Kickstarter knife

theyolksonyou

Haven't contributed, but maybe.....

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/10/21/why-this-kitchen-knife-is-blowing-up-kickstarter/?intcmp=hpffo&intcmp=obnetwork

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/118233123/misen-cook-sharp

texaswig

I was checking that out the other day. All the good deals are already gine. So I'll just wait for someone to review it. Seems pretty legit. 

NPHuskerFL

Looks legit but, honestly after research and being in real commercial kitchens and talking to the guys & ladies in the trenches (Line, Sous and Head Chefs) this is the Chef Knife I would dream of owning. Is it cheap? No!  Is it quality? Absolutely!  We buy plastic coolers to keep whatever cold for $150-$600, mugs to keep beverages hot or cold for $30-$50 and Pits to smoke in for thousands. Clearly we all share a passion for cooking, egging etc. My Dexter knives work great and frankly I don't need a new knife. I want it. That's really what it boils down to isn't it?  Someday perhaps...just not today. 
https://youtu.be/cQcLLojBrgk

https://youtu.be/QGioYzipj5I

theyolksonyou

@NPHuskerFL those are beautiful knives!  On sale, too!

NPHuskerFL

@theyolksonyou Yes Jason they're 15% off right now. They're entire lineup are beautiful well thought out knives. They're extremely durable and they each hold their edge quite well for hardcore chefs.  

Thatgrimguy

I backed it. I'm always looking for a great knife and having J Kenji Lopez endorsement is good enough for me. That and the huge backing they already have. Plus 2 great chef knives for $105 is a fine deal even if it's just a decent knife.

theyolksonyou

@NPHuskerFL I'd seriously love a knife like that, but, alas, I need tires, counter tops, posts on the front porch, new garage door trim....you get the point.

hondabbq

I have several glestain knives in the professional series. Not the chaper ones made for other markets. 
I worked for a Japanese Chef for a while and he taught me the fine points of sharpening and performance. 
He turned me on to the Japanese edge. No bevel on either side. I have taken all my regular knives to thus edge. The glesstains have a single bevel. Best knives I have worked with and I have used a lot. 

HeavyG

I didn't really need another chef knife but I went in for one knife mainly because in Kenji's post he seemed excited about them and the price point.

Another project that may be of interest to some folks here is this rig for dry aging meat:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1890209291/the-steakager-dry-age-steaks-right-in-your-fridge?ref=nav_search

and their website:http://www.thesteakager.com/

Thatgrimguy

HeavyG said:

I didn't really need another chef knife but I went in for one knife mainly because in Kenji's post he seemed excited about them and the price point.

Another project that may be of interest to some folks here is this rig for dry aging meat:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1890209291/the-steakager-dry-age-steaks-right-in-your-fridge?ref=nav_search

and their website:http://www.thesteakager.com/

Umai dry bags already do this affordably. 

Legume

My crappy eyes, just a quick glance at the forum and I thought I read 'Kickstarter wife' for this thread.  I guess that would probably cost more and generate a few more comments.

Begger

Short of a powedered metal steel, the AUS-8 is a very reasonable steel.   Not the be-all, end-all, but quite fine.
For 65$?   Beats the heck out of the inferior steel'd Cutco offerings. 

My personal use Spyderco with S-30V the most amazing blade I've ever owned.

I'm tempted.  

gdenby

FWIW, the Richmond Artifex line already provides price/perfomance of similar quality. The Artifex blades (many kinds, not just a chef's) are slightly harder. Don't have a bolster, and there isn't any lifetime sharpening.

stompbox

What exactly is special about these knives?  Knives have been studied for centuries.  How can a newcomer come on the scene and say they have a superior product in 2015?

I am knife uneducated,  but I have a strong understanding of materials properties being an engineer.

Darby_Crenshaw

An even cheaper option for the dry aging bags is not to use bags at all. Their chief attribute seems to be shutting up the wife, frankly.  

The aura knives have a lot of logic behind them. I think though that ultimate statements about what is 'best' really depend on who is using them and what they need out of them. If a person doesn't know what that dude is even talking about, in the first vid, then that's probably not the knife to buy. 

