Kamo AS

[Kit Craft]

Can someone compare these to other knives for me? I don't care which ones but I have no idea what to think about these knives on paper. They tick a few boxes for me, though, in that they are AS (I need this steel still), KU and iron clad. I like all of that. But what is the grind like? It looks to be a foe wide bevel in that it is KU so it was ground after HT but it does not appear to have a defined shinogi. Is that about right? What about the cladding in which way is it reactive? Example, Tojiro and early Tanaka knives liked to take a lot of brown and yellow easily. My Wat likes blue and does not spot easily.

I really wish this came in a 180 as I am leaning more toward that than another Santoku. And his R2 180 is interesting in that it is freaking 51mm tall! Any insight into this knife would be much appreciated. No rush, my wife is looking for a Christmas gift for me and told me to start researching now.

Alternate suggestions to Iron clad KU finished AS? It does not have to be AS, I just have not got to play with that steel much and I want to try it a little more. The Iron clad part is important as I like what I can do with it on natural stones better than stainless. A true wide bevel would be even better.

Most of you guys know my preferences but I will list some to help out those who might not.

I prefer knives in the 185-205mm range.
Height is not an issue but I typically prefer proportion. 180mm=41/42mm, 210=46/48mm but that is not firm.
I don't care about handles much but D handles are a bonus! Wa or Yo is fine.
I like profiles with a very gentle curve from heel to tip that leaves the tip low to the board but still pointy. The smaller the knife the more suji like I prefer but as the knife gets longer and taller I prefer a large santoku. Just depends on which way I go.
I mostly do G&G and have good enough knife skills not to destroy my knives. I can fix them if I do anyay.

So, as an aside, I had mentioned a Honyaki to my wife but she laughed...So lets stay under $300. I'm pretty sure she already order me a stone too so that is likely why. I hope it is a particular Ohira that I have had my eye that is no longer in stock.

Anyway, what suggestions have you got?

Thanks!

[J david]

I don't know how much help this is, but I purchased a 210 gyuto off the classifieds. It had a serious frown from the previous sharpener that took alot if work to remedy so I can't comment in the makers profile. I can tell you that I really liked the knife and if it were a 240 I would still have it. The grind in this one was good and even and was true to the shonogi. The knife was very thin at the tip and was a great laser type performer. I will find another to add to my collection in 240 or 270mm. Here are some pics after my repairs and refinishing. I think this was off a Takashima so not a very refined kasumi.

[Igalor]

have you tried a takeda yet? I have a sasanoha 210 that is really fun, a 190 should be fun for you

[Kit Craft]

Jdavid, thank you. That is very helpful and I love the wavy shinogi. I know some people like to straighten them out on "cheaper" knives but I don't understand that. Good to hear that it is true to the Shinogi too. The 210 is around 220 according to stats and that could still be a useful knife for me. I love to slay some mushrooms and I like a bigger knife than my standard 180 for that.

Igalor, the Takeda makes me nervous. So many people seem to get them and then send them out for huge thinning jobs. More like regrinding the entire knife. The grind is so low it almost seems like a scandi and I can't see myself liking that on a kitchen knife. I guess that is a case of people not understanding what they are getting before they order rather than an issue with the knife but I think I am one of those people who would be underwhelmed. I could be wrong, though.

[Altadan]

Hey Kit,

For what it's worth, I've had the Kamo AS nakiri in my hands for about a month now, and though it is my first carbon knife and I can't compare, I get the feeling that this is not anywhere close as reactive as what many others describe on other knives. The core is the only part that took any sort of color, and most of that was from slicing a cooked roast and giving it some blue tones. All the carrots, onions, and whatnots I've cut have done only very little by way of darkening the edge this way or that.
Ah, I just noticed you asked if anyone can compare these to any other knife, no matter which. In that case, the Kamo AS is less reactive than a VG-10 Shun... (What? It's true!)
As far as your other questions go, I think you've proved my knife-talk skills to be still novice-level I could barely understand your first paragraph O_o What's a shinogi?

[Cutuu]

Altadan how is the kamo less reactive than a shun vg10. What type of reaction are u getting from a shun vg10?

[Kit Craft]

Hey Kit,

For what it's worth, I've had the Kamo AS nakiri in my hands for about a month now, and though it is my first carbon knife and I can't compare, I get the feeling that this is not anywhere close as reactive as what many others describe on other knives. The core is the only part that took any sort of color, and most of that was from slicing a cooked roast and giving it some blue tones. All the carrots, onions, and whatnots I've cut have done only very little by way of darkening the edge this way or that.
Ah, I just noticed you asked if anyone can compare these to any other knife, no matter which. In that case, the Kamo AS is less reactive than a VG-10 Shun... (What? It's true!)
As far as your other questions go, I think you've proved my knife-talk skills to be still novice-level I could barely understand your first paragraph O_o What's a shinogi?

I don't follow with the shun. A stainless clad stainless knife should not be reactive at all...

I suppose the shinogi line could be described as the intersection of the blade table (flat) and the blade road (bevel/grind). This is typical on single bevel knives but some double bevel knives have them as well and many people refer to those knives as "wide bevels". Some knives seem to fall somewhere between a narrow and wide bevel knife in that they do have material ground away higher up the blade like a wide bevel but the transition with the flat is not well defined or sharp.

I am by no means well educated on this terminology and am simply regurgitating what I have been led to believe over the past few years of frequenting Japanese knife forums.

[gladius]

Hi Kit, I've got the 210 & 150 AS and like them allot and think you might too. They are very high performance and well made in every way. The Kamo AS reminds me of tall versions of Kurosaki and Kato knives. If you are familiar with the Takefu/Masakagi lines, they are typical. These are not very reactive either for iron clad KU's.

If you get that Ohira, I think you will like that too (if it is anything like the one I got from Mark).

[Kit Craft]

Hi Kit, I've got the 210 & 150 AS and like them allot and think you might too. They are very high performance and well made in every way. The Kamo AS reminds me of tall versions of Kurosaki and Kato knives. If you are familiar with the Takefu/Masakagi lines, they are typical. These are not very reactive either for iron clad KU's.

If you get that Ohira, I think you will like that too (if it is anything like the one I got from Mark).

Thank you, I am familiar with the knives and it sound like I might like this one too. As for the Ohira, I have an Asagi that is probably a lvl 3 that I really like it so I think I might like this one too but you never know. The Asagi is one of my favorite stones too. Not soft and not hard. Not ultra fine yet refined. Good steel removal!

Anyway, sounds like I might have a winner in both cases!

[Altadan]

Altadan how is the kamo less reactive than a shun vg10. What type of reaction are u getting from a shun vg10?

Hey guys, my apologies. I should have used better emojis or something; I was going off Kit's original request "Can someone compare these to other knives for me? I don't care which ones"
I meant to say that the Kamo AS is only slightly more reactive than the Shun VG10 (which of course, is not).
It was a bad joke turned worse. I should stop visiting this forum at the end of long days -_-

[Cutuu]

Altadan how is the kamo less reactive than a shun vg10. What type of reaction are u getting from a shun vg10?

Hey guys, my apologies. I should have used better emojis or something; I was going off Kit's original request "Can someone compare these to other knives for me? I don't care which ones"
I meant to say that the Kamo AS is only slightly more reactive than the Shun VG10 (which of course, is not).
It was a bad joke turned worse. I should stop visiting this forum at the end of long days -_-

Haha, no worries. Its easy to get up a couple of words mixed up.