January knife-of-the-month Passaround (Matsubara Blue #2)

See what's happening with current or completed "Pass Arounds". Forum members occasionally send knives or sharpening stones around to a hand selected group of participants for short term use and feedback/reviews.
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jbart65
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by jbart65 »

This one is on its way to Rob.

I enjoyed it. Don't have much to add to my above comments. The steel is not the toughest, especially for B#2, but it touched up quickly on a high-grit stone.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by Lepus »

I have the knife in good working order and I look forward to using it. A cursory inspection suggests it should be nice.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by Lepus »

I've finished using the knife. I'll sharpen and ship it Friday.

I had plenty of time and the opportunity to use this knife on various products. Jeffry mentioned he'd touched it up on a 6k stone and it was quite sharp. I have not sharpened it yet and don't think it will be a big help, but there's a little performance to be gained at this point. I think it would enjoy the edge from a Rika, so that's probably what I'll use. I probably won't do much more than strop it myself, the edge has done well.

First, the minutae. I liked the knife when I took it out of the box. It has a bit of classy, understated rustic charm to it. The construction, finish, and handle all punch a bit above their weight class. The nashiji finish in particular isn't anything unique, but it is a great example of a nice nashiji finish. Nice kanji, too. It has the CKTG walnut and maple handle I've used before, better executed this time. I would keep it on this or most any knife.

In use the knife has a weird mixture of a nimble tip and a tall heel that doesn't resonate with me. Ed said it feels like a deba and the profile matches. Everyone has said the tip is fairly slim, and that's true too. The high, light tip plus the tall, meaty heel leave the balance relatively neutral. This means the tip has little weight to lend to push cutting, so while the profile fits okay and the grind is solid, it takes some effort from the cook to get the knife through the food. It's a strong contrast to my recent time with a Gihei and Watanabe, which if not held back would prefer to cut through the food, the board, the table, and the floor. At the heel the Matsubara's height would usually mean the knife had some weight, but again, because the balance isn't too far forward, most of the weight going through the food comes from the cook's arm. Despite that I found the Matsubara to be a pretty solid chopper despite its reticent. There is feels well controlled and as lively as a knife this tall can.

I would like to try Mr. Tanaka's nakiris, I bet those are absolute beasts.

I think the knife has a place as a one and done or jack of all trades shorter gyuto for people who like its tall, distant heel. It does rock quite well, as Jeffry mentioned. It push cuts okay and it chops well, just hesitantly in both cases. The tip is great in onions. Personally I found that distant tip and the tall heel to leave the knife feeling floaty. It actually does feel a bit santoku-like to me because of where it wears its weight, but given that comparison I miss a closer tip and nearness to the board.

Finally, on a more abstract note I'm incredibly pleased with this passaround. I would never have bought this knife for myself, largely because I sort of expected what I got. I got to use and evaluate something pretty different for a very reasonable price. I look forward to doing more of these and perhaps hosting one coming up. If I don't own the knife in question I think I'm going to want to be involved in almost all of these.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by easilver »

Glad you enjoyed your time with it Rob and, as always, your comments are spot-on.

Even though you aren't fully enamoured, I'm actually surprised how well it performed in a pro environment. I was worried that the proportions wouldn't provide the quick-accuracy required, mainly due to the high tip. It definitely exceeded my expectations.
Ed in L.A.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by jbart65 »

Interesting to hear what a pro who would use a knife more than a home cook would think.

I wasn't too troubled by the profile, but the thought did occur to me, as it did to Rob, that it was not fully cohesive. I did wonder the purpose of such a high heel.

My own preconceptions also disposed me to like it. I've been looking for another 210 - I only have one - that is pretty good at rocking. So I probably paid more attention to that part of its performance. Chopping was fine for softer ingredients, but not nearly as good as my Gassan 210 for the harder stuff.

I usually push mid- to mid-front of the blade and that was OK too. Going to play around with my pushing technique to see how a knife differs on different parts of the blade.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by Altadan »

The Matsubara B#2 arrived in good order this later afternoon, and just made the cut (forgive the pun) into tonight's dinner prep of potatoes, sweet-pots, onions, carrots (that all went into a chicken pot), and some salad.
My first impression of its ability was, as Ed said at the very beginning, "[she] slips through onions and carrots due to the laser-like edge."
I can also comment on how thin she is compared to my Tanaka B#2, and how different her "tak tak tak" is on the cutting board. She also sings (do knives chime, or ring?), which was a nice surprise.
The looks are fantastic.
I'll write a paragraph after the weekend, when I've used her some more.
Cheery'o
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by MisoSatisfried »

Hey guys, even with the crappy weather here... It has arrived very late today and upon a quick inspection, it appears to be in good order. :) I haven't kept up on this thread at all, but has it been tipped every so slightly? It looks like a minor repair was done, but I could be wrong as well. I personally don't care either way and could definitely be wrong, I was just going through it with my initial impressions. I am really loving the distal taper on the last third of the knife. I'm a sucker for a thin and effective tip.
I'm Dave. I don't take myself too seriously and you probably shouldn't either.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by easilver »

Okay folks, this Pass-around is complete. Please PM me if you are interested in buying the knife or not.

