Thank you for your constructive feedback! I will strive to do better next time. I might have been too enthusiastic using my brand new bumper/logo. 🤣I probably have been a little bit too enthusiastic using my new bumper because I have just finished it (and proud of it). I'm planning to make more variations of them (also without the CKE line/music) so it becomes less repetitive and hopefully not annoying at all. The portrait, and other clips from the bumper, can be standalone animations to separate the different sections in my videos indeed. Thank you for that suggestion. I will find a way to make it work in my next videos, I promise. Step by step. Bear with me. 🙏🏾

​@chefknivesenthusiast I agree with this comment but also love the new bumper and am gonna give you a pass for overuse in the short term. Haha!

Thank you bro-san! They are beautifully crafted knives at a reasonable price point indeed. I don't think they make them smaller than 230mm though. The intro was quite a nice project to undertake and I'm happy with the result. Awesome that you love it! Happy Holidays! Take care.

Thank you for the kind words! 🙏🏾

My pleasure! It was really nice to try these knives and as I have stated in my video, i think you're on to something with the B&B brand and products. I will definitely enjoy having these two B&B knives in my collection. Thanks again for the collaboration. I'm looking forward to do another video with the Honyaki. But first, I'm going to travel for 6 weeks...

Good luck with the editing my bro-san! We grow together 👊

100% We like a colony of fungi. Above ground we may appear small, but below, we spreading.@@chefknivesenthusiast

I can imagine your Twilight Zone vibes. Haha. Some people like to have things that are matching, others like to have diversity and contrast. We both seem to like variation and diversity. And we both love Franki. I also appreciate the enthusiasm and positivity of Mr. Alo! He's a great dude indeed. I was inspired a lot by him (and a few other admins of the Facebook Group "Japanese Made Knives: Cutlery and Conversation") to start making youtube videos myself. Congrats with your Birch & Bevel Carbon Gyuto Masur Edtion! I think you will like it a lot.

Thank you! I'm very happy with it myself. Me and Gijs Kast have been working hard on it. www.gijskast.com is a very gifted illustrator and I am honoured to have his animation/illustration as my video intro. I'm also happy with the music that I have composed for it. It kinda sounds like a real bumper/leader of a random TV show. And I'm happy I was able to introduce it for the first time in my videos at the end of 2023.

I have come to terms with the fact that these knife profiles are a little bit more catered to the Western chef, using Western cutting techniques (rocking). But I still could use them with my preferred push-cut technique. I do really like them for what they are, a great alternative for the expensive and hard to get custom knives from European makers. At this price point, they do get serious competition from the realm of Japanese blades. But for the knife enthusiast who loves the non-Japanese vibe of these knives, they are super fun knives with gorgeous fit and finish.!

@@chefknivesenthusiast interesting... my take is that these are western knives WITH a Japanese vibe because of the handles. If the two knives you were sent have distinctive blade shapes and aren't just variations in a run, the one you kept with it's flatter profile near the heel is slightly closer, imo, to a Japanese blade. I like that about the blade you chose but it's the handle that grabbed me from the start. I'm turning into a bit of a handle-whore ...but only on blades that really call for it. I don't need an amazingly beautiful handle on every knife but it's nice to have some pretty ones on display. And it doesn't hurt that I like the finish of the knife you chose more too. I was surprised to hear you say you didn't like the curved notch in the heal considering I know you like Teruyasu Fujiwara knives. Is the notch so much different on the B&B knives?

The handles are super Western to me. A Japanese WA, to me, is just a D-Shaped, oval, or octagonal Ho wood with buffalo horn. These have tapered back, and the use of materials is non-traditional Japanese. Anyway. Japanese knives with a Western vibe. Western knives with a Japanese vibe. Same difference. I was not so much referring to the fingernotch, but more to the shape of the line from spine to heel. That curvy line. I prefer just a straight line from spine/fingernotch to the edge of the heel. I don't like my TF Denka because of the finger notch, but mainly because of the quality of the heat treat and the performance/ease of sharpening of the knife. I would F with my Denka with or without finger notch, but at least the TF goes straight down from the finger notch. Both profiles of the B&B were very similar. The one I kept also did not have a true flatspot on the heel, but perhaps, admittedly, it is not really visible on camera. You sure can feel it on the cutting board.

Aha, that usually happens to me as well. A Unicorn often becomes available not at the most opportune moments. Always when expandable funds are low or non existent. What did you get, a Shigefusa Kitaeji, a Kiyoshi Kato, a Tsukasa Hinoura River Jump? Even though your Fredrik Spåre custom might not qualify as a Unicorn, I can understand why it is hard and painful to let it go. I hope you'll find a buyer for it that will give it a great home. And thank you for watching my video, leaving a comment, sharing your story, much appreciated.

