Marko Tsourkan 240mm AEB-L Gyuto

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chrisdafur27
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Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 10:43 am

Marko Tsourkan 240mm AEB-L Gyuto

Post by chrisdafur27 »

So I was lucky enough to nab a 240mm AEB-L Gyuto and have had the pleasure of using it as much as possible in the last few days. I've got a whole bunch of thoughts running through my head with this knife, many of which I'm still trying to figure out as I go along. First off, this thing is ridiculously beautiful, the blade is wonderfully finished, spine and choil are full on crowned the entire length of the blade, the handle is straight up a work of art. If this thing couldn't cut it may still be worth the price just for how nice it would look on a mantle. Fortunately, this thing sure cuts but differently than I expected. Before jumping into performance I think mentioning the weight and balance is important. This knife is pretty dang heavy for its size, I believe the website lists it around 8.5oz, I haven't measure this myself, but it sure does feel substantially heavier than my other 240s (HD2 and Kurosaki AS Laser). Even though it feels heavier the balance point really is what I notice on this guy, it sits just behind my pinch grip (or right behind the logo) which allows it to feel a bit more agile than expected for that weight (for clarification this is not an agile knife just better handling than the weight would suggest). Again, most of my 240s I would say are blade heavy and balance in front of my pinch, the balance point here really makes the knife feel evenly distributed. The blade profile is also quite interesting, this thing has the largest flat spot of anything in my collection which combined with the weight and balance point makes this one hell of a chopper. There is a bit of distal taper I would say about 2/3rds of the way down the blade that leads to the tip, the first 2/3rds keep their thickness throughout. The blade is on the shorter side for 240s coming in around 48mm, similar to my HD2 in height. Now finally on to the cutting performance, this thing is an absolute dream for any short veg such as carrots, celery, peppers, etc… what has surprised me though is what it does not do well. First off I’ve been on a beet kick this summer, while cutting one into planks the knife had a decent amount of wedging, nothing egregious but still noteworthy. Dicing mushrooms (split them in half, one horizontal cut lengthwise, one vertical cut lengthwise and then chop through) also was not terribly fluid, the knife didn't fly through the horizontal cuts too well even with a seemingly thin tip. Same goes for cross hatching on onions, the tip really does not want to go into the produce that far, as soon as I got to chopping though this thing went into overdrive. So, I guess I’m still figuring out what this knife works best for and how to compensate for what it doesn’t. I have only stropped this once so far as it came super sharp out of the box. I will say the AEB-L on the board feels very sturdy and responsive as far as steels go (unlike my experience with R2 which felt hollow and has made me a little hesitant on Stainless steels). One other remark that I will make about this blade is while it came stunningly finished there is some overgrind at the heel on the right side of the blade, this doesn’t affect performance at all and really doesn’t bother me but is still something worth noting (should be the final picture attached). If you made it this far and read this rambling I apologize for the poor grammar but felt inclined to put my thoughts into words to help me process everything here. (Also just realized I never took a full body shot of the knife oops… will try and post one once I play with it some more and have more to say about it)

Having a hard time getting my pictures to show up in the post so here is a link to an album.


Chris
salemj
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Re: Marko Tsourkan Knives

Post by salemj »

chrisdafur27 wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 11:28 am So I was lucky enough to nab a 240mm AEB-L Gyuto and have had the pleasure of using it as much as possible in the last few days. I've got a whole bunch of thoughts running through my head with this knife, many of which I'm still trying to figure out as I go along. First off, this thing is ridiculously beautiful, the blade is wonderfully finished, spine and choil are full on crowned the entire length of the blade, the handle is straight up a work of art. If this thing couldn't cut it may still be worth the price just for how nice it would look on a mantle. Fortunately, this thing sure cuts but differently than I expected. Before jumping into performance I think mentioning the weight and balance is important. This knife is pretty dang heavy for its size, I believe the website lists it around 8.5oz, I haven't measure this myself, but it sure does feel substantially heavier than my other 240s (HD2 and Kurosaki AS Laser). Even though it feels heavier the balance point really is what I notice on this guy, it sits just behind my pinch grip (or right behind the logo) which allows it to feel a bit more agile than expected for that weight (for clarification this is not an agile knife just better handling than the weight would suggest). Again, most of my 240s I would say are blade heavy and balance in front of my pinch, the balance point here really makes the knife feel evenly distributed. The blade profile is also quite interesting, this thing has the largest flat spot of anything in my collection which combined with the weight and balance point makes this one hell of a chopper. There is a bit of distal taper I would say about 2/3rds of the way down the blade that leads to the tip, the first 2/3rds keep their thickness throughout. The blade is on the shorter side for 240s coming in around 48mm, similar to my HD2 in height. Now finally on to the cutting performance, this thing is an absolute dream for any short veg such as carrots, celery, peppers, etc… what has surprised me though is what it does not do well. First off I’ve been on a beet kick this summer, while cutting one into planks the knife had a decent amount of wedging, nothing egregious but still noteworthy. Dicing mushrooms (split them in half, one horizontal cut lengthwise, one vertical cut lengthwise and then chop through) also was not terribly fluid, the knife didn't fly through the horizontal cuts too well even with a seemingly thin tip. Same goes for cross hatching on onions, the tip really does not want to go into the produce that far, as soon as I got to chopping though this thing went into overdrive. So, I guess I’m still figuring out what this knife works best for and how to compensate for what it doesn’t. I have only stropped this once so far as it came super sharp out of the box. I will say the AEB-L on the board feels very sturdy and responsive as far as steels go (unlike my experience with R2 which felt hollow and has made me a little hesitant on Stainless steels). One other remark that I will make about this blade is while it came stunningly finished there is some overgrind at the heel on the right side of the blade, this doesn’t affect performance at all and really doesn’t bother me but is still something worth noting (should be the final picture attached). If you made it this far and read this rambling I apologize for the poor grammar but felt inclined to put my thoughts into words to help me process everything here. (Also just realized I never took a full body shot of the knife oops… will try and post one once I play with it some more and have more to say about it)