No need to bid, just tell me your interest or not. Once we see who is interested--or not--we can discuss the bidding.
Ed in L.A.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by Altadan »

A little overdue, but better late than never;

The Matsubara B#2 is a heck of a knife. Over the past few months I've had a great pleasure of trying about half-a-dozen, and this was the one that made me go "woah!"

Pros:
- Aesthetics are slightly rustic, yet very eye catching
- kanji is deep and attractive
- Stainless clad
- Performs beautifully! excels on soft product, and takes on hard stuff with aplomb
- tapers down to a very fine, very capable tip

Cons:
- The low tipped profile is not my cup-of-tea when it comes to a 210 or more
- The only wedging I experienced was when I halved a really large cabbage. The grind did not work in favor of that cut. However, chopping the cabbage once halved was a breeze, so there.

Great knife! I'm definitely keeping my eyes on the Matsubara offerings!
Easily friend-recommendable.

Ed, thanks so much for taking the initiative on this one. It was an eye-opener for me!
“If we conquer our passions it is more from their weakness than from our strength.”
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by easilver »

None of the participants want to buy the knife, so we won’t be able to experiment with the bidding. Thanks to all for participating.
Ed in L.A.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by jbart65 »

Minimum bid is $154, no?

I like this knife a lot. It fit well with my style of cutting. But I had been setting on getting a 240 for quite some time. Pretty sure I will end up with a Matsubara of some kind.

I suspect the Yoshimi will be going the same route. Bidding or classifieds, it will be interesting to see what happens.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by Chefspence »

This knife looks like something I would really like. I love my Gihei 210. Anything like that?
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by Altadan »

Chefspence wrote: Tue Mar 20, 2018 10:38 pm This knife looks like something I would really like. I love my Gihei 210. Anything like that?
I was told the Gihei is like Serena Williams, heavy shoulders, strong, and performs like a champ.
This Matusabara is not heavy in the least. I doubt they're similar
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by easilver »

Spence--I think this has a few aspect similar to the Gihei. It might even be better. My 240 Gihei is flatter than the 210 Matsubara, but that's more of a length issue since the 240 Matsubara looks pretty flat. They are both thin behind the edge and have high grinds. I didn't use the 210 much before sending it around, but my Matsubara tall nakiri holds an edge longer than my Gihei.

PM me if you want to try the Matsubara 210.
Ed in L.A.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by Chefspence »

Thanks gents. Dan, I suspect there are some differences, but from what I see and hear I should at least try the Matsu and might even be more impressed. The Matsu looks thinner actually than the Gihei. I don't know if that's a translation to "better", because my Gihei cuts like a frickin dream. I love it. And I love the heft. The height is an added bonus. The Matsubara at this point seems like an underrated giant and I need to try. I've just decided. I would love to check it out. Especially in the 240 length.!!!
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by Altadan »

Chefspence wrote: Tue Mar 20, 2018 11:10 pm Thanks gents. Dan, I suspect there are some differences, but from what I see and hear I should at least try the Matsu and might even be more impressed. The Matsu looks thinner actually than the Gihei. I don't know if that's a translation to "better", because my Gihei cuts like a frickin dream. I love it. And I love the heft. The height is an added bonus. The Matsubara at this point seems like an underrated giant and I need to try. I've just decided. I would love to check it out. Especially in the 240 length.!!!
You should definitely try it, Spence.
Like I wrote earlier in my review - this one wowed me (though I confess I have not had more than 10 knives in my kitchen overall...... which, as I think of it, is a lot "out there." It's just not much "in here" :mrgreen: :lol: )
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by Lepus »

I'm surprised no one wanted to bid. I liked the construction and grind, I just don't favor knives that tall. That's typically an uncommon preference. I still would have bid bottom dollar if I hadn't bought so many other knives recently.
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Re: January knife-of-the-month Passaround

Post by easilver »

Still available for $154
Ed in L.A.
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