Yaxell Ran


 
Wolgast

Wolgast

TVWBB Olympian
Bought a new setup of knifes today. Emilie turned 30 and i will in a few weeks.

And what is better then to give yourself a great setup of knifes? I know they are a bit hard on the cash,but then again i will use em every day for many years to come.

Here we go:




Love that Damaskus blade'



And i would NEVER spend this money on a bread knife,dual chef´s,and a deboneing knife.

But i got a deal on all 6 that i couldent pass on. Below 50% off.

I will report back on the performance.
 
Very nice, Daniel!!! I don"t have a Ran, but I have a few other Japanese Damascus steel knives. I really like them. You are going to love these. Nice score!

Happy Birthday to you and Emilie!!!


Mike
 
Very nice looking and as you said they are something your constantly using and perhaps a one-time investment. Enjoy!
 
Wow!

Hope they're as functional as they are "handsome".

Don't know what you have been using in the past, but once you get used to a GOOD set of knives, you will get really frustrated when you are forced to use crummy cheapos.

Now that you have some really nice cutlery - you'll need a good place to keep them and proper tools for sharpening / maintaining them.

One last safe-guard - Don't know if you're supersticious or not, but there is some old wives-tale about giving knives as gifts being bad luck. The way around this = "sell" them to Emilie for a penny (or whatever the cheapest Swedish coin is)....

Happy cooking!
 
All i can say at this point is that they are "scary" sharp right out of the box.

Ron G = I think i will use a spyderco sharpener. And store them on a wooden magnetic list on the wall.
 
Those knives are really nice. The wave looking pattern is actually individual layers of steel folded hammered together. I believe the process is Bessimer steel. I have a few pocket knives made this way.

Andy
 
Spyderco "Sharpmaker" gets good ratings for conventional knives.

Not sure of the make-up of your new knives, but:
Some Japanese knives use "layers" of metal -
-Hard, but somewhat brittle metal for cutting edge
-tougher, more flexible metal for outer portions of blade
(Provides support for the harder "core" edge metal.)

This permits the edge to be sharpened to a "thinner" edge (check-out Kevin Krueger's explanation on some knife topics from last year or two). Keeping a thin edge like that by hand will take some practice. Most of the Spyderco stuff that I know of is made for more conventional / hunting / tactical knives, which have a "thicker" cutting edge. Good stuff, but may not be "the right tool for the job".

Something that fixes the angle of the abrasive relative to the knife edge may be better for these. Such as EdgePro (pricey, but excellent) or Lansky or Gatco (less expensive)

I DO like your idea of the magnetic knive bars with the wood surfaces. They're too cool / pretty to keep them hidden away.

Not saying that you are dead-wrong or cannot do it by hand - just saying you may want to consider a better option for care of those REALLY NICE knives.
 
I think the edge on these knives are 15.2 degrees.

And the fixed angle on a spyderco "Sharpmaker" is 15 and 20. This works just fine for these knifes if im informed correct. Spending 3x as mutch on the Apex 2 sounds a bit mutch to me. But might be wise in the long run.

Its a core(edge) of the popular VG-10 steel witch is verry hard,and keep´s an edge really good. But as Ron stated its brittle in these thin edges. And its surronded with 34 layers(each side = 69 in totall) of a softer/rust ressistant softer steel.(damascuss)

Lansky or Gatco i have to check these out aswell.

And i will send em away once a year to a proffessional sharpener.(if thats needed,witch i think it will be)
 
Not familiar with the brand, but I'm sure they're great knives with years of fine cutting ahead of you. btw, the Chinese character on the box also reads as "Arashi" in Japanese. Means: "storm".
 
Ok After looking @ some of the systems i will go with the edge pro apex 2 + the 600 stone.

Thanks for that info Gary how do you know that?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">how do you know that? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I have a long time interest in traditional Japanese and Chinese arts, so I know a few Chinese characters. Also, the name Arashi is a family name in the lineage of Japanese kabuki actors.
Arashi Rikan III, 1847.
k646.jpg
 
I have had a spyderco triangle sharpener for years. The problem with the fixed angle is that if you have a hard steel knive sharpened professionally they may use a different angle that doesn't match the spyderco. I like the edge pro becuase you can set it easily. Trick is to mark the edge with a sharpie and adjust the angle that rubs the marker off and you know you match the steel.

If anybody does get the spyderco the diamond stones are mandatory for good kitchen steel to set a nice edge every month or so.
 
If those knives work half as good as they look they will be awesome.
I recently got the edge pro sharpening system and I am very pleased with the results. Yes it is expensive but I believe it is worth it based on the results I am getting.

Mike
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Ok After looking @ some of the systems i will go with the edge pro apex 2 + the 600 stone. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

you won't be sorry. The only downside with the apex is that ts will scratch up the sides of your blades (due to metal filings sticking to the angled bed). I don't mind much because I'd rather have a fine edge than shiny sides. But you may want to invest in some painters tape to apply to the sides to keep them from scratching during sharpening.


lansky makse a ceramic hone that is great for honing the fine, hard edge of japanese steel

also, I bought some extremely fine grit, sanding sponges at an automotive store for finishing polishing and stropping. There's a "mousepad trick" where you put fine grit sandpaper over a mouse pad and strop the blade (drawing spine towards you). I found these sponges and they work like the paper and pad combo all in one.
 
Note that for the APEX systems you can buy after market stones that are several steps beyond what they offer. They are basically made from japanese stone materials. Much better IMHO than using the paper systems apex uses for finer grits.

Chosera Stones

Wolgast - those knives look awesome.

Ditto on using the painters tape to protect the sides of the blade with the Apex. I don't always care, but there are some knives where I do, so I use the tape.
 
Well everything is ordered. Now i have to wait.

Bought this magnetic list from Shun:




And after talking a bit to the swedish importer of the pro edge i went with the Apex 4
icon_rolleyes.gif


I will die poor....But i will be buried with this knife set and sharpener. !!!!
 
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