First Handmade Japanese Nakiri

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Sorry that the video is so out of focus. The struggle is real with the solo one man manual focus. Need to get an external monitor next. Please Like & Subscribe!

[@trappenweisseguy27]

Congratulations, You’re going to love White #2 steel. You can get steel with a longer lasting edge, but it is fairly forgiving and resharpens in a jiffy. I’ve had my kiritsuke for 4 years now and have yet to put any knicks in it. I too prefer a height around 50 mm. I prefer the knuckle clearance at 50 mm. Any thinner on the grind and it would be a little floppy since the unhardened cladding doesn’t really give much stiffness.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

@@trappenweisseguy27 thank you! I'm really excited for this! I hear it is not as tough as aogami but takes a finer edge and also easier to sharpen 😃 I'm stoked!

[@mfreeman313]

Congratulations and enjoy it. A knife that glides through carrots and things that other knives wedge in is a pleasure to use. Looks like your problem with focus is that you need more depth of field.

[@trappenweisseguy27]

Personally, I find that if I don’t get to use my stones with some regularity that my technique falters. You can get a crazy hard powdered metal like HAP40 or ZDP189, but you’ll only be sharpening twice a year. And with much more difficulty as well due to the hardness. Since yours is a handmaid knife it’s probably safe to say it’s above 60. Probably around rc 62.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

@@mfreeman313 yes, definitely need to bump it up a stop. Trying to get that blurred background on a small kitchen has it wide opened. So even if I moved a few inches back or forth really makes a difference. The knife is really great, thank you! This thing truly just glides through. Just a joy to use!

[@SIRA063]

Taylor is a genius wood style master, i couldnt help but buy one of his handles. High quality and beautiful pieces of wood. Now i gotta get nikiri too.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

I agree, he is very talented! He said he has some new stocks coming in soon. He's finishing up with school and should be back at it full time here in a few months. Can't wait to see what he does!

[@yusenye3075]

Great content! I would like to see more on edge retention! Almost every knife I have comes amazing out of the box, but how often I need to sharpen them to keep that sharpness is an important factor for me when it comes to choosing a knife.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Thank you so much! I agree with you 💯 I usually do a 6 months follow up of the knife to show the review after regular home use and how well it performs and the edge retention. Thank you for supporting the channel! 😃🙏

[@arnoldthompson481]

I once made a filet knife from a railroad power hacksaw blade and just ground it to shape. I used a water cooled high-speed valve grinder and still very hard to finish edge but it stayed very sharp as long as I owned it. However there was no way to drill the tang so if a handle is important you need to grind the tang with notches and put epoxy into a handle and insert tang to hold it in.

[@markkawecki7582]

Very impressed with that knife, I'm definitely going to look into getting one and seeing how impressed you are with it makes me want it more, great vid, I didn't notice any issues with the quality of the video either, hope you have a great weekend dude.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Thanks for the feedback!! Glad the video quality wasn't affected. The knife is great. From my conversations with Taylor, they should be getting some taller nakiris here in the next few months. I'm excited for that! 😃🙏

[@anthonygiust3153]

I'd love to see you make a video on what you do to care for your knives daily. Not sharpening but cleaning and care.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

I can most definitely do that. I actually don't do anything out of the ordinary. But would love to share 😃🙏

[@checkyoursixgaming]

I wouldn't say I don't enjoy finding other knives. I have some expensive and handmade knives but I still like looking for the gems in the rough. I have found more than a few of those as well. I will state that while I like the Super Blue and Super White steels for performance, I just don't like the upkeep on them for what they are. Out of the high-end knives I have with high end steel, basically I prefer the most being SG2/R2 o ZDP-189 right now. If you can find Crowly-X that is nice too. The previous two steels are used a lot in very expensive high end japanese made knives. Unfortunately, they are also going to be at a premium. SG2 knives start at $150 for regular production line stuff typically and on the smaller side of knife sizes. For hand craft they start around $250ish and go up. ZDP-189 are only hand craft as far as I know. Knives made from ZDP-189 typically start around $500 when I last checked. They are not for the faint of heart to purchase. You do get some exceptional quality knives though. Do I personally think my $500+ ZDP-189 knives are superior to some of my well made Chinese vg10 or or aus10 knives? In a way yes, but in a way no if I am being honest. Objectively on paper? sure. The ZDP-189 is a harder steel and keeps the edge way longer. Despite being harder, it doesn't feel as brittle and prone to chipping as VG10 sometimes is. But if I am not abusing my knives and using them for food prep, then it's all mental at that point. Even a cheap knife that is sharp and can get the job done allows me to enjoy cooking. There is no denying that there is a certain "wowie" show off factor though of the nicer knives that I like. Also, since I don't really associated with fellow connoisseurs of knives, most people are not impressed when I explain details about a $500+ knife to them. Most actually think I am a bit stupid for spending that much on something like a kitchen knife when a cheap faberware from walmart will get the job done for them. Oh well, to each their own passions is what I say. Still, having the higher dollar knives like this one allows you to better judge the cheaper ones in my opinion to get back to my original discussion point.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

I do enjoy finding the diamonds in the rough. I think there is a different degree of appreciation for the knife nerd that nerds out over craftsmanship and steel performance. For the average person, it is hard for them to imagine spending $100 on a knife. Which is understandable. Because if they are use to a $20 chef knife that gets the job done. Even a $100 knife is a huge upgrade. Or even a $60 Misen will feel like night and day. I haven't used the aogami or shirogami enough to know about the upkeep. We shall see here in 6 months. I know they said it is an easy steel to maintain in comparison to the higher end steels like you mentioned. I have a knife here in SG2 that I can't wait to review. But waiting for rest of the items to come in prior to reviewing. It seems like not too many use ZDP. I see hap40 is becoming increasingly popular. I just saw a new sukenari made in a steel I have never even heard of call YXR7. I do have to inject that after reviewing many knives and using many different knives, the feel of this handmade Japanese knife is truly amazing. There is something special in handmade items. A special level of attention to detail. But like you also said, for the regular folks, they don't really care. A nakiri, a gyuto, if it has more belly, rounded choil, it all doesn't matter. A knife is just a knife to them.

