Who makes a value priced CPM 30V kitchen knife?

S

Sid Post

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I am looking for a custom or semi-custom knife maker that either currently makes or would take on a custom order to make a CPM 30V kitchen knife.

What I am looking for in general terms is something in the 8 inch range (cutting edge) made from thin stock (~3/32nd's) that is fairly tall (edge to spine ~3 to 4 inches). I want a thin edge for cutting vegtables on a poly or wood cutting board (no bones, granite counter tops, etc. will be encountered). I should also note that this is not a Christmas present so, earliest delivery from my end would be in the February timeframe next year or later if the knifemaker needed additional calendar weeks to complete the job.

What is value priced? I would say more then $100 minimum and less then $300 on the upper end. I should note that these pricepoints are not set in stone, just a place to start. For the right knife and materials and I am flexible on either end of the scale. I have found a similar knife in ATS-34 for ~$125 but, having tried ATS-34 and BG-42 in the kitchen, I really want to step up to CPM 30V for a change.

Any knifemakers care to respond? References and suggestions from fellow forum'ites are most appreciated!
 
Sid, keep us posted on your quest. I, too, am interested in custom/semi-custom chef's knives. I have a Pack River on order from Steve Mullin (I'm guessing that's the ATS-34 blade you've looked at), but am always eager to see what else is out there. I suspect there are a bunch of us who'd follow the twists and turns of your "ultimate kitchen knife" adventure ;).

By the way, you mentioned that you've tried ATS-34 and BG42 in the kitchen. How'd they do?

Thanks!
Chad;)
 
Sid,
I have a few paring knives made by Pat Tomes that I use every day.
You could give him a try.
Good Collecting !
Jocko
 
Hello Sid,

I currently have some kitchen knives made by J.P Holmes, Knife maker from Livermore, CA. He works with theses CPM steels, 154CM, S30V, S90V, S60V and 10V. He does his own heat treating. He can offer you a lot of choices in design and uses natural and man made handle material. If your still interested drop me a email.

Jeff
 
Jeff,

The knifemaker you mention is one I have been in contact with. I have also gotten a couple of off-line emails recommending his work. I hope to have some literature and detailed pictures of his line soon.

I suspect this is going to be a hard choice with the high quality knifemakers who have responded to this post directly and the ones recommended by others.
 
Sid, my computer has been down the last two days, sorry I havent emailed you back. I will email you soon when I have a chance to put together a design. Thanks -- Charles
 
Sid I am currently working on a couple Kitchen desings based on the TTKK handle in S30V.. The blades are thinner than 1/8".. Santuko style, and the other is a wider TTKK profile, 7"+ blades... SHould have one you can see in Vegas if you go;)
 
Ooooh!:eek: A Trace Rinaldi kitchen knife is just about as cool as it could get. Trace, if you're thinking chef's knife, you might consider 8+ inches. Seven inches, in my opinion, is a little short for heavy duty work, especially if you're working with large cuts of meat or are trying to jullienne/dice a lot o' veggies at the same time. And if you're going to use the TTKK design (which I love) you might consider reducing the belly swell a little. You want to be able to keep the tip on the cutting board and rock the knife, but you also want enough surface area in contact with the food so that you are slicing through rather than rolling back through the blade.

I'm sure you've already considered this, but just in case don't forget to round the spine and the heel of the blade. Chefs tend to grip the knife by pinching the blade with the thumb and forefinger and loosely wrapping the other three fingers around the handle. A sharp-edged spine will abrade your first finger at the edge of the knuckle pretty quickly, and the heel rubs against the front of your middle finger.

Ah, hell, this is turning into a custom order, isn't it? :D Christmas is just around the corner!

Take care,
Chad
 
Wow, considering all the options this post has provided I have some work ahead of me deciding what maker's and materials I really want (because at this point, I am way past need ;) ).

I thought I had a pretty good idea of exactly what I wanted but, now I am considering other options as well. And to think this all started out as a search for one kitchen knife :) .

