Precisely why I love this nakiri. 195mm cutting edge is super useable. And his laser thin grind is very high performance. I wouldn’t shy away from reaching out to him if you want a 200m+ nakiri. His prices are very reasonable as well.
I noticed that belly right off because I too prefer a flatter edge on my nakiris. If we want to rock, we have other knives, right? The common 165mm length on nakiris has baffled me as well. Lately, I've had my eye out for a longer nakiri. I did pick up a 240mm Hinokuni nakiri recently. A true watermelon slayer but a bit long for regular use. I agree that nakiri in the 200-210 range would be desirable but I've yet to find one available. I'm not surprised that you don't love the handle. It's aesthetically attractive but I don't like ovals and suspect I wouldn't like even just the bottom oval or that wedged ferule. I have a handle sitting here with that kind of ferule and I'm not sure I'm ever going to use it because I'm very iffy about whether I'd like it on a knife. If I were to purchase that nakiri, I'd likely order it with no handle and then have a wa handle made for it (and I'd want that belly a lot flatter). I didn't hear you describe the grind. I'm assuming it's a flat grind, yes? Question... when you flashed €430 on the screen, was that the price of this knife? That seems crazy low for something of this quality. Great video, as always! Well done, Franki!
Jim, thank you for your always very thoughtful comments and questions. That's the beauty, this is the longest nakiri I've had the pleasure of using with a blade length of 195mm so if you wanted just a little more I'm sure he'd be happy to make you one. As for the handle, I like the hybrid shape of the Rokkaku-Hanmaru. My issue lies with the pinch points created from the very angular bolster. I think he needs a decision change in that realm over the handle shape. But that's just my two-cents. Sorry yes, the blade is basically a zero grind with a slight convexity to it. And lastly you bet, that 430 Euros denotes the price of this bad boy which is dope right?
Great Video !!! I have been wanting to try a longer Nakiri, and this video definitely did not help that in any way. Im not sure how i would like even a slight belly though, i mainly use my nakiris for precision slicing. I guess im going to have to give a long one a whirl sooner than later.
I see a lot of comments about the geometry, but I was surprised by the wedging . Such a thin knife but struggling to get through a sweet potato and ripping a carrot instead of cutting it. Did I miss the parts where you discussed those more? Otherwise I love the shape and size
Hey Chris. Thanks for watching the video and leaving a comment. I do mention during the knife demo something along the lines of your comment re: wedging. This is why I purposely cut the carrot further back from where I would typically want to, to test secondary bevel geometry and blade thinness. There's no question the blade is thin, but that wedging on the first carrot cut comes from the secondary bevel being wider than you'd find say on a Japanese blade. SUPER common in all Western knives I've tried. Western knives are created with the end user in mind, as in, not everyone understand proper knife use, care and maintenance. So a wider secondary bevel protects the blade from chipping. The blade, even being this thin, has a secondary bevel I'd personally change to a more acute angle and drive up the bevel. However, knife is still plenty thin which is why in the subsequent cuts you see on the carrot, there are no issues. For the yam, same limiting factor AND as I often comment, with highly polished blades, you get a lot of 'stick' which I also mentioned during the video. As the whole blade patinas over time, coming back to a yam might prove to have better cutting performance. Or as you noticed, I went with the draw cut because of less surface area in contact with the food. Hope this helps.
@@KitchenKnifeGuy Excellent Reply Franco. I'm going to be completely honest and say I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment; it's the exact reason I prefer a Japanese Gyuto with convex or laser geometry most of the time. I do, however; have a Swedish Custom Laser Honyaki 340mm Gyuto (Not a misspelling) From Frederic Spare and it's the only western that I haven't wedged on, only because I asked for a 80mm Height, and specifically asked for the thinnest behind the edge he felt comfortably going on a Honyaki of that size; specifically for very large produce like Cabbage. It rocks. Again, excellent job voicing your concerns and giving constructive criticism; a lot of people are scared it might hurt the knifemakers feeling or even reputation; but it usually improves the quality of that same knifemaker down the line if they hear the same constructive criticism often. Kudos.
@@KitchenKnifeGuy makes sense, thanks. Sometimes I wonder if I’m going crazy when expensive knives wedge (like my 240 Denka did) but your explanation of blacksmiths protecting people from what they don’t know makes a lot of sense.
Thanks man. Super nice of you to say and share all of this. I put a lot of energy into my videos as you know so cool that you think I make fair assessments. I may share this response with IG peeps if you don’t mind simply so I can tag Spåre as that’s a nice compliment for him. Would love to see that 340mm honyaki gyuto. Sounds nuts. Good on you for being able to handle such a blade.
What do you think about the different styles of Nakiri tips? Most Japanese tips seem to be rounded - this one in the video seems pointy, almost like a mini cleaver. What do you like more?
Great question. My preference is towards 90 angled tips on a nakiri. The few I've tried that are rounded, I'm not a fan of. Like my wife's Denka nakiri for example. Love draw cutting with this nakiri, but certainly if the edge felt fragile, then it would be a different story.