I think they all have their virtues, and that a positive is often someone else's negative. A simple example is holding an edge. For some, holding an edge is paramount. But for a lot of amateurs, who aren't using it 'five hours at a time', they probably want something they can sharpen easily themselves. Two sides of the same coin. 

They seem like seriously considered knives. Everything makes sense. But they are pretty custom. Made for folks who appreciate the difference. 

Then again some dudes need a plastic handled stamped stainless thing to toss into their drawer. 

Not that it matters, but i'm in between

i can appreciate others' appreciation though. 

Photo Egg

NPHuskerFL said:

@theyolksonyou Yes Jason they're 15% off right now. They're entire lineup are beautiful well thought out knives. They're extremely durable and they each hold their edge quite well for hardcore chefs.  

Strange there is no option for blade length. Nor do they even give dimension at all...

NPHuskerFL

Photo Egg said:

NPHuskerFL said:

@theyolksonyou Yes Jason they're 15% off right now. They're entire lineup are beautiful well thought out knives. They're extremely durable and they each hold their edge quite well for hardcore chefs.  

Strange there is no option for blade length. Nor do they even give dimension at all...

"Contact Us"
I'm sure they'll answer any and all questions you may have. 

gdenby

stompbox said:

What exactly is special about these knives?  Knives have been studied for centuries.  How can a newcomer come on the scene and say they have a superior product in 2015?

I am knife uneducated,  but I have a strong understanding of materials properties being an engineer.

Short answer, promised high performance at an unusually low price, and probably available to a mass market.

A bit of historical kitchen knife history. With the introduction of "stainless" chromium low carbon steel steel knives about 100 years ago, cooks and butchers had a choice to make.  Did one's needs only call for a knife that would be reasonably sharp, and require little maintenance, or a keener blade that was prone to corrosion. (From what I gather, the 1st stainless knives in production were probably no harder than Rockwell 52.) The standard for most home cooks became stainless. Lots of butchering was done w. stainless also, with the blade being sharpened away in the course of use. Cooks who needed an edge that would give more precise cuts, and which could be used for hours without fatigue often used high carbon, and remained careful to keep the blades clean and dry.

Along the way, various alloys were devised to improve the shortcomings of both types. Still, most sales could be made with knives that were mediocre. Better knives remained expensive because they were better made, and sold to people who made a living off them. And they had lots of caché and were sold through exclusive vendors.

For a number of reasons, over the past 15 years or so, the market for higher performance knives increased. There has been lots of competition at the high end among the makers, and sometimes the product became even more expensive. But more buyers wanted at least some of the performance of the best knives, but w/o paying much more than usual.

If I'm recalling correctly, I've read that many, if not most home kitchen knives were a Rockwell hardness of around 54. When I started looking at better knives, 440C tempered to about Rockwell 56 was considered fine quality. More people are realizing the advantage of steels that rate around 60. The kickstarter project is one of several recent offering that aim at this market. There are several makers who offer 8" chef knives between &75 - $100 that rate around 62 - 62 Rockwell.

stompbox

gdenby said:

stompbox said:

What exactly is special about these knives?  Knives have been studied for centuries.  How can a newcomer come on the scene and say they have a superior product in 2015?

I am knife uneducated,  but I have a strong understanding of materials properties being an engineer.

Short answer, promised high performance at an unusually low price, and probably available to a mass market.

A bit of historical kitchen knife history. With the introduction of "stainless" chromium low carbon steel steel knives about 100 years ago, cooks and butchers had a choice to make.  Did one's needs only call for a knife that would be reasonably sharp, and require little maintenance, or a keener blade that was prone to corrosion. (From what I gather, the 1st stainless knives in production were probably no harder than Rockwell 52.) The standard for most home cooks became stainless. Lots of butchering was done w. stainless also, with the blade being sharpened away in the course of use. Cooks who needed an edge that would give more precise cuts, and which could be used for hours without fatigue often used high carbon, and remained careful to keep the blades clean and dry.

