Thank you very much
N678 is an Austrian steel, similar to AUS8, with some added Vanadium (you can check a little comparation table here:
http://www.calocustomknives.com.ar/docs/aboutme_materials.htm)
This knife has a hardness of 57-58 RC.
The reason behind this hardness is that I always prefer to have an edge that you can retouch with a regular sharpening rod in 2-3 seconds that an edge that lasts a little longuer but that you have to use specific tools to sharpen it.
A butcher, cook, or chef knife should be razor sharp at all times, and with this hardness, I make sure that it will perform well and that when the user wants to mantain the edge, s/he can do it in no time and keep on working.
If before using it again, you give the edge a couple of touches with a sharpening rod, the knife will have a scary edge for years, the key is to mantain the edge instead of letting it dull and then re sharpen it. (And of course, if you're working and realize that its not cutting like it used to, you can use a rod and you'll have it hair popping sharp again)
I tested it for some days in my kitchen before giving it the last polishing and sharpening and I was very happy with its performance. I used it to cut tomatoes, lettuce, meat, etc and after those preparations it was still sharpen enough to cut paper with no problems.
I did modified something on this design from the regular chefs knives I've seen/handled.
When working with a chef's knife, proper grip is to pinch the blade between the thumb and forefinger, but since I extended the blade to be under the handle too, I added a little recessed area on the handle slabs so you'd pinch this speficic part of the handle instead of a thin blade, thus allowing the user to execute more pressure and a better grip (not so slippery as the cold steel)
I think it's more comfortable and ergonomic to pinch something with this thickness instead of a thin blade, making it more comfortable to use for extended periods.
You can see that area better on the last picture. It might appear that it's too far behind for a regular knife, but it's compensated by extended working edge below the handle/hand knuckles, with the benefits just explained.
That is if you want to keep the traditional grip for this kind of knives, but if you want to use other type of grip, you can also grab the handle closing all 4 fingers and since the edge is right beneath your fingers, you can apply pressure to slice in this grip too.
If you have any other questions, please don't hessitate asking me again.
I'll send you an email regarding price, as I'm not suposed to post numbers here
Regards,
Ruben