Having a hard time getting my pictures to show up in the post so here is a link to an album.


Chris
Thanks, Chris. You should write up a review (or copy this) in the review section of the forum. It would make a good "first impression" review, or you could wait a little longer and right one once you sort out what your preferred role/use of the knife is over time.

I'm very curious about one thing you wrote, but don't let me derail this thread! You mentioned how R2 felt to you. Had you ever heard or read anyone else saying that before, or was that just your own personal impression and your own choice of words? You can PM if you don't want to mention it on this thread since it is about Marko's knives. Thanks!
~Joe

Comments: I'm short, a home cook, prefer lighter, thinner blades, and own mostly Konosukes but have used over a dozen brands.
chrisdafur27
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Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 10:43 am

Re: Marko Tsourkan 240mm AEB-L Gyuto

Post by chrisdafur27 »

I'm very curious about one thing you wrote, but don't let me derail this thread! You mentioned how R2 felt to you. Had you ever heard or read anyone else saying that before, or was that just your own personal impression and your own choice of words? You can PM if you don't want to mention it on this thread since it is about Marko's knives. Thanks!
Hi Joe,

Planning on expanding on Marko's knife after I spend more time and come to some more concrete thoughts with it. Above is very much some rough first impression.

I don't think it should derail us too much here but the hollow feel was very much my own opinion. The knife in questions was a Kurosaki 210mm R2 hammered gyuto, beautiful blade that performed incredibly well but there was a different feel about it whenever it made contact with the board. I wrote a bit about it in this thread a while back viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5722.

Chris
salemj
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Re: Marko Tsourkan 240mm AEB-L Gyuto

Post by salemj »

chrisdafur27 wrote: Wed Sep 19, 2018 10:22 am
I'm very curious about one thing you wrote, but don't let me derail this thread! You mentioned how R2 felt to you. Had you ever heard or read anyone else saying that before, or was that just your own personal impression and your own choice of words? You can PM if you don't want to mention it on this thread since it is about Marko's knives. Thanks!
Hi Joe,

Planning on expanding on Marko's knife after I spend more time and come to some more concrete thoughts with it. Above is very much some rough first impression.

I don't think it should derail us too much here but the hollow feel was very much my own opinion. The knife in questions was a Kurosaki 210mm R2 hammered gyuto, beautiful blade that performed incredibly well but there was a different feel about it whenever it made contact with the board. I wrote a bit about it in this thread a while back viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5722.

Chris
Thanks, Chris!
~Joe

Comments: I'm short, a home cook, prefer lighter, thinner blades, and own mostly Konosukes but have used over a dozen brands.
Marko Tsourkan
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Re: Marko Tsourkan 240mm AEB-L Gyuto

Post by Marko Tsourkan »

Hi Chris,
I read the review, thank you for taking the time. If you would like, send it to me and I will go over the geometry and tune it up to address things that the knife didn't do well. Once I am done, I will refinish the blade to the factory finish, so the knife you will get back won't look different that what you have now. You can send it to the following address. PM when you do.

Tsourkan Knives
73 Crescent Avenue
New Rochelle, NY 10801

Thanks,

Marko
nakneker
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Re: Marko Tsourkan 240mm AEB-L Gyuto

Post by nakneker »

I’m always curious to see how a maker responds when he/she sees constructive criticism on his or her product. Seeing Marko’s response above certainly gives him credibility in my book. I’ve been interested in purchasing one of his knives just watching the recent buzz, more so now. People who stand behind their craft are appealing to me, nicely done.
“The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.”
chrisdafur27
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 10:43 am

Re: Marko Tsourkan 240mm AEB-L Gyuto

Post by chrisdafur27 »

Hi Chris,
I read the review, thank you for taking the time. If you would like, send it to me and I will go over the geometry and tune it up to address things that the knife didn't do well. Once I am done, I will refinish the blade to the factory finish, so the knife you will get back won't look different that what you have now. You can send it to the following address. PM when you do.
Marko,

Thanks for taking the time to read my first impressions.
Also thank you for the very generous offer. I do believe some of my critiques come from me getting used to a different style of knife. I would like to spend some more time with the blade to really get comfortable with it and come to some concrete thoughts before sending it off for a tune up.

Again thank you for the offer and for making such a beautiful knife.
Chris
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