Definitely. A lot of Japanese competition at that price point! Not so much non Japanese competition though, when it comes to fully handmade knives. I have a €195 JNS Kaeru Gyuto that does not perform less good on any level (construction, steel, geometry, grind, ease of sharpening) than these two knives. It punches way above its weight class. But it has a very no nonsens, traditional Japanese look and feel to it. I personally would prefer it over these B&B blades though. But there are a lot of people that would prefer something more 'special'. Perhaps a fancy looking handle like these, instead of a traditional Ho Wood D-shaped handle with buffalo horn. To each their own. There are indeed many other Japanese makers at this price point that I might prefer. But if we compare these B&B carbon Gyuto's to let's say some Miyabi series at this price point, then I would definitely prefer a B&B blade, since the Miyabi knives are factory knives and made of steel that I don't really like sharpening a lot. i agree that a slightly taller profile would give the opportunity to thin it a bit, but the grind is not bad at all. I like the balance between thickness and precision on it. If I want /need a laser, I'll grab one of those. I like the 'workhorse' vibe on these B&B blades. They are delicate enough for a pro cook to do refined stuff, but sturdy and beefy enough for a home cook with a lower level of skill and technique. I'll dive into that annealed steel. Thank you for the tip. I'm not well versed when it comes to metallurgy, so I am always happy to learn a bit more, step by step, and understand what it all means and what differences it can make.

Yes, it’s sometimes a disappointment to have your needs fulfilled at a lower price point when you’re all amped up to go all out 😂. Steel wise you’d probably want to educate yourself a bit. Steels are available from knife making suppliers, industrial suppliers who sell metalworking tools/supplies, and dedicated metal sellers. Sounds like you’re in Europe. I’m not, I buy stuff from KBC tools but I’m sure there’s similar outfits where you are. I wouldn’t get too involved in minutiae like 0.2% more vanadium in this one versus that one etc. Tools required for the stock removal technique can be as simple as a vice, hacksaw and files. Remember, the annealed steel comes dead soft. So it’s easy to work. Custom shape it to your hearts desire and take it to a commercial company or friendly blacksmith for hardening. A blacksmith may not be familiar with the hardening process Of some new cutting edge steel brought out last week. Best to stick to steels that have been around decades. I like the A2 from personal experience, and it’s SLD like in that it has about 6% chromium. 1095 is a popular high carbon steel that people like to use because you can create a hamon with it. There’s probably a special clay you’d have to buy for that. Personally I find researching this stuff to be so enjoyable. I don’t think I’d want a honyaki over RC 62 in case of fragility. I’ll take sharpening 15% more often over something that’s very chippy that I have to baby.

🙏🏾

I got too excited, I know. But I will make different clips from my new bumper/logo and use a variation of 'logos' (with and without sound) for in between the segments. What max of blades are you talking about? 🫣 🤣 If people keep sending me knives for reviewing purposes...that's just unrealistic and impossible. 😁 Anyway, at this moment, I'm trying to keep my collection underneath 100 blades. 🤷🏾‍♂️

@@chefknivesenthusiast more knives more win

Hi you once said to keep maximum 50 blades, ofcourse like you say if everybody starts sending blades, and you may keep them, your collection will grow faster, anyway keep up the good and entertaining work, like the dishes you make, would be nice to share some recepies or make a little cooking vid, cheers 😀@@chefknivesenthusiast

Hahaha, those who know...know! 🙏🏾👌🏽👍🏼👊🏽

Good question. Carbon steel can affect the flavor and color of your food sometimes. Especially when it was laquered before shipping (to protect the blade during transport). Then you want to remove the laquer first, or it will end up in your food. But the good news is that when your carbon steel has built a patina, that will never happen again. The patina protects the steel against rust, and at the same time, it seals the blade so it can't rub off or discolor your food anymore.

I really want to use carbon cladded knives in a professional setting but it keeps discolouring the onions/shallots. I don’t want to be told off by this when in a case I need to keep them for preparation

Thank you for your constructive feedback! I will strive to do better next time. I have been too enthusiastic using my brand new bumper/logo. 🤣 I probably have been a little bit too enthusiastic using my new bumper because I have just finished it (and proud of it). I'm planning to make more variations of them (also without the CKE line/music) so it becomes less repetitive and hopefully not annoying at all. The portrait, and other clips from the bumper, can be standalone animations to separate the different sections in my videos. I will find a way to make it work in my next videos, I promise. Step by step. Bear with me. 🙏🏾

Well said comments in a nice and constructive manner. I greatly appreciate the enthusiasm and like the new look - just toned down a bit would ideal.

@@GrantHendrick Will do 🙏🏾

@@chefknivesenthusiast I love your positive attitude and look forward to many more videos!

@GrantHendrick Life is too short for a negative attitude. 😘

Thank you for your rant. I appreciate that you take the time to give me constructive feedback. I'm a guy who can watch a podcast of 3 hours with no editing (if the conversation is captivating enough). So, I know where you're coming from. My videos get an average watch time of about 20% - 25%. This means a lot of people bail out watching my content and don't watch the whole video because it is not stimulating/interesting enough. I'm trying to find balance but will never be able to cater to everyone's personal taste and preference. At the end of the day, I'm making videos that I would like to see myself. Informative. Engaging. Cohesive. Concise. Entertaining. Fun. I'm not a pro movie/video maker or producer. I'm learning baby step by baby step. I'm always open to receiving feedback, and again, I appreciate it a lot. But there are just as many people that tell me my videos are boring, too long, too verbose, too in depth, etc. I can never do it right for everyone. Obviously, I don't want to annoy anyone with my videos. All I want is to share, teach, and learn. Happy Holidays!