Let's talk about performance.

Hello people

I would like to talk with you about knife performance. The reason I am asking about that is that I just thinned Forgecraft chef knife and it cuts potatoes very nicely with almost no stiction but when I cut carrots they're cracking if you know what I mean. I don't want to achieve Kato performance but I would like to cut them smoothly. Please check choil shoots to compare and please explain me that. Sorry for bad picture quality. I took them with my mobile.

Forgecraft before thinning:


After:



Kato gyuto:

Kato petty:


Global G2 chef knife:


Global santoku:



I even shouldn't compare Kato because they're exceptional. My Kato petty is cutting carrots like they were boiled before. Even Globals cut carrots better. Why?

 

I just thinned a couple of forgecrafts. I thought I had done a very even job across the whole blade road. When I started cutting I found that the heel half of the knife cut very smooth and the tip half was still a little too thick. It is hard to tell from the choil shot. Is there any part of the blade that will cut a carrot without cracking it? The choil shot looks really nice. This is the kind of dilemma that makes me want to get calipers.

 

I always pinch the entire behind-the-edge area when I'm thinning a knife. I find that you can really tell areas that aren't thin enough, by feel. I bet there is a part of the blade that isn't thinned out enough, though it looks good on the choil. Also, adding some asymmetry may help. Notice that the Katos are quite asymmetrical. You want differential stickage on both sides of the blade to help prevent wedging. Potatoes aren't a good test, because they are pliant. Carrots typically tell the story, though, as you've found.

I've never actually used a Global before. How close is that to OOTB?

 

Aside from an asymmetric shadow on the first one, I can't see asymmetry in the Kato choil shots. What am I missing?

 

The left side of the knife (not the photo) is flatter while the right side is more convexed.

 

One of my knives, an Asai Hayabusa, has confused me a bit with a similar performance characteristic. It seems to do pretty well sometimes and seems very thin at the edge, but just doesn't do very well in some stuff like carrot.

my gut feeling is that it's too flat, but I haven't tried ameliorating that yet.