[@kiltedcripple]

Looks pretty sweet. I'm going to go check out prices!

[@BetweenTwoForks]

They are really affordable for what you get! 😃 have a great weekend my friend!

[@ilzephyrli]

Ended up ordering a Gyuto in the last pre order 👍

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Right on! Look forward to seeing what you think 😃

[@cd_924]

Will you do a 6 month update on the new Serbian chefs knife? I ordered one from Ali express and I want to see how you feel about it after having it for a while. Love the videos!

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Hey! Yes, I can definitely do that. Thanks for checking in on that one. Congrats on the new knife and enjoy! Thank you for watching! 😃🙏

[@johnhoward3271]

All that's on that website is a raffle for one of those knives ( sold out BTW )

[@christopherlopez8541]

Hey brother. Thank you for all the genuinely interesting and informative (knife), videos! Just a quick note. The link to this site works but there isn't anything there (just sold out raffle tickets). This knife is pretty hard to find. Do you know if there is another way to buy it? Thanks, for your time, in advance 🤗 -cjl

[@patricleslie7596]

Enjoy you channel, you have gotten much better since the beginning. Keep up the informative work. At time stamp 2:25 the view seems to show the knife with a slight curve/bend to the right. Ever so slight. I ask you because I only have one good eye and was wanting to look into the knife further and before I do, is this so? Thank you Sir. I notice at time stamp 2:35 from the other angle (the tip) this is not the case. I do like The thinness of the taper and thinness of the blade.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Thank you so much for supporting the channel!! Physically looking at it, there are no bends and are very straight. I think at 2:25, it is because of my camera that I had cocked it to the left ever so slightly that it looks like the knife is veering to the right side. Good catch! 😃🙏

[@Eliel7230]

Nice knife. I looked up the link for it and saw that it has sold out. The search continues...

[@arnoldthompson481]

Scary sharp. I would have to hide it lest anyone in my house need to go to a hospital.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Hahaha this one takes on literally a razor edge!

[@73twall]

Now THAT'S a Nakiri! What a bitchin knife.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Thank you!! I agree, this thing is super legit! 😁💪

[@cookingwithlouis5388]

i think he has a favorite nakiri

[@BetweenTwoForks]

😂 it's that obvious huh? 🙌

[@rtrilla]

Sold out 😢, I was too slow

[@BetweenTwoForks]

He should be having some in stock here in a few months. The thing about working with family forges is that they are limited on production but production is high quality. Totally worth the wait!

[@bidin5253]

I gonna get a shimabara gyuto

[@YummyFoodLahore]

❤❤👍👌💕

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Thank you!! 😃🙏

[@Jack-ny7kn]

And of course it's out of stock!

[@trevorpinnocky]

sold out,,, :(

[@BetweenTwoForks]

He should be getting some back in stocks or pre-order soon 👍

[@mfreeman313]

@@BetweenTwoForks That's cool. He has a good eye for value IMHO.

[@BetweenTwoForks]

@@mfreeman313 yes! Taylor is great!

[@lukespahn3735]

tomato test kinda pointless imp, take sharp knife OTB and use it to cut a tomato that is pressed against the board sideways... whats the point? It's a bad way to convince people that the knife is"good" and doesn't actually express anything about the knife quality. Any sharp knife can do it. just for clout

[@BetweenTwoForks]

Hey! Thanks for the feedback! I get what you are saying but I agree and disagree. Because some knives that are sharp out of the box still can't perform the tomato test. I don't think it is a matter of sharpness that we are testing with the tomato but the profile and how much resistance it has due to geometry. I would love to hear your recommendations on other cut tests that you see is a better fit. I'm always open to ideas!

[@mfreeman313]

I'd have to agree the tomato thing tells you the knife is sharp enough but doesn't speak to quality. But still, it gives you something to do on camera. Quality is a mix of things, most of them not very visual, and it varies from person to person and their different needs. I do video myself and you don't want a whole video with some guy standing there talking with a knife in his hand. It's a knife video and it's only natural to want to see the talent cut some stuff.

[@lukespahn3735]

@@BetweenTwoForks I agree, but that's also only really a comparative test assuming all of the knives are sharpened the same so the only factor differentiating them is the blade profile. Onions are pretty good and carrots. Onions can show you how much it struggles on the the first horizontal cuts and how difficult it is for the vertical cuts into the onion. Carrot can show if it will wedge/ if you need to apply force at the spine/geometry

[@BetweenTwoForks]

@@mfreeman313 It is definitely hard to find different ways to try and show off the quality. Also really hard to judge it OTB, it takes some time to truly tell if it is good quality. And like you said, also trying to keep a knife video interesting and not too dry lol 😂

[@BetweenTwoForks]

@@lukespahn3735 ah, I see what you are saying. You do make a great point about assumption that they are all sharpened the same. I can definitely add an onion to the test. I hear the paper towel might be a good test, it that is also more for OTB sharpness. I agree on the carrot. It's probably my favorite way to test a knife OTB because it tells quite a lot. Another one that is pretty good is a sweet potato. It is slightly softer but will still split easily. Thanks for the recommendation! 😃🙏