@marvin1136 honestly I didn’t. Was super smooth. I could see with super soft cutting boards how that might happen but his entire blade is so thin you can’t feel a thing.
No no you could be right. At which part precisely please as that would be helpful. I use about three different mics in two different rooms so I can’t troubleshoot unless I know where it seems a bit off as it isn’t all off that much I know. Sometimes I do voiceover with the mic pointed at the board during cutting and that carries a different more muffled tone.
@@KitchenKnifeGuy For me it was pretty much whenever you were talking. My first impression was that you were speaking through a thin wall. I played around with volume on my speakers (usually sitting in the 30-50% range) and found that it felt like even at max volume I couldn't make it too loud. I tested a different video of yours and I could do so.
I’ll double check my project file in the next few days. There’s about four different sounds per video. Unboxing. Knife demo. Speak directly to camera and speak indirectly to camera. Each file should be normalized individually. Maybe I forgot to normalize some parts of the audio or maybe I had some weird limiter on. With trying some new things like real time commentary while cutting its presented some new audio challenges. At the end of the day these take so much work aside from everything else when I see blips I still post but try to make changes for the next video. Appreciate your comment.
I don't often comment on food release because it is obvious to the user whether it has or does not have good food release. Food release depends on so many factors including blade finish, blade geometry and even cutting technique. However, you are making a false statement about the edge retention so I need to correct that. This knife, over ALL the tests, showed no weaning of its edge bite and with a HRC of 64 I would have been surprised if it did. If the nakiri did not perform particularly well on a food item, that isn't an indication of edge retention, that's an indication that perhaps the blade was too 'sticky' for a certain food item or x or y or z. Edge retention had no part in anything you saw I can assure you.
Congrats on the Big Boy Honyaki Franki...Loving it.
Thanks man. Excited to talk about it tomorrow with youuuuuuu
Draw cuts are super impressive. It's got a real quiet beauty.
Thanks man. LOOOOVE draw cutting with this thing.
that is a beautiful knife and love the performance!
Me tooooo. Now I know I’m likely ok with nakiri but they must be large.
Good review, Frank! It got a nice patina 👌
Thank you. Really put this knife through its paces.
@@KitchenKnifeGuy You did a thorough demo 😊
That looks like it has some amazing geometry!
Geometry is KILLER!
It’s a beaut. I like that it’s a bit longer. Been looking out for a 200mm+ nakiri for a bit. Not a very traditional size, but optimal for me for sure.
Precisely why I love this nakiri. 195mm cutting edge is super useable. And his laser thin grind is very high performance. I wouldn’t shy away from reaching out to him if you want a 200m+ nakiri. His prices are very reasonable as well.
Nice shout out to rockchopknife doing some great work
I'm excited for tomorrow's IG Live.
@@KitchenKnifeGuy I'll be tuning in
I noticed that belly right off because I too prefer a flatter edge on my nakiris. If we want to rock, we have other knives, right? The common 165mm length on nakiris has baffled me as well. Lately, I've had my eye out for a longer nakiri. I did pick up a 240mm Hinokuni nakiri recently. A true watermelon slayer but a bit long for regular use. I agree that nakiri in the 200-210 range would be desirable but I've yet to find one available.
I'm not surprised that you don't love the handle. It's aesthetically attractive but I don't like ovals and suspect I wouldn't like even just the bottom oval or that wedged ferule. I have a handle sitting here with that kind of ferule and I'm not sure I'm ever going to use it because I'm very iffy about whether I'd like it on a knife. If I were to purchase that nakiri, I'd likely order it with no handle and then have a wa handle made for it (and I'd want that belly a lot flatter).
I didn't hear you describe the grind. I'm assuming it's a flat grind, yes?
Question... when you flashed €430 on the screen, was that the price of this knife? That seems crazy low for something of this quality.
Great video, as always! Well done, Franki!
Jim, thank you for your always very thoughtful comments and questions. That's the beauty, this is the longest nakiri I've had the pleasure of using with a blade length of 195mm so if you wanted just a little more I'm sure he'd be happy to make you one.
As for the handle, I like the hybrid shape of the Rokkaku-Hanmaru. My issue lies with the pinch points created from the very angular bolster. I think he needs a decision change in that realm over the handle shape. But that's just my two-cents.
Sorry yes, the blade is basically a zero grind with a slight convexity to it.
And lastly you bet, that 430 Euros denotes the price of this bad boy which is dope right?
@@KitchenKnifeGuy
€430 is a crazy good price for that. Now I'm wondering what my perfect length nakiri would be.
Wonder then order 😜
Great Video !!! I have been wanting to try a longer Nakiri, and this video definitely did not help that in any way. Im not sure how i would like even a slight belly though, i mainly use my nakiris for precision slicing. I guess im going to have to give a long one a whirl sooner than later.