Along the way, various alloys were devised to improve the shortcomings of both types. Still, most sales could be made with knives that were mediocre. Better knives remained expensive because they were better made, and sold to people who made a living off them. And they had lots of caché and were sold through exclusive vendors.

For a number of reasons, over the past 15 years or so, the market for higher performance knives increased. There has been lots of competition at the high end among the makers, and sometimes the product became even more expensive. But more buyers wanted at least some of the performance of the best knives, but w/o paying much more than usual.

If I'm recalling correctly, I've read that many, if not most home kitchen knives were a Rockwell hardness of around 54. When I started looking at better knives, 440C tempered to about Rockwell 56 was considered fine quality. More people are realizing the advantage of steels that rate around 60. The kickstarter project is one of several recent offering that aim at this market. There are several makers who offer 8" chef knives between &75 - $100 that rate around 62 - 62 Rockwell.

understood. I am gathering people are going ga-ga over the low cost then.

I can recall my Engineering Materials prof telling us we can provide a sharp knife that will hold an edge virtually indefinitely, but the hardness is such that it will chip the first time you drop it...

Again, I am not an educated knife person, but I keep remembering this every time a knife salesman or knife commercial comes on (remember the huge banzaii knife commercial campaigns?) promising a lasting sharp knife like they are reinventing the wheel.

You can't change the limitations of the physical properties, unless they are using a new material,

gdenby

stompbox said:

You can't change the limitations of the physical properties, unless they are using a new material,

I noticed a few weeks ago that Warther cutlery is offering blades made from a particle steel called S235VN. The steel maker, Crucible, has figured out how to get around a problem of that line of steels. The titanium carbides embedded in the steel matrix would fall out after a good sharpening. The S35VN will take a hardness of 65 (I think) but remain tough, and resists scratching and has better chip resistance. Some of the steels now be made really are "cutting edge."

Lit

I wouldn't take the chance. There are proven good options at this price point like the Tojiro WA Gyuto on chef knives to go. Haven't checked in awhile but it was $60 when I got it. I have used the Richmond knives and was not impressed they felt flimsy and cheap compared to the tojiros.i went to the Aura site and hopefully I just clicked the wrong selection but the handles were so bad I wouldn't get one if the blade was the best thing ever made. When I do finally replace my Tojiro 8" chef the knives I have been looking at are in the xl price range.

HeavyG

Thatgrimguy said:

HeavyG said:

I didn't really need another chef knife but I went in for one knife mainly because in Kenji's post he seemed excited about them and the price point.

Another project that may be of interest to some folks here is this rig for dry aging meat:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1890209291/the-steakager-dry-age-steaks-right-in-your-fridge?ref=nav_search

and their website:http://www.thesteakager.com/

Umai dry bags already do this affordably. 

Are UMAi dry bags reusable?

Why no, no they are not.

At $10+/- per bag I guess if one only very infrequently ages a steak they are fine but it appears to me that if this is something one might want to do routinely I don't see how the bags work out to be more affordable.

Thatgrimguy

HeavyG said:

Thatgrimguy said:

HeavyG said:

I didn't really need another chef knife but I went in for one knife mainly because in Kenji's post he seemed excited about them and the price point.

Another project that may be of interest to some folks here is this rig for dry aging meat:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1890209291/the-steakager-dry-age-steaks-right-in-your-fridge?ref=nav_search

and their website:http://www.thesteakager.com/

Umai dry bags already do this affordably. 

Are UMAi dry bags reusable?

Why no, no they are not.

At $10+/- per bag I guess if one only very infrequently ages a steak they are fine but it appears to me that if this is something one might want to do routinely I don't see how the bags work out to be more affordable.

You don't do a steak... You do an entire primal.... More like 6-10 steaks. And they take 30-45 days to age... So you could only do 5 a year into a regular use fridge.. And most wives are happier that it takes up only the exact space the primal take up. Not the additional room that thing would need.

HeavyG

Thatgrimguy said:

HeavyG said:

Thatgrimguy said:

HeavyG said:

I didn't really need another chef knife but I went in for one knife mainly because in Kenji's post he seemed excited about them and the price point.

