Good point about it.
You can sand it down, but I agree. I have some knives where parts of the spine is also sharp enough to cut
Not to talk Mac knives down in any way. They are great knives that can handle reasonable hard work and still cut better then most traditional western knives due to thinner and lighter grind. I would recommend them to anyone who just need a good knife and entry to the world of Japanese knives.
It’s true that they do not officially give any info on there “special steel” there is however a consensus that steel analysis have shown it to be AUS8.
Aus8 is a decent stainless steel that perform average in most areas. But there really isn’t any special about it. Softer and doesn’t take as sharp an edge as VG10. But on the other hand tougher, less brittle and Easier to sharpen then VG10. And no where near the properties of sg2/D2 or other powder steels.
Mac knives, both pro and ultimate performs good due to a pretty good grind. Not so much the steel.
For me stainless stopped being funny the first time i tried Carbon. Carbon steels and hand sharpening on stones is a joy for me 
1 Like
Many of the old Nogents say they have ebony handles. Do you know if that is true? They are close to uniform black and feel quite hard, but the fretboards on my guitars, known to be ebony, show a very slight bit of grain.
I have used carbon blades (Sabatier elephant four star and jeunne and Nogents, along with a brief Tojiro fling) and stones for many decades. My only stainless blades are a bread knife (Au Sabot, which I quite like) and knock-off Laguiole steak knives. The steak knives are not great steel and are hard to sharpen. I am considering some Opinels or Au Sabots. Knife sharpening is, indeed, fun. However, Sabs are pretty soft and do best with only a 500 and a 1000. So the process is pretty quick and easy.
Old carbon sabs are really cool, as you say they are a bit on the soft side. But really tough and the grind is surprisingly elegant with a thick sturdy heel that tappers into a nice thin edge towards the tip. My father own an old K-Sabatier I also sharpens for him.
If I must suggest something. When you like old sabs. You should try a misono Swedish carbon. You can say it’s a Japanese take on a classic Sabatier profile but with a harder steel and a thinner grind. Sharpened in 70/30
Love those Misono Swedish.
1 Like
I’m into this game too long to care that much about steel type and quality of steel.
I love my SG2 powder steel knives and own more than a dozen of them. What I’ve found is the key for me is not so much knowing what quality of steel a certain knives has, as long as I know it is high quality steel.
What’s far more important is how the knife feels in my hand and how it cuts. How sharp it is and how easy it is to maintain daily with a ceramic honing rod and a sharpening steel.
Also seeing a certain knife being used for two decades by Brian Mark Hansen, the current Bocuse D’or gold medal winner and by the former head chef of Kong Hans , Thomas Rode and several other head chefs using the same knife tells me much more than knowing an old Japanese artisan have been hand making a certain special knife for an enthusiast which probably won’t use the knife more than one hour a week tops.
But we’re all different. There’s room for everyone.
I deeply respect the artisan knife makers and perfectly understand the interest in their craftsmanship.
I’ve just come to the conclusion that steel type is more snobbery than actual real performance optimisation.
I love my Wusthof Classic Solon knives as much as many of my other far more expensive Knives with SG2 powder steel.
I love my Zwilling Pro knives as much. Both are soft steel knives made from rather cheap steal types.
My favourite midsize 20cm/8” chefs knife is my Kramer Meiji, made from a rather basic steel type. It’s the perfect mid sized chefs knife for me.
Steel types doesn’t really. say much about how a knife performs. It’s only a small but important part of a knife together with grind, handle shape, balance and much more and to me it no longer makes sense to judge a knife’s price based on the steel type used in it alone.
It’s like saying a Maserati must be one hell of a driving car since its engine is a Ferrari engine.
But it’s really not always that great of a car to actual drive in.
Sure it has a Ferrari motor, but that’s only a minor detail on how the car really performs.
I will say that it mattered to me as a Chef-- making considerations about which knives would chip doing a given task, etc. But, I think the value of an item is determined by what a person will pay for it and what it means to them. Is a guitar worth more because it was played by Jimi Hendrix? I guess it is if you care about Jimi Hendrix.
1 Like
That is a great suggestion, but my recent acquisition of a B stock 30cm chef knife from Bernal filled the last slot in my block (although I do have it out and in action a lot). It makes the 25 feel so small!
Now I gotta go look at mine. Which scares me; haven’t played any of them for ages. I have a 50 yr old D35 … and still have my first chef’s knife wrecked wood handle and all.
1 Like
Precisely.
Its all in the eye of the beholder.
You can’t put a price on snobbery, now can you ?
Steel type matter, but people who judge a knifes price just based on the steel type really don’t know what the real key features of a great workhorse of a fantastic kitchen knife is.
You see at least two guys in this thread base the price of a knife on the quality of the steel used in the blade of the knife, which in my humble opinion is a load of crap and in all honesty bordelines snobbery and failure to understand and appreciate the true value of what a great kitchen knife is.
1 Like
I think it is true. I have some old Henkels Friodur (SS) that have it.
Ebony has only been kapu since 2008.
1 Like
I love sharpening, too. That’s why I recommend the Kiwis with the caveat that you have to love a very sharp knife, sharpened by you. It is the softest stainless I’ve ever used; but I can get those suckers sharp right now.
1 Like
I always loved that model, sort of the Klipschorn of guitars (large and full range)., i also loved the use of wood in that three piece back. Is it exactly fifty or just old, as in old enough to be Brazilian rosewood or young enough to be Indian? They both sound marvelous, but an unplayed Brazilian is like a savings account in a case. My brother has an unplayed D-28 that is Brazilian. He lives in Somerville, and I have suggested driving out to the Music Emporium in Lexington and either coming home with a lot of money or, better still, finding a luthier to bring it into great condition and playing the heck out of it. It used to be mine. I would gladly swap my D-18 modern deluxe for it but am too considerate to offer.
I fail to see what snobbery you talk a about?
1 Like
If you don’t see it chances are you haven’t realised it.
Might be… Could you enlighten me then?
I can understand why someone would pay big bucks for a truly handmade knife. I can understand why someone might pay up for a rare or very special blade, like one from Anthony Bourdain or Julia Child (assuming they actually used and treasured the knife, not that it just happened to reside for a period in their knife block). I cannot understand why anyone would pay big bucks for a good knife to be used as a workhorse type tool. So what if the blade looks like Damascus or the handle is an inlaid work of art? There are great knives of all sorts available for under $100, many for under $50. The big Nogent I just got seemed like a splurge at $89, but the price for A stock instead of B stock was nearly triple. The B stock works the same.
It was purchased by me at Chuck Levin’s in 1977, so not quite 50. I went into a big storage space and they let play one after another until I found the one that was “just right.” I looked at their site just now … store’s being run by 3rd generation family. And they have an expanded service/repair facility but they no longer sell Martins.
1 Like