I know I seem like an enabler, but it's just a coincidence that this video came out while you're contemplating longer nakiris I swear haha
I see a lot of comments about the geometry, but I was surprised by the wedging . Such a thin knife but struggling to get through a sweet potato and ripping a carrot instead of cutting it.
Did I miss the parts where you discussed those more?
Otherwise I love the shape and size
Hey Chris. Thanks for watching the video and leaving a comment. I do mention during the knife demo something along the lines of your comment re: wedging.
This is why I purposely cut the carrot further back from where I would typically want to, to test secondary bevel geometry and blade thinness. There's no question the blade is thin, but that wedging on the first carrot cut comes from the secondary bevel being wider than you'd find say on a Japanese blade. SUPER common in all Western knives I've tried. Western knives are created with the end user in mind, as in, not everyone understand proper knife use, care and maintenance. So a wider secondary bevel protects the blade from chipping. The blade, even being this thin, has a secondary bevel I'd personally change to a more acute angle and drive up the bevel. However, knife is still plenty thin which is why in the subsequent cuts you see on the carrot, there are no issues.
For the yam, same limiting factor AND as I often comment, with highly polished blades, you get a lot of 'stick' which I also mentioned during the video. As the whole blade patinas over time, coming back to a yam might prove to have better cutting performance. Or as you noticed, I went with the draw cut because of less surface area in contact with the food. Hope this helps.
@@KitchenKnifeGuy Excellent Reply Franco. I'm going to be completely honest and say I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment; it's the exact reason I prefer a Japanese Gyuto with convex or laser geometry most of the time.
I do, however; have a Swedish Custom Laser Honyaki 340mm Gyuto (Not a misspelling) From Frederic Spare and it's the only western that I haven't wedged on, only because I asked for a 80mm Height, and specifically asked for the thinnest behind the edge he felt comfortably going on a Honyaki of that size; specifically for very large produce like Cabbage. It rocks.
Again, excellent job voicing your concerns and giving constructive criticism; a lot of people are scared it might hurt the knifemakers feeling or even reputation; but it usually improves the quality of that same knifemaker down the line if they hear the same constructive criticism often. Kudos.
@@KitchenKnifeGuy makes sense, thanks. Sometimes I wonder if I’m going crazy when expensive knives wedge (like my 240 Denka did) but your explanation of blacksmiths protecting people from what they don’t know makes a lot of sense.
Not everyone is a knife nerd, I forget that
Thanks man. Super nice of you to say and share all of this. I put a lot of energy into my videos as you know so cool that you think I make fair assessments. I may share this response with IG peeps if you don’t mind simply so I can tag Spåre as that’s a nice compliment for him. Would love to see that 340mm honyaki gyuto. Sounds nuts. Good on you for being able to handle such a blade.
What do you think about the different styles of Nakiri tips? Most Japanese tips seem to be rounded - this one in the video seems pointy, almost like a mini cleaver. What do you like more?
Great question. My preference is towards 90 angled tips on a nakiri. The few I've tried that are rounded, I'm not a fan of. Like my wife's Denka nakiri for example. Love draw cutting with this nakiri, but certainly if the edge felt fragile, then it would be a different story.
@@KitchenKnifeGuy thanks :) did you have some problems with getting the tip stuck into the cutting board?
@marvin1136 honestly I didn’t. Was super smooth. I could see with super soft cutting boards how that might happen but his entire blade is so thin you can’t feel a thing.
not sure if it's just me, but is the audio a bit off?
No no you could be right. At which part precisely please as that would be helpful. I use about three different mics in two different rooms so I can’t troubleshoot unless I know where it seems a bit off as it isn’t all off that much I know. Sometimes I do voiceover with the mic pointed at the board during cutting and that carries a different more muffled tone.
@@KitchenKnifeGuy For me it was pretty much whenever you were talking. My first impression was that you were speaking through a thin wall. I played around with volume on my speakers (usually sitting in the 30-50% range) and found that it felt like even at max volume I couldn't make it too loud. I tested a different video of yours and I could do so.
I’ll double check my project file in the next few days. There’s about four different sounds per video. Unboxing. Knife demo. Speak directly to camera and speak indirectly to camera. Each file should be normalized individually. Maybe I forgot to normalize some parts of the audio or maybe I had some weird limiter on. With trying some new things like real time commentary while cutting its presented some new audio challenges. At the end of the day these take so much work aside from everything else when I see blips I still post but try to make changes for the next video. Appreciate your comment.
So, basically zero food release combined with below average edge retention. It's not expensive, but still...
I don't often comment on food release because it is obvious to the user whether it has or does not have good food release. Food release depends on so many factors including blade finish, blade geometry and even cutting technique.
However, you are making a false statement about the edge retention so I need to correct that. This knife, over ALL the tests, showed no weaning of its edge bite and with a HRC of 64 I would have been surprised if it did. If the nakiri did not perform particularly well on a food item, that isn't an indication of edge retention, that's an indication that perhaps the blade was too 'sticky' for a certain food item or x or y or z. Edge retention had no part in anything you saw I can assure you.