish when it comes to knives shipping without a good working edge.
 
It was a decent working edge but nothing to write home about. It took me about 15-20 mins to get the edge to where I was happy with it. I haven't heard much about the optional sharpening service. I do know that at one time Ken Schwartz did a sharpening service for them and the edges were phenomenal.
 
Steel130 said:
I am sure you are heartbroken :D. That is a fantastic deal! I may need to look into one of those for our kitchen.
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Yup, crushed...lol. It is a fantastic deal. I've been using a Tojiro ITK 210mm gyuto in shirogami white #2 carbon steel which has been great, but its ground a bit too thick for my liking and I have had problems with micro chipping and fractures in the edge when using diamonds to sharpen it. It appears the white #2 steel is just too chippy for anything but Japanese water stones, and since I don't have any of those I haven't been able to get it as sharp as I'd like to consistently. M390 on the other hand is a steel that I've had very good luck with. I sure hope the heat treat on this one is top notch because $120 shipped for a 210mm gyuto in m390 with linen micarta handle scales almost feels like stealing.
 
mkjellgren said:
Yup, crushed...lol. It is a fantastic deal. I've been using a Tojiro ITK 210mm gyuto in shirogami white #2 carbon steel which has been great, but its ground a bit too thick for my liking and I have had problems with micro chipping and fractures in the edge when using diamonds to sharpen it. It appears the white #2 steel is just too chippy for anything but Japanese water stones, and since I don't have any of those I haven't been able to get it as sharp as I'd like to consistently. M390 on the other hand is a steel that I've had very good luck with. I sure hope the heat treat on this one is top notch because $120 shipped for a 210mm gyuto in m390 with linen micarta handle scales almost feels like stealing.
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The only knife in M390 I have seen cheaper was the sprint run Benchmade Griptilian. I do know that M390 is finnicky on the heat treat. But I think this may be the same one I saw Ken Schwartz regrind on his channel. He would be a great person to ask about it as well.
 
timbit said:
I've heard rumblings of a nakiri and a petty coming out in m390 as well.
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That's good news, I'll take all the m390 I can get. I personally would have preferred a 240mm wa-gyuto (traditional wa handle vs the western handle) instead of the 210mm gyuto but at this price, I cant possibly complain.
 
mkjellgren said:
That's good news, I'll take all the m390 I can get. I personally would have preferred a 240mm wa-gyuto (traditional wa handle vs the western handle) instead of the 210mm gyuto but at this price, I cant possibly complain.
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I think the Ultimatum comes with an octogonal rosewood handle...but it is a lot more expenive. I do like the wa handles more though.

My favorite prep knife right now is a Tojiro Wa-Nakiri White #2. I sharpen it up on J-Stones and it gets stupid sharp. I absolutely love the Wa handle.

The 120 price tag does seem like highway robbery. I'd almost feel bad for purchasing it. almost. It will be my next knife purchase.
 
capid1 said:
The edge that it came with was none existent. I set the bevel with my XC DMT and used my 500, 1k and 6K Shapton GlassStones. I'm very new to free handing and I don't have answer for you on the J-stones.
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Mine was also dull. I couldn't cut a tomato or onion with the factory edge. It took ~15 minutes freehanding with EZE-lap fine and extra-fine oval sharpeners to get a decent edge. But at this price I can't really complaint too much.
 
Orangeneck said:
Mine was also dull. I couldn't cut a tomato or onion with the factory edge. It took ~15 minutes freehanding with EZE-lap fine and extra-fine oval sharpeners to get a decent edge. But at this price I can't really complaint too much.
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Yeah, I'm not too worried about the factory edge as the first thing I do with any new knife is put my own edge on it. I'm sure there are some knives that do in fact come screaming sharp with mirror polished edges (especially with high end kitchen knives I suppose), but so far in my experience the guy doing the sharpening at the factory can't possibly have the time to be as anal as I am about every single edge. Its been my experience that while some factory edges are decent, mine are better.
 
mkjellgren said:
Yeah, I'm not too worried about the factory edge as the first thing I do with any new knife is put my own edge on it. I'm sure there are some knives that do in fact come screaming sharp with mirror polished edges (especially with high end kitchen knives I suppose), but so far in my experience the guy doing the sharpening at the factory can't possibly have the time to be as anal as I am about every single edge. Its been my experience that while some factory edges are decent, mine are better.
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This is true. The only kitchen knives i've found that came with a good edge were from Shun. Even still, I gave them a touch up on my stones and strop before I got going.

When Capid mentioned it came dull I was worried that i'd have to remove a lot of material. Sounds like it has a working edge, but not a fantastic edge.
 
capid1 said:
I'd like to see the Richmond Laser in M390. The thinner the better :D
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Well considering cktg lists the thickness of the 210mm laser as 2.3mm at the spine at the heel and lists the m390 artifex as 2mm at the spine at the heel it appears the artifex is actually thinner than the laser, which makes me VERY excited to see how this knife performs.
 
I just chatted with Ken and this was his response on the Artifex.

"Anyhow I'm finding that the M390 Artifex handles acute edges just fine, going down to 10 degrees per side with ease, so I really don't hve a concern about a bad heat treat. Besides Mark (@ CKTG), is getting his heat treats by some of the best in the business, so I wouldn't have suspected any problems."

That should put any worries to rest as Ken is very knowledgeable on kitchen cutlery :).
 
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