Ahhh! I was making hot pot that night so I used that opportunity to do some prep on camera. Yeah that was a Japanese sweet potato, it was very firm and I thought I was feeling some lateral bend in the edge but it was most likely near the handle.

I'm going to eventually do a hardness test on one of my mercer blades. I work in a fish processor/ market that is open to the public in the mornings. I roll sushi and clean small fish up to 25lbs. The white cutting board we have is very hard and crappy. Definitely wears whatever German steel the knives are made of. In the evenings I have a apprenticeship in a sushi bar. The mercer knives I keep there hold a edge for at least a week. The boards we use are very nice. Usually a couple swipes on the steel and a few passes on the leather get them back into shape. I'm working my why up to better quality blades.

the competition online typically uses x50 steel, so the mercers hold no material advantage where they surpass the competition is in the grind; just looking at the video, the nakiri is taper ground from about halfway down from the spine; with most chinese-made knives, only the last half inch or so above the edge is ground the higher grinds on the mercers produce an easier cut that won't wedge as easily

re stamped blades, you know what santoku america's test kitchen selected as the best performer? the mac superior, a stamped blade why? it's thin because it's stamped

The way it sits on the table does look bent. I thought I had felt it flex when I was cutting the sweet potato but I'll inspect it tonight and let you know.

Just checked it out and it looks bent but it’s straight and flat. No twist, torque, or bend. It just looks that way from the way it is on the board.

I’m in production, it’s just the camera angle, a side angle down low would show that it’s straight and leaning on the board. Optical tricks on the eye are always deceptive. :)