- Joined
- Nov 13, 2001
- Messages
- 234
Brief Review: I've had this knife for about 3 months now, so the review is somewhat overdue. Short and sweet -- this sucker is amazing.
I was looking for a custom or semi-custom chef's knife a while back. I have a serious lust for Murray Carter's knives but couldn't bring myself to pony up the $450 or so that one of his fully forged jobbies commands. After much searching I settled on Steve Mullin's Pack River line. Steve is a custom knife maker, but his Pack River knives are only semi-custom. He does them in batches to a set pattern and with limited steel choices.
Fine with me, his choices are excellent. The drop-blade style keeps your fingers safe while chopping veggies or deboning a chicken. The tip to pommel arc gives you plenty of leverage while chopping, dicing or just about anything else you might do in the kitchen. The cocobolo handle is slightly oval in profile and fits my hand nicely. And the steel is thin and rigid.
The ATS-34 steel is plenty strong. Strong enough, in fact, that Steve specs the stock at 3/32", and I've never had a worry about bending, flexing, chipping or anything else, despite running the knife at a 15 degree angle.
The knife takes a visciously sharp edge. Like most of us, I own a lot of knives, including several chef's knives. But I wouldn't hesitate to say that this is the sharpest knife I've ever had. I'm sure some of it is geometry, but I think there's some major voodoo involved, too. Dunno what it is, but it works.
I sharpened it last November to bring the edge down to 15 degrees per side. Since then I've just touched it up on a smooth steel each time I use it. The edge is still mind-bendingly sharp with a grabby feel that's perfect for kitchen slicing.
The only downside is the patina that the knife has developed. As I said, Steve uses ATS-34 for his kitchen knives, so it shouldn't have tarnished the way it has. The first use of the knife was apples and onions for the Thanksgiving turkey. It tarnished almost immediately. I can get rid of it with Soft Scrub and a scrubbie pad, but it'll come back fairly quickly. Frankly, I don't really worry about it. I don't know why the knife has tarnished, but I also don't really care. I kind of like it. Makes the knife look well loved. Steve is equally baffled. He's offered to make me another one if the patina bothers me -- now that's customer service
-- but I doubt I'll take him up on it.
Anyway, buy one. Hell, buy two. They're a steal at $125.
Chad
I was looking for a custom or semi-custom chef's knife a while back. I have a serious lust for Murray Carter's knives but couldn't bring myself to pony up the $450 or so that one of his fully forged jobbies commands. After much searching I settled on Steve Mullin's Pack River line. Steve is a custom knife maker, but his Pack River knives are only semi-custom. He does them in batches to a set pattern and with limited steel choices.
Fine with me, his choices are excellent. The drop-blade style keeps your fingers safe while chopping veggies or deboning a chicken. The tip to pommel arc gives you plenty of leverage while chopping, dicing or just about anything else you might do in the kitchen. The cocobolo handle is slightly oval in profile and fits my hand nicely. And the steel is thin and rigid.
The ATS-34 steel is plenty strong. Strong enough, in fact, that Steve specs the stock at 3/32", and I've never had a worry about bending, flexing, chipping or anything else, despite running the knife at a 15 degree angle.
The knife takes a visciously sharp edge. Like most of us, I own a lot of knives, including several chef's knives. But I wouldn't hesitate to say that this is the sharpest knife I've ever had. I'm sure some of it is geometry, but I think there's some major voodoo involved, too. Dunno what it is, but it works.
I sharpened it last November to bring the edge down to 15 degrees per side. Since then I've just touched it up on a smooth steel each time I use it. The edge is still mind-bendingly sharp with a grabby feel that's perfect for kitchen slicing.
The only downside is the patina that the knife has developed. As I said, Steve uses ATS-34 for his kitchen knives, so it shouldn't have tarnished the way it has. The first use of the knife was apples and onions for the Thanksgiving turkey. It tarnished almost immediately. I can get rid of it with Soft Scrub and a scrubbie pad, but it'll come back fairly quickly. Frankly, I don't really worry about it. I don't know why the knife has tarnished, but I also don't really care. I kind of like it. Makes the knife look well loved. Steve is equally baffled. He's offered to make me another one if the patina bothers me -- now that's customer service
-- but I doubt I'll take him up on it.Anyway, buy one. Hell, buy two. They're a steal at $125.
Chad
.
. Try reading it now that the review is actually posted. 