Another project that may be of interest to some folks here is this rig for dry aging meat:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1890209291/the-steakager-dry-age-steaks-right-in-your-fridge?ref=nav_search

and their website:http://www.thesteakager.com/

Umai dry bags already do this affordably. 

Are UMAi dry bags reusable?

Why no, no they are not.

At $10+/- per bag I guess if one only very infrequently ages a steak they are fine but it appears to me that if this is something one might want to do routinely I don't see how the bags work out to be more affordable.

You don't do a steak... You do an entire primal.... More like 6-10 steaks. And they take 30-45 days to age... So you could only do 5 a year into a regular use fridge.. And most wives are happier that it takes up only the exact space the primal take up. Not the additional room that thing would need.

I'm familiar with UMAi bags and how they work.

I would agree that putting one of the Steakagers in the fridge in the kitchen might be a tough sell (even if one had the room for one) but that is what the beer fridge in the garage is for.

As I said, this may be of interest to some folks. If you're not interested that's cool.

Darby_Crenshaw

the steakager is nothing more than an open rack with some fans?  what does it offer?  it really looks like something made so you can point at it to the wife and say "see, it's an official plastic thing, so it is legit. NOW can i do this?"

why does everything need a damn system and to be complicated?  aged steak is literally nothing more than old beef left in a fridge. no complications required.

except now it's some massively complex voodoo thing that requires all sorts of extra equipment (despite the fact that it never has required these things).

i dunno.  another notch in the "americans afraid of their food" category

throw it on a damn rack, unwrapped, in the beer fridge and grow a pair when the wife asks "what's that about anyway?"

(daily grousing accomplished. soap box dismounted)

Photo Egg

Darby_Crenshaw said:

the steakager is nothing more than an open rack with some fans?  what does it offer?  it really looks like something made so you can point at it to the wife and say "see, it's an official plastic thing, so it is legit. NOW can i do this?"

why does everything need a damn system and to be complicated?  aged steak is literally nothing more than old beef left in a fridge. no complications required.

except now it's some massively complex voodoo thing that requires all sorts of extra equipment (despite the fact that it never has required these things).

i dunno.  another notch in the "americans afraid of their food" category

throw it on a damn rack, unwrapped, in the beer fridge and grow a pair when the wife asks "what's that about anyway?"

(daily grousing accomplished. soap box dismounted)

I agree with you 100%. That said, does the quality of aging vary by the humidity level? I know large aging rooms are humidity controlled to control the rate of drying so the drying/aging happens slower. Kind of thought the UMAi dry bags served the same reasoning in a home fridge. Give the meat time to age with out over drying as a home fridge has very little humidity.
This aging box claims to help hold a "level" of humidity at all times. This might explain them using less than the entire primal with good results.
Granted, it takes up so much space it would never fly in my house. I would rather drop the money on the bags.

PM1

For me Japanese Santoku knife, hand forged Damascus 17coat steel, single bevel. Beauty.

HeavyG

Darby_Crenshaw said:

the steakager is nothing more than an open rack with some fans?  what does it offer?  it really looks like something made so you can point at it to the wife and say "see, it's an official plastic thing, so it is legit. NOW can i do this?"

why does everything need a damn system and to be complicated?  aged steak is literally nothing more than old beef left in a fridge. no complications required.

except now it's some massively complex voodoo thing that requires all sorts of extra equipment (despite the fact that it never has required these things).

i dunno.  another notch in the "americans afraid of their food" category

throw it on a damn rack, unwrapped, in the beer fridge and grow a pair when the wife asks "what's that about anyway?"

(daily grousing accomplished. soap box dismounted)

Funny stuff man!

Yeah, I guess you could just throw a hunk of beef right in an ordinary fridge and leave it there for a few weeks.

Or you could use some other methods that are more likely to give a better result. 

J. Kenji did a piece on Serious Eats a couple of years ago that gives a good overview for non-pros looking to dry age some meat.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-dry-aging-beef-at-home.html

The Steakager is just another approach using a simple enclosure and a small computer to try and maintain an environment more suitable to achieving a better result.