Sorry, not sure if this post should be in the knife sharpening or the general section...
Hello,
I was wondering if anyone has any experience or opinions of the hordes of chef knives on eBay and Amazon and aliexpress etc. that claim to use AUS10 or VG10 steel in the core of their 'dasmascus' style knives.
Is the steel as hard as they claim?
Do they keep their edge well?
Is the general quality OK?
Or any other observations you may have...
There are quite a few reviews on youtube with in depth testing like these suggesting they are actually rather good, especially for the price.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1EPsqfodfk and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EDjDkeeXwg
I have found 3 knife sets for a very reasonable 110-120 euros on Amazon for example
https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B0CMD4BZL8?smid=A1X6FK5RDHNB96&th=1
and here on ebay for a similar set at about 95 euros
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/317413234837
or here
https://www.amazon.fr/Zelite-Infinity-Inoxydable-Professionnel-Alpha-Royal/dp/B0110EKTUU
I know they are obviously not like the high quality and high price knives which can be found elsewhere but does anyone here have any real experience of how these knives really are?
I know, I know, in life you get what you pay for but......
....I have to say I am tempted :P :D
Danny
I have no experience with these particular knives, however there is one sure thing : steel in itself is very cheap, even VG10. However, how it is forged and tempered will make a world of difference.
Tempering them well enough so they're resistant to wear but not brittle, then making a decent knife out of it is what takes time, and therefore amps the price up.
I know of an IKEA chef knife with a VG-10/Damascus blade that never got close to performing as well as a Shun gyuto knife, even though on paper they are similar. Despite being sharpened the same way, the same day, on the same Tormek at the same angle.
OK, interesting, thanks
Danny
Just had a look at how much the Shun Gyuto costs and it is about 220 euros here in France. About 5 times the price of the Chinese ones ::) :o
which do appear to basically be a copy.
I have a Shan Zu utility knife, however, I have not used it enough to give an informed opinion. Out of the box it was very sharp and comfortable to use. I have seen some comparison videos and the Shan Zu the core tested as advertised for hardness. It also fared well in other tests. I really don't need another chefs knife but I am tempted.
Dan,
A couple things...
My daughter owns a set of the Shan Zu knives. The one I'm looking at is 10Cr15Mov damascus. They sharpen like a powdered steel. First one sharpened came out at 70 with out any extra effort. They did dull fairly easily though, after one cookout they were very dull.
I have seen this brand tested in a very lengthy review on YouTube. His test was expensive Japanese style knives vs. Cheap ones. He included an objective opinion, "How they were to use". After the test he ranked the Shun Zu #1, overall best, it did test at 62 hardness. He did test Wusthoff, these were better in his test, being harder and food didn't stick to the blade when using.
Secondly, I own a set of Shun's that have a core of VG-Max... similar to VG-10. They hold an Edge much better as you would hope, for the price.
Maybe buy 1 before you buy a set and see if you like it.