justplainbill
Executive Chef
My wife can dull knives faster than I can sharpen them. One of her favorite knives is a 4.25" Kamagata style ATS-34 steel lockback folder from AG Russell. She likes it because the blade is fairly thin but pretty stiff. To me the handle is somewhat uncomfortable because it is metal. In a quest to find a reasonably priced fixed blade alternative, I purchased a MAC, Superior line, 4" Santoku paring knife. It arrived yesterday evening so I cannot yet speak to it's edge retention abilities. However out of the box I can say-
It has a polished laminated wood handle and is single bevel 15 degree right hand sharpened on a semi-thin blade. Came nicely packaged in a cardboard sheath inside a nice box. Took about a dozen strokes on an ultra fine ceramic stone to polish edge to semi razor sharpness. Due to wideness of blade, storage in a poly knife-safe case, requires a 4-6" size case/sheath. Handle offset could be a tad more to provide better knuckle clearance when blade edge is held flat to cutting surface..
It has a polished laminated wood handle and is single bevel 15 degree right hand sharpened on a semi-thin blade. Came nicely packaged in a cardboard sheath inside a nice box. Took about a dozen strokes on an ultra fine ceramic stone to polish edge to semi razor sharpness. Due to wideness of blade, storage in a poly knife-safe case, requires a 4-6" size case/sheath. Handle offset could be a tad more to provide better knuckle clearance when blade edge is held flat to cutting surface..