Plastics are hard to like…
I am ok with micarta scales, but I absolutely prefer wood as you do. Micarta never changes, but wood just gets better and better. .
I used a lot of micarta, both the paper and canvas. I don’t mind the feel. I’m just not crazy about the colors and lack of pattern/figure.
If someone’s going to the trouble of making or buying a custom blade, why not make it beautiful?
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I have used all of them, 10 of my 50 knives are actually knives I’ve dedicated as raw meat/butcher knives from Dick, 7 of them are the cheap Dick with the blue Fibrox handles, that so many butchers use. They are terrific knives.
I own a couple of Miyabi Birchwood specialty knives - Nakiri, Kiritsuke and Sujihiki. I rarely use them these days to be honest, and when I do it’s mostly just for the fun of it.
After watching a couple of thousands YouTube food recipe videos and professional restaurant videos over the last decade or so, i began to notice a certain knife turn up quite frequently in these videos and that peaked my interest.
It was a Mac knife. At first I thought it was the Mac Pro series knife, but it wasn’t.
I forgot about it, but it was still in the back of my head.
Suddenly last year I heard a Mac knife mentioned in a former Danish Michelin star cooks podcast where he interviewed the current Bocuse D’or Gols medal winner, the Dane Brian Mark Hansen from the danish restaurant Sollerod Kro. They both had used the Mac Ultimate chefs knife and carving knife as their main knives for the last 20 years. No endorsement that I know of. No sponsorship.
So I looked into it. Turns out they only make the carving knife and then 3 chefs knives starting at 23.5 cm which already would put many amateurs off right there.
Then a 26.5 cm and a 30.5 cm chefs knife.
I then bought the 26.5 cm Mac Ulrimate chefs knife and it’s a quite simplistic knife. No Damascus, just a bit of Japanese words on the blade. A black wood handle European style.
Really simple design. Pretty good knuckle clearance.
Nice balance. Solid professional looking knife.
When I started actually using it I was blown away.
The best knife I have ever held in my hand.
Perfect balance, perfect sharpness and perfect build quality.
You can use it to cut living lobster with, no problem. Try that with a thin Japanese artisan laser knife.
It cuts like a dream. It’s all I need in a knife.
It has a perfect balance. It can take a beating yet it’s still refined.
I was so blown away that I immediately ordered an extra 26.5 cm chefs knife. 2 x 23.5 chefs knives and the 26.5 cm carbon knife.
My favourite smaller chefs knife is still my Kramer Meiji 20 cm Gyutoh, but my overall favourite knives in my kitchen for the last year are the Mac Ultimate 26.5 cm and 23.5 cm chefs knives. They are simply phenomenal. I rarely use anything else but these knives in my kitchen now.
The Mac Ultimate is on the expensive side - in my country they cost close to $400 a piece. But they are worth it.
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I still use the pinch grip on my samurai sword when I’m knife fighting.
Nice to hear about the Mac! I’ll check it out, see if they sell it here online. I have a Mac Pro bread knife and it’s wonderful as well.
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It might help if you would post a photo of the bigger chef’s handle next to a 9-10" one.
I think it would require a very small hand for your new 14" chef not to be held securely. Perceived comfort might be a different issue.
I have never used the Mac knives, but yeah, apparently some professional chefs love them. They are not too expensive (not cheap either), simple look, no special steel. Glad you like them.
Top- the MAC Superior I won from a local bakery some years ago.
Bottom- The Mundial I bought for $5(?) many years ago from a knife sharpening service.
Both cut bread with ease, but would I actually spend the $$$ for the MAC? Hard to say.
I love Mundial knives, too. Good value.
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You are correct. These plastic-like handles are made of G10, are not plastic, but fiberglass (much like Micarta)
The thing is that the G10 (fiberglass) handle is more expensive than a wood handle. I just like wood, and I didn’t even know it was going to be cheaper.
There’s plain 'ol wood, and then there is premium, figured wood. Then there’s resin-impregnated/stabilized wood.
Some sellers may charge more for knives handled in G10, but if you’re buying fancy wood and stabilizing it, that cost is almost assuredly more than G10/garolite.
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I’m not talking about the Mac Pro series.
I’m talking about the ‘real pro’ series from Mac called Mac Ultimate. Mac Ultimate knives are quite expensive.
In Denmark they cost from $350+ a piece and up and they are even more expensive in the UK.
The Mac Ultimate series consists of just 5 knives total.
A thick cleaver like Deba 18cm, a carving knife/Sujihiki 26.5cm and 3 chefs knives 23.5cm/26.5cm/30.5cm.
They are just VG 10 steel correct? Pretty cheap steel to be so expensive.
Mac have never revealed precisely what steel type the Mac Ultimate knives are made from.
I don’t think it’s VG10, but I don’t think it’s SG2/R2 either.
It’s probably closer to a VG10 type steel.
When I first started my interest in knives I didn’t know anything about steel types and the difference between steel hardness using the Rockwell scale.
Slowly I learned more and more and became obsessed over steel types in knives and what Rockwell they had and how thick the blades were thinking that cutting with Japanese thin laser like knives were the best for most finer cutting jobs and I began looking a bit down on mass market production knives that were overpriced compared to artisan knives.
Now I feel like I’m in my third stage/state and now I don’t look just at what steel type is used in a knife to justify its price for me to have an interest in the knife.
Now I look at how does the knife feel in my hands. How does it cut. Is it sharp enough to cut like a dream. Can it handle rougher jobs or is it too brittle for that. Does it hold an edge for a certain amount of time. Can I hone it and keep it ultra sharp.
Do I like the overall look and design of the knife.
If I can say yes to all these questions, I probably have to do with my dream knife, whether it’s an overpriced VG10 steel used or not. But as mentioned Mac will not reveal the exact origin of the steel used in their Ultimate series.
But it’s Rockwell is around 61, so it’s not SG2 powder steel, more like VG10, but it’s probably Mac’s own blend of a certain type steel.
I’m a wood fan as well, but I also like the way the dexter Sani safe line fits my hand, despite the cheapo handle.
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Whatever you prefer and feels best in your hand will feel even better after you develop some callouses on your knife gripping hand.
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I generally find that the thick top of the spine near the handle is more likely to bother me than the handle shape or material.
Using a knife for 10-14 hours a day, the inside of your hand gets calloused in places you wouldn’t expect and all of the things you mentioned wind up mattering. You are going to callous no matter what if you use a knife a lot.
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