I must admit that my excellant experience using one of the early TTKK's for several years now makes me a little biased towards another THR blade. Chad's comments are spot on for a good kitchen knife for a daily user.

Another knifemaker that caught my attention unexpectedly is JP Holmes. My initial inquiries with this knifemaker didn't really tickle my fancy until I got pictures of his work. I kept finding myself drawn to a 7 inch French Chef's knife with Stabilized Redwood scales. I really don't need another knife like that in my kitchen collection but, I keep getting drawn back to it.

Decisions, decisions ......
 
Sid,

TKCLKitchen.JPG

have a look at my work at http://www.haslinger-knives.com for some kitchen cutters.
Being a proffesional chef and knifemaker, I am sure I can meet your needs.

best regards,

Thomas
 
Tim Johnson -- Taz has some great-looking knives in S30V.
Click to expand...


That is true, i have a 8" Blade S30V chef's knife made by Taz, HT by the master Paul bos, Its got a thin slight convex edge which i have just finished stropping up to 8000 grit :D This thing will cut you if you look at it wrong, BTW its sharp enough to cut falling newspaper clean. Also good for splitting hair lengthwise :) GREAT knife for the money, cost me $160 with G10 handles.
 
Who did you end up going with? I'd be interested in knowing because I'm also thinking of getting a custom kitchen knife made.
 
Penguin,

There are so many good options, that I have not made a final decision yet. About the only thing I have decided at this point, is that I should not restrict myself to just CPM 30V.

Besides the great makers referenced here, Steve Mullin of Pack River has an interesting lineup. In a good old carbon steel knife, Doc Gunderson of L&H knifeworks is worth checking out.

For traditional classic German or French style kitchen knives in CPM 420V, JP Holmes is certainly worth consideration. Truly classic lines and firm understanding of what makes a kitchen knife based on emails and knife scans.

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Trace Rinaldi and his knives. There is little doubt as to whether I will purchase a knife from him. The only question is when :) .

I have been using a Murray Carter Muteki style knife for about a month now. The maintanence for that blade (carbon steel core) has not been as tough as I originally imagined. Other then a little patina from some onions that sat on the edge unknown for about an hour, a simple wave under running water in the kitchen sink and a wipe down with a dry towel has served me well. This experience has certainly soften my stance towards "stainless" steels in favor of better edge holding and wear resistance. That being said, I am seriously considering CPM 420V/S90V and CPM 9V/10V. For the kitchen duty I have in mind, the properties of 9V or 10V would work very well. CPM 420V/S90V kitchen knives are relatively easy to find and cost effective so, that is the most likely choice in the immediate future.

Unless you are looking for something very specific and possibly specialized, my personal experience with BG-42 speaks very highly for this well proven blade steel. It resists tarnishing very well (not that I have really ever put that to a hard test), takes a very good edge which can be maintained by mere mortals (unlike some of the really tough to sharpen CPM super steels), and holds that edge for a very long time in light duty kitchen use. While the difference I have noted in my personal use of ATS-34 versus 154CM shows a slight advantage in edge holding to the 154CM, BG-42 is significantly better. I can dice potatoes until my arm aches without really noticing a degradation in cutting performance. I can do this several times without touching up the edge. ATS-34 is no slouch in this type of duty either so, unless you intend to never sharpen your knife or do edge maintainence, I would say the choice should be for the style and ergonomics first, then the blade steel. Heck that's true with any knife, if the blade and edge geometery aren't right, it really doesn't matter who did the heat treat or what the blade steel is.

In the $100 to $200 price range, there are a lot really good choices and options. As I've said before, buying 2 or 3 value priced customs is a much better deal then purchasing a 10 piece German block set where you never even use or look at 8 of the blades (after all, how many of use multiple knives in the average meal prepartion, and those that do, how often do we use more then two?).

In a two knife kitchen, a 9 inch chef's knife and, a smaller ~4inch paring and utility knife would take care of anything the average non-commercial kitchen would need.
 
Sid,
I was over at J.P.Holmes shop today and I saw a 8" by 2 1/2 inch knife that was roughed out,and it had your name written all over it. 420V

:)
 
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