- Joined
- May 25, 2011
- Messages
- 854
Sometime back about two months ago I had commented (positively) on a picture of a paring knife that John had made several years ago. The owner of that knife (mqqn) was kind enough to contact me with an offer to ship his two JK Kitchen knives to me for a trial.
Now I was born at night, but it wasnt last night, and I know a good deal when it slaps me in the face. So I took him up on his offer.
I had the two JK Kitchen knives for something like two weeks but, as usual, didnt get around to taking any pictures until the very last day. So the following shots are more along the lines of snapshots quick shots taken with very little thought behind how theyd look to the viewer.
I forgot all about jotting down any measurements, so I cant fill you in on the precise measurements of each knife.
I know the little knife is a paring knife, but I dont really have a good name for the other knife so Im just going to call it a kitchen knife.
My first impressions upon opening the package from mqqn were largely centered on the paring knife; somehow it just spoke to me. I loved its balance, the feel of the nicely largish handle, and the shape of the blade. It fit my hand extremely well and saw quite a bit of use during my two weeks with it.
I wasnt quite as positive with the kitchen knife. I did love the handle and felt the balance was spot-on, but the blade shape wasnt exactly something Im used to using in the kitchen. I would have preferred more clearance for my fingers I normally use a chefs knife for chopping items or a slimmer shape if the knife is primarily used for trimming meat. Im not used to using something that seems to fit somewhere in the middle of a chefs knife and a boning knife.
I noticed that both knives had a great patina who doesnt love that look? Its obvious that mqqn uses these knives a lot. Both knives were very sharp and needed no work on my end prior to using them. Both are made from thin stock; were I to guess, Id say they were both from 1/16th inch steel.
I normally use either a paring knife or a chefs knife for the bulk of my cutting/chopping needs/whims in the kitchen. So it is no surprise that the paring knife saw a lot more use than did the kitchen knife.
In use the paring knife was magnificent; it just works like a knife should. It felt right in my hand and the handle allows for good leverage when that is needed, yet you can choke up on the blade when a delicate touch is needed. I used the paring knife everyday I had it; slicing tomatoes, peeling and de-eyeing potatoes and cubing beef for a stew were just a few of the jobs it had.
Slicing fresh Italian bread was the first job handed to the kitchen knife: to my surprise it handled that job as well as my serrated bread knife. (I really didnt expect it to do the job as well as it did) While I did use the kitchen knife for some slicing tasks, I just couldnt manage to chop with it as efficiently as I can a chefs knife. I did try, but muscle memory and my own prejudices made it far more difficult (for me). I dont want to mislead people though the knife slices like a champion and feels great in the hand; its just a matter of me not being used to using that particular blade shape.
Since the knives werent mine, I didnt use them for anything other than normal kitchen duties. However, I cannot help but thinking that both would make excellent outdoors tools; the paring knife as a carving knife and the kitchen knife as an all around woods knife.
As for my own use, I absolutely love the paring knife and will be ordering one from John. Im going to have it done in Ebony wood (brass pins) so it matches my Galley Wag. I believe that combination (paring knife and Galley Wag) will make an excellent pair of kitchen knives. And yes, Ill give my paring knife a shot at carving some wood. I think it will excel in that task (and in the kitchen).
I do like the kitchen knife, but Id use it mostly for outdoors type jobs. For my tastes, it would fit better in that realm. I do believe it would make an excellent camp kitchen knife since the shape lends itself to multiple uses.
As for the pictures I used the kitchen knife to slice the bread and used both the paring knife and the kitchen knife to slice the potato. Both were easily capable of slicing very thin slices of the potato, but I think the kitchen knife was probably just a tad better for that job.
I shot the pictures outside simply because I like using natural light it just looks better in my opinion and I dont like using the flash. Besides, Im far too lazy to drag out my lighting equipment when I can just walk outside.
A special thanks to mqqn for his generosity. I really appreciate it.
Johns forum: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/830-JK-Handmade-Knives
Johns website: http://jkhandmadeknives.com/
Now I was born at night, but it wasnt last night, and I know a good deal when it slaps me in the face. So I took him up on his offer.
I had the two JK Kitchen knives for something like two weeks but, as usual, didnt get around to taking any pictures until the very last day. So the following shots are more along the lines of snapshots quick shots taken with very little thought behind how theyd look to the viewer.
I forgot all about jotting down any measurements, so I cant fill you in on the precise measurements of each knife.
I know the little knife is a paring knife, but I dont really have a good name for the other knife so Im just going to call it a kitchen knife.
My first impressions upon opening the package from mqqn were largely centered on the paring knife; somehow it just spoke to me. I loved its balance, the feel of the nicely largish handle, and the shape of the blade. It fit my hand extremely well and saw quite a bit of use during my two weeks with it.
I wasnt quite as positive with the kitchen knife. I did love the handle and felt the balance was spot-on, but the blade shape wasnt exactly something Im used to using in the kitchen. I would have preferred more clearance for my fingers I normally use a chefs knife for chopping items or a slimmer shape if the knife is primarily used for trimming meat. Im not used to using something that seems to fit somewhere in the middle of a chefs knife and a boning knife.
I noticed that both knives had a great patina who doesnt love that look? Its obvious that mqqn uses these knives a lot. Both knives were very sharp and needed no work on my end prior to using them. Both are made from thin stock; were I to guess, Id say they were both from 1/16th inch steel.
I normally use either a paring knife or a chefs knife for the bulk of my cutting/chopping needs/whims in the kitchen. So it is no surprise that the paring knife saw a lot more use than did the kitchen knife.
In use the paring knife was magnificent; it just works like a knife should. It felt right in my hand and the handle allows for good leverage when that is needed, yet you can choke up on the blade when a delicate touch is needed. I used the paring knife everyday I had it; slicing tomatoes, peeling and de-eyeing potatoes and cubing beef for a stew were just a few of the jobs it had.
Slicing fresh Italian bread was the first job handed to the kitchen knife: to my surprise it handled that job as well as my serrated bread knife. (I really didnt expect it to do the job as well as it did) While I did use the kitchen knife for some slicing tasks, I just couldnt manage to chop with it as efficiently as I can a chefs knife. I did try, but muscle memory and my own prejudices made it far more difficult (for me). I dont want to mislead people though the knife slices like a champion and feels great in the hand; its just a matter of me not being used to using that particular blade shape.
Since the knives werent mine, I didnt use them for anything other than normal kitchen duties. However, I cannot help but thinking that both would make excellent outdoors tools; the paring knife as a carving knife and the kitchen knife as an all around woods knife.
As for my own use, I absolutely love the paring knife and will be ordering one from John. Im going to have it done in Ebony wood (brass pins) so it matches my Galley Wag. I believe that combination (paring knife and Galley Wag) will make an excellent pair of kitchen knives. And yes, Ill give my paring knife a shot at carving some wood. I think it will excel in that task (and in the kitchen).
I do like the kitchen knife, but Id use it mostly for outdoors type jobs. For my tastes, it would fit better in that realm. I do believe it would make an excellent camp kitchen knife since the shape lends itself to multiple uses.
As for the pictures I used the kitchen knife to slice the bread and used both the paring knife and the kitchen knife to slice the potato. Both were easily capable of slicing very thin slices of the potato, but I think the kitchen knife was probably just a tad better for that job.
I shot the pictures outside simply because I like using natural light it just looks better in my opinion and I dont like using the flash. Besides, Im far too lazy to drag out my lighting equipment when I can just walk outside.
A special thanks to mqqn for his generosity. I really appreciate it.
Johns forum: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/830-JK-Handmade-Knives
Johns website: http://jkhandmadeknives.com/
