Courtesy of Zhen Premium Knife I have their Damascus Santoku Model # D6
I got interested in these just over a year ago -
when they were realy good value for money.
It was obvious that they were a much lower priced direct competitor to the Shun Classic Damascus Santoku DM0702 - the plain blade version
(the DM0702 was discontinued by Kai USA - and the only version available was the Granton edged/scalloped DM0718)
So at the time not only was the Zhen cheaper but there was no real competition for a non-scalloped santoku.
It is Japanese VG10 steel (HRc 60-62) clad with 66 layers of stainless "Damascus" steel - so it does look like the Shun.
Although the Zhen is marked "Japanese steel" - it is actually a Chinese knife.
So is this some inferior knock-off?
In a single word - NO.
I have used this knife for my usual food prep
and I can say that it performs as well as the Shun Classic Santoku DM0702 -
in fact, it is somewhat comparable to my favorite handmade Shigeki Tanaka VG10 Damascus Santoku.
The reason it works well is because it is thinned nicely toward the edge
and the actual edge bevel is narrow (showing how thin the blade is behind he edge) -
~110x usb microscope pics of edge at the "belly" or sweet spot -
The handle is an attractive brown/black pakkawood - which makes it very practical and durable -
it is oval in cross-section and curved contoured -
compared to the straight D-handle of the Shun - which tries to reflect the traditional Japanese shape -
seems a nice compromise between low-maintenance and tradition -
shown with a real Japanese Ho-wood handle -
I am very impressed with this Zhen Damascus Santoku -
it certainly will get use in my kitchen.
--
Vincent
http://picasaweb.com/UnknownVincent?showall=true
http://UnknownVincent.Shutterfly.com
http://UnknownVT.Shutterfly.com
I got interested in these just over a year ago -
when they were realy good value for money.
It was obvious that they were a much lower priced direct competitor to the Shun Classic Damascus Santoku DM0702 - the plain blade version
(the DM0702 was discontinued by Kai USA - and the only version available was the Granton edged/scalloped DM0718)
So at the time not only was the Zhen cheaper but there was no real competition for a non-scalloped santoku.
It is Japanese VG10 steel (HRc 60-62) clad with 66 layers of stainless "Damascus" steel - so it does look like the Shun.
Although the Zhen is marked "Japanese steel" - it is actually a Chinese knife.
So is this some inferior knock-off?
In a single word - NO.
I have used this knife for my usual food prep
and I can say that it performs as well as the Shun Classic Santoku DM0702 -
in fact, it is somewhat comparable to my favorite handmade Shigeki Tanaka VG10 Damascus Santoku.
The reason it works well is because it is thinned nicely toward the edge
and the actual edge bevel is narrow (showing how thin the blade is behind he edge) -
~110x usb microscope pics of edge at the "belly" or sweet spot -
The handle is an attractive brown/black pakkawood - which makes it very practical and durable -
it is oval in cross-section and curved contoured -
compared to the straight D-handle of the Shun - which tries to reflect the traditional Japanese shape -
seems a nice compromise between low-maintenance and tradition -
shown with a real Japanese Ho-wood handle -
I am very impressed with this Zhen Damascus Santoku -
it certainly will get use in my kitchen.
--
Vincent
http://picasaweb.com/UnknownVincent?showall=true
http://UnknownVincent.Shutterfly.com
http://UnknownVT.Shutterfly.com
) with caution.