In the kitchen - test

[flava]

This is just an amateur report, do not expect a scientific review.
A few months ago I got a do-it-all knife from Achim Wirtz. This knife is made from 52100 steel (propper heat-treat), it has a 7" blade, stag handle, copper guard and ivory buttplate.
I asked Achim for a light knife (for backpacking and such) so he forged it quite thin, I guess the thickest part of the spine has about 3/16". This week I was on vacation and took the knife with me. It got used a lot in the kitchen. Here it goes:

Overall impression

The knife has very good fit and finish. The handle fits well in my hand and the balance is good. The blade is convex ground and scary sharp.

Meat

Cutting meat. I don't know the english word for this meat, it is the whole pork leg (the rear one) dried and smoked ... with the bone and all ... I'll just call it ham for the moment. This is a meat you have a hard time to cut into nice slices unless you use a very sharp knife. I was able to get the best slices with very little effort. The lenght of the edge helps a lot, a 5" edge or so would have been a bit short to get a clean cut.

Tomatoes

Again, very nice thin slices with almost no spilled juice. It is obvious the relatively thin blade helps a lot here.

Watermelon

I cut in two the watermelons, then cut some slices. It was OK, but I'm used to a much thinner blade for watermelons. A very thin fillet knife is best for this job IMO.

Care

After the first contact with meat and tomatoes, you get spots on the blade. Not rust, just a different nuance of the steel, it is rather difficult to describe. It looks random and I find it pleasant. Washing the whole knife with warm water did not affect the stag or ivory plate (I was worried about the last one) As I didn't have knife oil on me, I had to improvise. I used the white fat part of the ham to "oil" the knife. At first I was a bit worried about the fat being too salty, but it worked out just fine.

Conclusion

There is no conclusion except I'm happy with this knife and wanted to share.

Here is a picture:

 

[Lenny]

That's a gorgeous knife.
Nice review also.
How much did it cost?
Does Mr Wirtz have a website?
Lenny

 

[flava]

Thank you Lenny. I won't post the exact price, but let's say it was under $200. I'm not sure how much Achim would charge now for one but I'm sure it will be very reasonable. He doesn't have a web site, I can send you his email address if you want to contact him.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Thanks for the review. It looks like a very nicely designed and crafted knife.

BTW. "Ham" is the right word for the cut of meat you used. You might call it a bone-in ham or a full leg bone-in ham. The spots you got on the blade are called patina.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

That is a really fine looking knife, the edge flows nicely into the primary grind. The guard drops down, maybe just a little below the dropped edge so it should make only a slight influence on use with a cutting board, yet at the same time security should be high due to the high contrast with the slim throat of the handle.

52100 will take a patina quite rapidly when exposed to acidic fruits. This can literally happen in minutes and you get a rainbow effect in all the contact areas. It is rust, but not the damaging kind which is orange. A patina is much more stable and will build up in time and form a deep and rich pattern on the blade.

However as that blade appears to be almost fully convex, you may end up removing the patina which you sharpen depending on if you focus on the secondary edge or not.

-Cliff

 

[Roadrunner]

That is pretty, thanks for the review. I love the look of stag on a simple design like that.

 

[made2cut]

52100, convex grind & stag Three of my favorite things to have in a knife. She's a sweetie alright, thanks for sharing.