Profile on the board shot

[ChefKnivesToGo]

I have a ruler I could easily add to give it some perspective.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kaaosusa16.html

[jacko9]

Excellent addition to the description of the knife.

[Kit Craft]

Agreed, it is a nice addition.

[mdl130]

One thing I would note is that if a knife has some back belly (is that the right term - sounds weird), then the shot should not have the heel flat on the board. That might make it seem like the knife doesn't have a flat spot, when it actually does (it just doesn't start at the heel).

[salemj]

^^^Good point. Back-belly is something I actually dislike a lot, as I think some others do, too. It is often hard to see, too. It would be nice to have that clear, although I will say that Steve's motion shots tend to provide an EXCELLENT estimation of back-belly, and many of these knives do have videos.

I guess I'll add that I do like the ruler, Mark! I think it provides what is needed, especially since I think it is more important to have relatively measurements (a standard image) that a measurement tool (the tip is Xmm above the board). The currently ruler does this adequately, and it is big enough in font that it should work for images of different size, etc.

That said, you may still consider whether it is important to show the handle at all. It seems like you could get a cleaner, more consistent shot of all knife sizes if you just left off the handle and took an imagine that was a bit more centered on the blade itself. Just a thought.

Regardless, a great addition.

[Kit Craft]

I would love to know that beforehand too but not only if a knife has back belly but if it is significant. I say that because many of my knives have a wee bit of back belly, which I like, because it stops the heel from slamming into the board. However, some knives have way too much and that I do not like.

[salemj]

Yeah, it is funny, because I love "live" feeling knives (monosteel), but that is because they have great feedback. I do not love "live" feeling rockers, who enjoy bouncing off the board to assist with the motion—this is what (too much) back belly feels like to me. In fact, I think there is often a misnomer of what constitutes a "flatter" profile, and that it often has less to do with the belly at the front (when comparing similar Japanese profiles), and much more to do with the belly at the back. It would be ideal if the image assisted with this. Shibata's knives are a great example: while the K-tip gyutos seem like they would be flatter, with a potentially lower tip, they are actually extremely live on the board due to the presence of back-belly.

[Hari Itami]

As a new forum member, I would find the profile on board shot helpful in making a buying decision. Yes, you can see this in Steve’s videos, however not all knives have the videos so it would help in those circumstances.

[Kit Craft]

As a new forum member, I would find the profile on board shot helpful in making a buying decision. Yes, you can see this in Steve’s videos, however not all knives have the videos so it would help in those circumstances.

Agree. However, for more videos check Steve's Youtube Channel directly as he leaves up old videos of knives even when pages get shifted around here and videos disappear for a period of time. Also, Steve is often a few dozen videos ahead of the site itself too, most of which can be found in his quick look threads here.

[Hari Itami]

Good to know, thank you.

[Chefspence]

I like these new shots. While I agree that the choil shots would be nice in hi res, I would say at least having a shot of the choil for every knife is a better start. Not that I would buy more, I just like to look at as many pictures as possible

[ckcow923]

To reiterate the majority opinion, I love seeing the profile on the board - it really gives me an idea of how the knife will perform in regards to a particular style of use.

[milkbaby]

More info is great, so a board shot outs very useful.

Choil pics don't need to be high res but they should be in focus, and unfortunately there are many on the site that are not. I agree they can be misleading and/or not the whole story about blade geometry but still useful.

[scopi]

Excellent idea Mark. Maybe the backdrop light source could be behind a translucent sheet of tracing paper or thin opaque plastic that would diffuse and soften it somewhat. Easy enough to have a white reflector appropriately positioned to bounce some light back onto the front of the knife to get an easy to read presentation. The camera position would be crucial with the surface the blade edge touches reading as a clear line. The backdrop could have some thin straight lines or a minimal grid of some sort drawn onto it too if that would assist with describing the profile.

[Chefspence]

I'd bet Steve has some good ideas on how to make these shots really pop.